Surfing is not just a fun water sport, it’s an experience that can make a difference in a child’s life. It offers a wide range of physical, mental and emotional developmental benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to building self-confidence.
If you are still unsure or think you are lacking information, here are some of the benefits that make it worth considering as an activity for your children.
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Benefits of surfing for children and youth
Connection with nature
In a world where technology is present and immersed in much of everyday life, surfing offers children the opportunity to disconnect, immerse themselves in the ocean and experience the grandeur and calm of nature. Connect with its sounds, smells, feel the wind, generating a sense of tranquility and serenity that tends to help relieve anxiety and stress. Children can learn to ride waves while developing a sense of belonging and appreciation for the environment.
Fundamental skills
This sport also promotes extremely important skills such as balance, coordination and concentration. Surfing requires attention in the present moment, as children learn to paddle, stand up on the board and navigate the waves, they are developing fine and gross motor skills that will be useful in many aspects of their lives.
Self-confidence and self-esteem
In addition, surfing is an excellent way to build self-confidence and self-esteem in children and youth. As they overcome challenges and reach new goals in the water, they are building a sense of accomplishment and success that will stay with them throughout their lives. It is critical that they are guided by experienced and passionate instructors who encourage them to push their limits and reach their full potential.
Social skills and teamwork
As solitary as surfing may seem, teamwork is fundamental and involves developing social and emotional skills. In surf lessons and surfcamps, children have the opportunity to interact with other children from different corners of Spain and abroad.
Through the teamwork, collaboration and camaraderie fostered in the surfing environment, they learn to communicate, resolve conflicts and help each other. In addition, the diversity of experiences and cultural backgrounds enriches their understanding of the world and allows them to form friendships. Surfcamps are a great opportunity to build bonds that will last beyond the summer.
Surfing is much more than a sport; it is an enriching experience that will have a positive impact on the life of a child, a teenager or an adult. Surfing has no age, it can be started and practiced at any time.
If you’re looking for an exciting, fun and beneficial activity for your kids this summer, the answer is a surf camp. surfcamp.
We recommend the best surf schools in Spain
Cantabria Surf School
The Cantabrian Surf School has been in Somo for 33 years. It was founded in 1991 by David “Capi” Garcia, with whom we have had the pleasure to talk. A true enthusiast, who has had a life full of surfing and waves. He has been practicing the sport since he was 7 years old, guided by his father and uncles, who are part of the first generation of surfers in Cantabria.
At the age of 16 and at a time when surfing was not popular, but was considered an underground sport, he set up the first surf school in Spain with the aim of continuing to compete and travel. It started on the beach, with a sign and two boards indicating “I give surf lessons” to become the renowned surf school it is today. They have a large headquarters on the beach and different options surfcamps, accommodation, surfhostels and classes.
The Cantabrian Surf School is a school of surfers for surfers, they don’t just teach the sport, they teach culture, values, techniques and a thousand tips and stories that only a surfer can share. David mentions: “The main motto of my school is: learn to surf for real, basically without coloring or sweeteners. Learn surfing with a real surfer, who has learned surfing from his parents, who has been surfing all his life, who has been on the beach of Somo forever and is a great connoisseur of the beach”.
As for the essence of the sport and its benefits, David believes that “Surfing is a sport that from the first day gives you feelings that people who have been surfing all our lives also have. That is, that happiness that surfing gives you of disconnection that fills the beaches with smiles. It gives you a unique connection with the water that gives you a different kind of peace. Think that we are made of water, from before we are born the fetus is in water”.
He also mentions that surfing does not understand sex, religion, race, it is a sport that unites and opens many doors. Thirdly, it is not only a sport, it is a philosophy of life that generates a connection with lifelong learning, that is, it always proposes new challenges and objectives.
The Cantabrian Surf School offers a variety of proposals: from courses and daily camps, to summer surf camps. With incredible instructors, combining surfing with camping, it offers other activities such as ukulele lessons, animal flow, enjoying the ocean and the beach and getting in touch with nature and other children, generating a sense of belonging and promoting socialization and teamwork.
Best surf camp for kids in Cantabria
The surf camps are an excellent opportunity to connect with other children and cultures, children and young people not only from all over Spain, but also from all over the world, from the rest of Europe, Asia and the United States.
David mentions “I see that at the end of the week everyone has a super experience, so I recommend to all people who want to start in the world of surfing, a surf camp. That they get good advice, that they look for professional and experienced people. In the end, as in everything, that first contact is super important, there will be key to your continuity in the world of surfing. It will be something that will accompany you for the rest of your life.
Discover all the options that Cantabria Surf School has to offer and experience how surfing can transform your child’s life or even yours. Tell us about your experience!
Blue Salt School
Blue Salt School is the first school located in Barcelona dedicated to unite under the same concept sea sports and a healthy lifestyle associated with it. It was founded 6 years ago by Ginés and Albert (two surf and sea lovers) together with Eva and Josep (passionate about art, design, skateboarding and nature).
Ginés Pedrero, with whom we had the pleasure of speaking, has been surfing and enjoying the sea for more than 18 years, as he mentions. Since he was very young he wanted to surf, so he learned and started in a school in Asturias and since then he has practiced the sport all his life.
