For the youth surf team of Surfers Paradise the surf season is over. A bit late you might think, but experts know that autumn can still cause some waves and that the North Sea water is still a lot warmer than, say, April or the Easter holidays.
The 31 "rats", all between 8 and 16 years old, trained in different groups every Sunday afternoon from 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm from April onwards, to prepare for the apotheosis of their season: a real surf trip to Imsouane in Morocco, accompanied by their surf coaches. An unsightly little fishing village situated on a large sheltered bay where the waves roll in beautifully. In the autumn holidays, the 27 of them stayed there for a full week under the same roof to surf every day from sunrise to sunset, about 6-8 hours each time. Not only did they get weekly surf training, but also exercises and work outs to become stronger and to paddle powerful and long. Even when there were no waves on a Sunday afternoon, various side activities were organised such as skimboarding, foiling, skateboarding, wakeboarding on Lakeside Paradise, or other surf-related activities. Joint training courses in collaboration with Wind- en Watersport Vlaanderen, participation in competitions and analysing video images were also popular moments. It became a close-knit group of friends who shared their passion on and off the water and had a regular, healthy activity every Sunday afternoon.
Next year the training sessions will start again every week from April. If you want to be there and be trained to be a real surfer, send an e-mail to info@surfersparadise.be and you will get all the necessary information.
New for 2019 are the Paradise surfing "chicks", with the same goal but with young ladies of the same age. So from April 2017 all girls between 8 and 16 years old can also come here for their weekly training and their share of surfing fun.