Achievement Blog – Surfing Success

In this month’s Achievement blog, mum Jane shares her daughter Natalie’s surfing success, and how she quickly became a Surfer Dude!

Hello this is Natalie.

One Christmas while we were watching TV, an advert came on and it showed people surfing. Natalie, who has always loved the water, immediately said, “I want to do that.”

I have always told Natalie she can do anything, even if that means thinking of different ways of doing it. So I agreed that if she was still keen come the summer I would sort it out.

True to her word, when summer arrived, she was still up for surfing and I started contacting surf schools in the Newquay area. A few weren’t very helpful and “mmmed” and “ahhh’d” about having a child with a visual impairment taking a lesson with them. But then I came across the Big Green Surf School. Dale who runs it couldn’t have been more helpful and positive.

We arranged for Natalie to take part in a group session but with a one to one instructor with her.

Off we went to Newquay, very excited and me a bit nervous for her, but she loved it. The group were fantastic and she was included and kept up with the other beginners.

By the time I collected her she was part of the gang, high-fiving everyone and being called ‘dude’. I loved seeing her so happy and enjoying a sport.

We now go back every year and the excitement is still there.

Resources

Find out more about the Big Green Surf School on their website: biggreensurfschool.com

Read more about accessible hobbies and leisure activities in the Leisure Section of the Portal

Read our other Achievement Blogs in the Stories Section

Would you like to share your child’s achievement on the VICTA Parent Portal? If so, contact us on parents@victa.org.uk