Accessible Surfing for All
As part of our mission to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in surfing throughout Ireland, our team of experienced surf instructors work with people with various abilities to ensure that ‘sport for all’ is a reality within our surf school.
Our surf instructors are very experienced in working with children and adults of various abilities. Since 2009 Kingdomwaves has been associated with the Surf2Heal programme, which is a therapeutic surfing programme for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Surf2Heal Kerry is a week-long camp, run on Banna Beach with our instructors helping to provide lessons and support to the children, their families and volunteers.
The sea can have enormous benefits for children with autism. The freedom of the beach, the sound of the ocean, and the experience of surfing combine to help children deal with the sensory issues they face each day.
These benefits are not confined to people with ASD, we at KingdomWaves Surf School would like to promote the benefits of surfing to people of all ages and abilities. By working with our instructors on a one-to-one basis or in a group, we will tailor each of our lessons to accommodate every level and ability, to ensure that our passion for surfing is passed onto our students.
We have one simple requirement, which is that a student must be able to wear a wetsuit. Once this is possible then so is surfing – for everyone!
Working with IT Tralee
Adapted Physical Activity is a module in the B.Sc in Health & Leisure taught by Tomas Awylard, a lecturer in the college. In September 2009 Tomas came to us with the idea of adapting surfing as a physical activity for varying abilities. This was something we had no experience of previously but it was something that we were both very open to and also keen to try. With the help of Tomas’s knowledge and experience in APA and our own experience in teaching surfing we are glad to say that we have learnt a lot over the past 3 years. As it turns out, surfing is a sport that is relatively easy to adapt, with the use of specific equipment, planning, and the right attitude.
Since 2009 we have assisted in training students studying APA in the IT and we have also put the training into practice by assisting students in taking out clients with all kinds of abilities. Examples include clients with vision impairment, lack of hearing, autism, and also varying other physical disabilities. This normally happens during the months of September and October so it is a great opportunity for groups to come and give surfing a go in a supervised environment with plenty of help on hand.[/tab]
Links of Interest
Surf2Heal Kerry
Surf2Heal Kerry
Surf2Heal Kerry
Surf2Heal Kerry
Surf2Heal Kerry