I’m absolutely chuffed and proud to be a finalist in the @UKCoaching Awards for the Changing Lives Award!! https://www.ukcoaching.org/events/our-awards
Thanks to my surfers and friends, Natasha Davies and Mark Hagger for nominating me and to the ISA, Surfing England, and the Adaptive Surfing Community for the friendship, community and support it took to get here!
Walton on Thames, Elmbridge, Surrey August 21-23 2020
8 SUP coaches from Ditton’s Paddle Boarding took part in the first Coach Rescue course since the UK lockdown in March.
The course was hosted at a superb private location right on the banks of the river Thames arranged by Brett Scillitoe, Admiral of Dittons, with Surfing England and SLSGB trainer/assessor Andy Joyce.
Subjects covered included practical skills, safety, communication, risk analysis and assessment, SUP rescue, and First Aid.
The days started with theory and dry land practical sessions, followed in the afternoon by a lot of enjoyable water-based practical sessions in the surprisingly mild temperatures of the summertime Thames.
“It was great to be able to get back to doing what I love, helping people become safer coaches in and on the water and enable them to perform quality rescues in emergency situations. The students finally got the long-waited opportunity to complete the internationally recognised course and showed this in the way they applied themselves during the courses.” Andy Joyce
” Andy was a great instructor and all the students commented on how well he guided them through all parts of the course, with care and consideration. Nothing was ever a bother to go through again. They were all very keen to get going and practice their new skills.” Brett Scillitoe
Surf Steps provide this and other safety courses that are suitable for all watersports users, not just lifesavers and coaches.
If you are interested in any information regarding these, feel free to contact Trainer: Andy (andy@surfsteps.co.uk) or Ditton’s Paddle Boarding https://dpbclub.co/contact-us/
Last week, after a long time in lockdown, the Surfing England Adaptive (Para) Surf crew got together on Monday the 20th July in Porthtowan for a long-needed team catch up and surf!
Blessed with great weather and easy conditions, a lot of the core team made it for the day with some new surfers joining as well. We also had the great surprise of Bruno Hansen, Danish prone surfing world champion turning up to say hi!
It provided a great opportunity to look at equipment, technical aspects of surfing, and renewing and developing the relationships between the group as a whole.
The day was arranged by Andy Joyce, Surfing England’s Para Surf Team Manager and Melissa Reid, Britain’s first woman’s World Champion surfer (VI) at her home break of Porthtowan. We were grateful for the amazing support by the following companies and people:
-The Wave Project for organisational assistance and the use of their beach wheelchair.
-Spike Kane and The Wave for the use of the prone board for Tash.
–Snugg and Swell for the use of their boards and wetsuits.
–Caroline Kearsley Photography (ckearsleyphotography@gmail.com) for the amazing shots of the group featured here. For more of her work, click here
The team are looking at having another training session in September, stay tuned for more of the action!
If you are interested in finding out more and/or supporting the Para Surf team in any way, please do not hesitate to contact Andy ( +44 7941508531 or andy@surfsteps.co.uk)
Surfing England helped bring some of our wide surfing community together on the evenings of the 13-14 May to take part in an ISA Judging and Officiating course.
In addition to the English course members starting their Judging journey, we had surfers wanting to improve their competition performance and students from Ireland, Norway and China!
Surfing England / ISA Course presenter and National Para Surf Team Manager Andy Joyce hosted the course, in conjunction with Ben Kewell from Glide Surf School
Academy director Andy Joyce said “I loved running the Judging course online, it’s theory and interactive video based, so works well in the online format. I would thoroughly recommend taking this course if you’re anyway involved in competitive surfing, be it an aspiring judge or official, competing surfer, or even a parent or supporter of one”
A course student reflected on the course:
“Thought the course was excellently presented and the use of the zoom platform was a great option during these difficult times. The breakout room feature was fantastic tool, the ability to see the rest of the course attendees and chat in the breaks was great. Its safe and eco-friendly, means folks can join from overseas without the expense of travel. Worked really well on many fronts. I stayed for most of the heats after and my scores were within a few .2’s or .5’s of the on-screen scores so stoked with that, nice to practice!”
If you want a wide range of #Surf and #SUP coaching, Judging and safety courses you can do from anywhere in the world, click here
Special thanks to all involved in the course for making it happen: The students, Glide Surf School, the ISA and Surfing England for their support!
Last week’s ISA Surf Coach course has highlighted other positive aspects of our online courses. We reached out across the globe this time, having students from as far apart as Senegal and Ecuador taking part!
Surf Steps Water Training Academy hosted the course, in conjunction with Ben Kewell from Glide Surf School
Academy director Andy Joyce said “It’s amazing the global reach our online courses are having. When you can have people from different continents meeting each other from their homes, the opportunities for networking are immense! In addition, the courses allow people in lockdown to socialise and do something constructive. It feels great to be making a small, but positive difference in these times!”
One course student wrote:
“The two sessions were very interesting, and we enjoyed them a lot. It was cool having people from everywhere around the world. It was very well organized and I loved the break out groups! It was really fun to hear and share experiences with the others in smaller groups:-)”
If you want a wide range of #Surf and #SUP coaching, judging and safety courses you can do from anywhere in the world, click here
Special thanks to all involved in the course for making it happen: Glide Surf School, the ISA and Surfing England for their support!
On the back of running the first International Surfing Association (ISA) Judging and Surf Coach online courses, we successfully ran the Premiere ISA Flat-Water Stand-Up Paddle Board (FWSUP) Coaching course last weekend.
The Scottish Surfing Federation (SSF) engaged Surf Steps Water Training Academy to run the course for 6 of their members in lock-down all over Scotland, ably assisted by Ben Kewell from Glide Surf School. We were fortunate to also have viewers from all over the globe, including representatives from the surfing Federations of Denmark and India.
Our new course resources and structure, based on feedback from the other online courses, allowed us to deliver the FWSUP course in a more enjoyable and satisfying format.
If you want a wide range of #Surf and #SUP coaching, judging and safety courses you can do from anywhere in the world, click here
Special thanks to all involved in the course for making it happen: The Scottish Surfing Federation, Glide Surf School and to the DSRF and the ISA for their support!
Last week we successfully ran the first International Surfing Association (ISA) Judging and Surf Coach online courses. Great effort from all involved: developing new resources, doing the pre-course preparations and adapting to the new online course environment!
If you want a wide range of #Surf and #SUP coaching, judging and safety courses you can do from anywhere in the world, click here
Special thanks to: DSRF, Glide Surf School and the ISA for making this happen!!
Discounts available for multi-course and group bookings!
I can arrange other courses and dates on request, ideal for centres, schools and large groups. Contact us for more details.
March
20-22 Surf Coach rescue £295, Bournemouth
22 LG Proficiency exam (with half-day refresher training.) £80 (£120) Bournemouth
23-24 level one SURF £350, Bournemouth
July
2-3 level one SURF £350, Bournemouth
4-6 Surf Coach rescue £295, Bournemouth
5 LG Proficiency exam (with half-day refresher training.) £80 (£120) Bournemouth
6-7 Flat water SUP £295, Bournemouth
October
15-16 level one SURF £350, Bournemouth
17-19 Surf Coach rescue £295, Bournemouth
18 LG Proficiency exam (with half-day refresher training.) £80 (£120) Bournemouth
19-20 Flat water SUP £295, Bournemouth
To book, go to http://surfsteps.co.uk/bookings.php go to the booking calendar. Select the dates and the tab “get qualified” .
Please contact us for further queries or info.
Surf Steps Water Training Academy 