Friends take to the water for new skills

A STAND-up paddle boarding session for multicultural young people was held at Lake Esmond last Thursday afternoon.

Surfing Victoria and the Centre for Multicultural Youth partnered to deliver the event, which aimed to teach young people new skills and get them socialising on and off the water.

Program coordinator Ali Deane said Surfing Victoria received funding support from VicHealth to bring a group of 10 to 25 year olds together and encourage them to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.

“It’s all about a healthy, active lifestyle,” she said. “Some of them have paddled before with their families, but many are just learning.

“We had about 25 people today, and they were a great group. We did a safety talk and a lesson on the bank of Lake Esmond, and took everyone out with our qualified instructors.

“When they’ve got their courage up, we play games.”

Ms Deane said the sport is easy to learn and calming, which creates the perfect space for young people to mix and mingle.

“Once you’ve got the basics, you can forget about paddling, just talk, play follow the leader, or tiggy,” she said.

“It’s a nice social sport because some others are a lot harder. Anyone can learn the basics within an hour.”

CMY multicultural youth worker Bree Morrison said the afternoon was an opportunity to hold an end-of-year celebration.

“Not everyone was keen to paddle board, but they were all keen on getting together, socialising, having some food by the lake and playing games,” she said.

“At the start of the year, we asked our Youth Advisory Group what was important to them, and they wanted more social interaction, so today is a chance for the young people to get out of the isolated period they’ve been in and hang out.

“There are young people here today that were fairly isolated that have made friends through CMY, so we’re very happy.”

Sixteen-year-old Ballarat High School student Thu Nguyen is part of CMY’s mental health group, and said she enjoyed mixing with people from all different backgrounds and cultures at Lake Esmond.

“It’s great to socialise, communicate, talk and get to know one another,” she said.

“We started the afternoon with an icebreaker, we set up games by the lake, and had some food together. I’ve made a really good friend through CMY.”

Another stand-up paddle boarding session will be held on Wednesday, 7 December at Lake Esmond. Surfing Victoria staff will return to Ballarat in March as part of Harmony Week.