Surf program takes first steps on Surf Coast

45 children, 19 of which were siblings, took part in the Surfing The Spectrum session.

ORGANISERS of the region’s first surf therapy session for children with autism has hailed the event as a success.

Newcastle-based surf therapy organisation Surfing The Spectrum made its first trip to the Surf Coast’s Anglesea beach to coach practicing surf instructors and host autism-friendly sessions for more than 40 children over two days.

Co-founder and director of Surfing The Spectrum Aimee Blacker said it was long-overdue to make the trip down to Victorian’s surfing heartland.

“It’s been on the agenda for us to make it to the Surf Coast for three years, we had COVID obviously making it tricky to get into Victoria for a while,” Ms Blacker said.

Lauren Hill (second from right) made a guest appearance on the day. Photos: SUPPLIED

“But through our friend Rachael Parker at Ocean Mind, we were able to make this event happen, it was a long time in the making.

“We had a good bunch of local surfers to volunteer on the day and we had kids of all backgrounds with huge smiles on their faces and everyone was just feeling successful on the day.”

About 45 children learned the fundamentals of surfing on Saturday, including where to stand on the board, to how to stand up, before they made their way into the water.

Surfer, writer and director Lauren Hill was a a guest appearance during the program, joining coaches to teach children about surfing.

“There are a few programs out in Western Australia, there’s a lot going on in Queensland and New South Wales, but Victoria and South Australia are the spots we feel really need programs like ours,” Ms Blacker added.

Anglesea Beach provided perfect conditions.

“To reinforce these sessions though, we put a whole bunch of local coaches through a training program so moving forward they could become more autism-informed. This was held a day before the session in Anglesea.”

The training day was co-hosted by Ms Blacker and Jay Mason.

Ms Blacker has been a surf coach for more than 15 years and also works as a paediatric occupational therapist.

Mr Mason is an autistic surfer and educator providing hands-on lived experience with knowledge that surfers can put in to practice straight away.

Surfing The Spectrum will be back on the Surf Coast next summer to train more coaches and host more events.