Together with Albert, also passionate about the sea, always in contact with nature, SUP and SURF lover and with many years of experience in schools and living for surfing, they founded Blue Salt, making their passion a profession.
At the same time, Ginés’ wife Eva is the director and founder of lamono magazine, which combines art, photography and skateboarding. Photography, art and creativity are part of their DNA. So, together, they propose a surf school related to the sea, to transmit the enjoyment of everything that surfing means to Ginés, traveling while practicing the sport, friendships, what he has learned over the years, fused with the environment, awareness, healthy living and art.
Blue Salt is a surf school for people who want to enjoy the sea in Barcelona, a city of Sea. They have various activities every day so that people can feel the sea, from surfing to SUP, SUP Yoga, Summer Trips to Asturias, Morocco, the Canary Islands, birthdays, schools, and casales. Ginés mentions: “it is a surf club where people are united, new friends are created, groups, all in contact with the sea and nature, there is a lot of family”.
Blue Salt does not focus on a specific activity, but invites you to enjoy the sea with all kinds of activities, prioritizing the union.
Best surf camp for kids in Barcelona
The Summer Surf Camps, as well as the different activities, are a great option to begin to feel the contact with the sea and the sport during the summer. Ginés emphasizes that “it is an environment where you enjoy the sea, sea activities, away from everyone, leaving aside computers and cell phones. In the end you are there and what you want is to enjoy yourself, be in nature, do sports, a healthy life. Surfing also leads you to make many friends, in a healthy and wholesome environment, of great benefit both physically and mentally.
The school is located at the Plataforma Marina del Fòrum, so being a private area, it is fully available for the surf school. The children do not share the beach with other people who do not belong to the school, making the experience more controlled and allowing them to enjoy it to the fullest. At the same time, they work with qualified professionals with proven experience in each of the areas.
Blue Salt School is an official school of the Catalan Spanish Surfing Federation and is also the champion school of the SUPrace Catalunya circuit in the team category. Among its many projects and activities, they are currently working on one called Blue Soler, it is the first international medical study, to demonstrate medically that paddle surfing is beneficial for people. It has a pilot test of eight patients with a bone pathology.
Ginés invites everyone to try the experience and mentions “We want people in Barcelona to live a salute to the sea and enjoy the sea, to enjoy the things that are a passion for those of us who lead a way of life of enjoying the sea, respecting it and doing sports“.
Explore all the options that the Blue Salt School has for your children, so they can enjoy the sea and the sun to the fullest this summer. Tell us about your experience!
Maresme Waves
Maresme Waves, located a few meters from the sea, in front of the port of El Masnou, is much more than a surf and paddle surf club, it is a meeting point and community of lovers of the sea and its sports. Today, Maresme Waves is a watersport school with multiactivity.
Robert Lawrence Arasa Ribas, one of its founders, began skateboarding from a very young age and years later to surf, thanks to the influence of a friend who invited him to the beach of Montgat. From there he fell in love with both the sport and the sea, and at the age of 25 he started the project of setting up a surf school, driven by the desire to teach and transmit his passions.
Robert mentions that his main motivation was based on “that need or that desire to be able to dedicate yourself to it, right? To be able, above all, to train people, to teach and educate. Because it’s not just surfing the wave, in the end there is an education behind it, rules, a coexistence with people while you’re surfing. “.
Initially he founded a skate school for children, along with a friend. Then the beach and the sea brought him together with another surfer, Ismael Saez, who also had his own school, and they decided to join forces, starting Maresme Waves in 2015. Robert mentions “Above all I think that something that moved us at the beginning is to work in a totally altruistic way to bring, promote and publicize both surfing, skateboarding, paddle surfing“.
The main value that drives the school is to know how to live together, to create a community in which respect is the basis. As Robert mentions, one of his passions is “wanting to transmit it, teach it and make it available to other children and other people. In the end, whether you like it or not, this becomes a way of life, of learning to live and let live in a respectful and humble way. I believe that this is all this for me, to have a humility and tolerance based on the environment and on people, I think this is what has moved me the most and what I try to instill or educate or teach my students”.
Maresme Waves is a very close school, which has a close relationship with each of the students, seeks to create a community where people feel at ease, can enjoy the beach, the sea, sports, meet people, travel.
Best water activities and surf camps for kids in El Masnou
This year Maresme Waves has expanded its range of water activities, so that no one is left out and everyone can come and enjoy the sea: from surfing, windsurfing, wingfoil, catamaran, Catalan skate, paddle surfing, kayaking and more.
The summer campus is a great option for children ages 6 to 16 to connect with the sea and experience a wide range of water activities. Robert emphasizes: “Apart from the fact that it’s great fun for the children, we try to bring them closer to what life at sea is like. It’s very interesting, we have the Mediterranean Sea and they can learn how to sail, they also learn about safety, how to interact, gain confidence and autonomy. When they finish these summer weeks at the house, the children leave with a completely different idea of what the sea is and with a much more developed autonomy and confidence“.
Robert invites everyone, children, youth and adults, to enjoy the sea all year round; each of the seasons has its own charm and a wealth of water activities to connect with the sea and nature and relax.
Get to know all the Maresme Waves activities for your kids and start their connection with the sea and sports!
Bibliography:
- Universidad de la República Higher Institute of Physical Education Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education Thesis
