For each of us, surfing is a gift passed on from a family member or a friend, maybe someone from your local crew or even through surf media. Somewhere along the line you were introduced and you liked what you saw and your life changed forever. This weekend sees the chance for you to pass that stoke on to someone else – to pay back a little of the joy surfing has given you.
The second annual Extreme Abilities Adapted Surfing Day will be taking place at Big Bay this Sunday 17 March, and there’s 46 people with different disabilities who’ve signed up to discover the stoke of riding a wave. Unfortunately, their disabilities make it difficult to discover these joys without a helping hand to lead them. 40 Volunteers are therefore needed to be that guiding hand this Sunday.
A guiding hand during last year’s event.
Registration kicks off at 8:30am at Big Bay alongside the lifesaving club, and stoke meters will be filled by 1:30pm when the event ends.
So, if you don’t already have plans for Sunday morning, or are happy to change them to slot in some stoke-sharing, then please contact Dries on 082 573 2289 or email extremedries@gmail.com, so he can sign you up and give you further details.
No qualifications are needed for some of the stations, while some stations need qualifications (details in the press release below). Other than that, you’ll be shown exactly what will be required to do on the day. Just bring your wetsuit and pay it forward…
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SSA and Extreme Abilities Adapted Surfing day
17 March 2013 Program and Stations
This year there will be 46 Participants, which means on this day we need to let 46 people with
different disabilities experience the stoke of riding a wave. The previous event was a huge success,
but was lacking in order. We need to be better organized this time around to ensure the safety of
everyone involved and to make efficient use of the time slot that we have.
Registration
08h30 – 09h30
Welcoming and Opening
09h30 – 10h00
Group circulation through stations
10h00 – 13h30
Each group will have 45 minutes at each station (1-5)
For time efficiency, It would be best if the first participants to arrive be divided into the first groups
and moved to the first stations so that as soon as the welcoming is over, the first group will be able
to enter the water.
Lunch and finish
14h00 – 14h30
Groups:
Participants will be divided into groups with the same types of disabilities. Each group will consist of
5 participants, thus there will be 10 different groups to circulate through each station.
Stations/Volunteers:
Station 1
This station is at the announcement gazebo where everyone is gathered, the groups will be
announced at this point and will be escorted from here to the second station. This station needs to
be manned by at least 2 people. These 2 volunteers will be responsible for keeping time and will
blow the whistle after every 45 minutes, signaling the shift to the next station.
Station 2
Participant will be escorted to the dressing rooms at the life saving club where they will be assisted
in being fitted with a suitable wet suite and then move towards station 3. This station needs to be
manned by at least 4 people, 2 ladies and 2 gentlemen to help and assist with fitting the wetsuits. At
least 1 of each gender needs to be a care worker with knowledge of how to dress disabled people
Station 3
This station will be at the edge of the beach close to the ramp. Here the participants will receive
their beginners surf lesson and instructions on ocean safety etc. This station needs to be manned by
at least 2 Surfing instructors.
Station 4
This station covers the beach area, the people working at this station needs to be fairly fit as it will
be their responsibility to push and help the participant to the edge of the water to station 5. As there
will be 5 participants in each group, no less than 6 people needs to man this station. This allows for 2
trips at a time with 3 volunteers for every participant.
Station 5
This is the most important station. Here, our two main concerns are the safety and the enjoyment of
the participants. There will be 5 participants entering the water at a time. This means that for each
participant there needs to be at least 3 volunteers for each participant. Each of these volunteers must either be a life guard, surfer or surf instructor. The perfect ration would be 1 life guard, 1 instructor and 1 surfer for each participant. For this group to function, a minimum of 20 people is needed, 15 that will be in the water and 5 that will be there as backup to switch out with any of the
other volunteers that might get tired.
Between the stations there will be escorts needed to assist and show the way to the participants.
For this task there will be 6 people needed. 2 Volunteers for station 1 to station 2, 2 volunteers for
station 2 to station 3 and 2 volunteers from station 4 to station 1.
This leaves the total number of volunteers needed for this event at 40 people.
I was involved with this last year. Honestly seeing the pure stoke. Put one major smile on my dial and the guys are legends. You ous all need to be there. Its life changing and one helluva jol. Its a good day out
Cant wait for tomorrow! This year is going to be way bigger than last! 46 participants. This is disability awareness to the max!
[…] past Sunday’s Extreme Abilities Adapted Surfing Day was not only a chance for 47 disabled Capetonians to experience the ‘stoke’ surfing gives to […]