Surfing

Surfing is becoming increasingly popular in England – the sport is tons of fun and really gets the adrenaline going. It is a cool sport with a great lifestyle/culture that runs alongside. Surfing is hard – it is a full body workout, especially when you’re learning and are battling a lot of waves!

Not only is it physically good for you, it is also good for mental health and wellbeing – this is becoming increasingly recognised, the benefit is a combination of being immersed in nature and the endorphins released from exercise. In England, Surfing England has a network of Accredited Surf Schools where you can book your first lesson and give it a try, see here.

There are some very talented surfers in England who also compete at events all over the World, as well as in England. For some inspiration, it’s worth taking a look at 2020 English Champions, Peony Knight and Luke Dillon.

Surfing isn’t all about shortboards though, there are also some incredible talented Longboarders who prefer the more relaxed, cruisy, style of surfing. Team England Adaptive (disability surf) won medals in March at the World Championships in California – Melissa Reid, a visually impaired surfer won gold and Charlotte Banfield won a silver! I bet you didn’t know we have World Champion surfers!

Surfing is a very inclusive sport, due to its range of forms from bodysurfing > bodyboarding > stand up paddleboarding, and of course the longboarding and shortboarding! This means people of all ages and abilities can find their niche. It’s all about getting in the ocean and having fun! We have Clubs Affiliated to us that specifically cover the disciplines of bodysurf and longboard, as well as links with BSUPA to cover SUP surfers!

Surfing England also offer individual membership, this is key for surfers as it includes insurance to cover you whilst surfing in England, gives you great discounts on your first wetsuit/surfboard, and keeps you up to date with all the exciting news from the English Surfing scene and Governing Body for the sport! Membership starts at £20, see here.

Junior Surf Scheme

Surfing England have a cool resource called the Junior Surf Scheme which is aimed at surfers aged 7-17. The guide covers 5 different levels and tracks your progression as a surfer. Each level is signed off by your Coach and you receive a sticker and certificate for each level as you progress! The programme is written to link with the curriculum so Schools can also get onboard with it! There’s also some teaching on the lifestyle side of surfing – ‘stoked’ is a key one to know – it’s surf lingo for exciting, buzzing, best wave ever, and of course throwing a ‘shaka’, a hand signal meaning everything’s good!

The link to JSS can be found here: https://www.surfingengland.org/jss/

With thanks to Surfing England for the article and the use of their videos.