12th Annual Moores UCSD Cancer Center Luau & Longboard Invitational

12TH ANNUAL MOORES UCSD CANCER CENTER LUAU & LONGBOARD INVITATIONAL RAISES MORE THAN $225,000 OVERALL FOR CANCER RESEARCH

Lance Armstrong 'Livestrong' Longboard Auctioned for $27,000
Story by Jason Foster

The Longboard Invitational kicked off with surfers from 24 teams making the most of small wave conditions. In the end, The Waitt Family Foundation team of Fred Borrelli, Luke Daniels, Nathan Jernigan, Matt Rimel and Kemp Aaberg took the 2005 title. The Cooley Godward LLP team placed second and the Cahill Family team finished third.

The Moores UCSD Cancer Center Luau & Longboard Invitational brings together surfing legends from around the world, celebrities, and corporate executives to benefit cancer treatment and research. It features a friendly surfing competition between sponsored teams, a Polynesian-themed party featuring food, entertainment, live and silent auctions of surf memorabilia, and a brief ceremony to honor the winner of the Rell Sunn - Queen of Makaha Award. The award recognizes an individual for his or her efforts to fight cancer and dedication to helping others in ways that embody the true "aloha" spirit.
This year's award was presented to David Tarin, M.D., Ph.D, former director of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center from 1997-2002 and a renowned researcher who for 35 years has worked toward solving the puzzle of how cancer spreads through the body.

Paul Grayson garnered one of the biggest cheers in the 12-year history of the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center Luau & Longboard Invitational on Sunday when he bid $27,000 to bring home a rare custom longboard shaped for and autographed by seven-time Tour de France winning cyclist and iconic cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.

More importantly, he succeeded on a quest for his wife, Paula, who was inspired by Armstrong as she fought a brain tumor for the last two years. She recently finished chemotherapy.

"Lance's strength was a key force in what she's gone through and where she's come to today," said Grayson, who has actively supported the Luau since its inception and works as a managing director for Sanderling Ventures, a venture capital firm. "When she found out the Luau would be auctioning this board, she told me, 'I would really like that. It would mean a lot to me.'"

The board, signed by Armstrong and created by renowned shaper Steve Walden, is painted bright yellow and imprinted with the "LIVESTRONG" motto and Lance Armstrong Foundation logo. Walden shaped three of these boards at Armstrong's request. One was auctioned May 20, 2005 at the Lance Armstrong Foundation's yearly gala in Texas for $4,800. Another was made for the Luau, and the remaining board was made for Armstrong himself.

Grayson, whose family lives in La Jolla, said the board would we prominently displayed at home. "Oh yeah, this is going on the ceiling. It's not going to get waxed," he said with a laugh.

"I was blown away by the bidding for this board -- I think everybody was," said Hank Guyader, co-chair for the 2005 Luau & Longboard Invitational along with Ben Wood. "That's easily a record bid for a board auctioned off at this event. We're stoked for Paul and his family, and we're thrilled for the support this has generated for the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. We had another great event this year, and this was definitely one of the biggest highlights."

Total funds raised at this year's Luau are still being determined, but preliminary figures show more than $225,000 will go to the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. The total was given a boost by a surprise $40,000 donation from John Moores himself not long after Grayson won the auction for the Lance Armstrong "LIVESTRONG" board. Over the course of its history, the Luau has now raised more than $1.5 million to support promising new research projects at the center.