The Jersey Surf was founded in the winter of 1990 by a group of area band instructors who wanted to provide a year-’round activity for band members who wanted to do more after the traditional marching band season had ended. The first organizational meeting of the corps was held in the cafeteria at Edgewood High School and was attended by more than fifty interested students from throughout Southern New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The corps was chartered as Explorer Post 333 and held its first rehearsals at the Berlin Community School. Warmer weather and the end of the school year moved the corps’ rehearsals to the Berlin Park near the Farmers’ Market. The Corps’ debut performance was at the 1991 Independence Classic Drum and Bugle Corps competition at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. The corps performed the Star Spangled Banner in band uniforms that were rented from a local high school. The response to the performance resulted in a large number of new applicants.