Surf group helps empower girls

A SURFING program that focuses on developing junior and teenage girls is now operating across Ballina and Lennox Head.

Surf Getaways is running an eight-week program with its female instructors aiming to coach the next crop of junior talent.

Classes are tailored to multiple skill levels and help empower girls in a group setting.

Serena Adams lives at Byron Bay and is one of the original coaches who oversees the program as its director.

She said the program suited younger children and teenage girls.

“These programs came from our women’s surf clinics with the mothers loving the quality of coaching in a safe environment that they asked for their kids to be taught by us,” she said.

“Our coaching team consists of local female coaches, who range in age from 16 to 60 years old.

“They are all super-confident ocean women and show the younger girls that they can have surfing in their life, they can own their place in the waves.”

The classes are mobile and are held on beaches between Ballina and Lennox Head.

Skills covered include controlling the board while paddling through the waves on broken and clean waves, how to surf with other people, surfing etiquette and being comfortable under water.

“Our coaching sessions provide a supportive environment and focus on individual goals as well as group interaction and fun,” Adams said.

“It’s an amazing experience to watch one of your young surfers go from wary of the ocean and having difficulty even lying on the board to a few years later super-confident out the back catching green waves and having a surf with you.

“The laughter and chatter in the waves as a group, when you hear this you know they are comfortable. Another highlight is when you see the kids surfing with their family on the weekends or during the school holidays.”

To register for the program visit surfgetaways.com.au/teen-surf-clinics.