{"id":112910,"date":"2026-01-30T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?p=112910"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:38:29","slug":"ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing"},"content":{"rendered":"

DISABILITY support group Ocean Heroes is set to return to the Far North Coast, helping change lives for children with autism through free surf lessons run by trained instructors and volunteers.<\/p>\n

The group will hold three events in the region this year, with the first scheduled for Flat Rock Beach on Saturday, February 28.<\/p>\n

Ocean Heroes uses surfing to help young people build confidence, resilience and social connections.<\/p>\n

After running a successful event on the Far North Coast last year, organisers decided to expand the program to give more local families the opportunity to take part.<\/p>\n

“We were testing the waters a bit, but we really saw it as a great growth area and somewhere where there was a need for services like ours,” event organiser Sam Penny said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve seen kids not even enter the water, and it’s a testament to them and their parents to break through that barrier where we now have them out on a board.<\/p>\n

“They can build their own identity in the ocean and it’s a powerful form of connection.”<\/p>\n

Ocean Heroes pairs each child with an experienced surfer who helps them build confidence before heading into the water.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The group will run three events with support from local volunteers at Ballina throughout the year. Photos: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The group supplies all equipment, including surfboards, wetsuits and life jackets, and relies heavily on volunteers to run the events.<\/p>\n

Additional sessions are planned for May and July, with organisers keen to grow their local volunteer base in Ballina and the wider region.<\/p>\n

“We meet each child exactly where they’re at and help welcome them into a vibrant beach-loving community,” Penny said.<\/p>\n

“We’re bringing our core group of volunteers from our base in Sydney.<\/p>\n

“There has been great support from the Ballina region in the past and we’re keen to keep growing those numbers.<\/p>\n

“We can run it fairly thin in terms of volunteers, but we want everyone to enjoy the day, and it also gives us time to talk to parents and service providers who attend.”<\/p>\n

The events are free, with registrations to be made at events.humanitix.com\/host\/ocean-heroes<\/a><\/p>\n

Volunteers can register at oceanheroes.rosterfy.co\/invite\/oceanheroessydney<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DISABILITY support group Ocean Heroes is set to return to the Far North Coast, helping change lives for children with autism through free surf lessons run by trained instructors and volunteers. The group will hold three events in the region this year, with the first scheduled for Flat Rock Beach on Saturday, February 28. Ocean […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":112911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-112910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOcean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballina Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\"},\"headline\":\"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":388,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KA-13.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KA-13.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KA-13.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KA-13.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Ocean Heroes supports kids with autism by teaching them how to surf and build confidence in the water.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ballina Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ballina Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/BallinaTimes.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/BallinaTimes.png\",\"width\":697,\"height\":98,\"caption\":\"Ballina Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\",\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mitchell Craig\"},\"description\":\"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/author\\\/mitchell\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times","description":"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times","og_description":"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/","og_site_name":"Ballina Times","article_published_time":"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mitchell Craig","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mitchell Craig","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/"},"author":{"name":"Mitchell Craig","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc"},"headline":"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing","datePublished":"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/"},"wordCount":388,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/","name":"Ocean Heroes program helps kids with autism build confidence through surfing - Ballina Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-29T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Ocean Heroes returns to the Far North Coast on Feb 28! Free surf lessons for kids with autism help build confidence and connection.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/ocean-heroes-program-helps-kids-with-autism-build-confidence-through-surfing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/KA-13.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Ocean Heroes supports kids with autism by teaching them how to surf and build confidence in the water."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/","name":"Ballina Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization","name":"Ballina Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2024\/07\/BallinaTimes.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2024\/07\/BallinaTimes.png","width":697,"height":98,"caption":"Ballina Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc","name":"Mitchell Craig","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mitchell Craig"},"description":"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/author\/mitchell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112910"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=112910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}