Article and photos by Kelly Drewnowski, Southeast Region Director
On a bright, sunny Saturday in June, more than 35 women and young girls from five states gathered on the sands of the North Croatan Surfing Area in Virginia Beach, Virginia to partake in a one-day surf camp with the goal of learning a new sport in a fun, supportive environment.
The weather could not have been better that morning as the participants checked in and received their swag bags (reusable grocery bags for the adults and backpacks for the girls) loaded with sunscreen, lip balm, coffee, koozies, surf camp t-shirts, stickers, wipes, and more, all donated by our great local and national partners.
Once everyone was aquatinted, it was time to start the onshore portion of camp. Lead Instructor, Wes Laine, a former top 10 ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Tour competitor, shared his surfing knowledge and experience while going over proper surf etiquette and ocean safety with the group.
The ladies stretched to warm up while they listened to the waves and soaked in the summer sun.
Wes and his staff taught step-by-step instructions on how to paddle and pop-up at the right time on the board.
They also made sure everyone knew where to place each foot for the best balance and maneuverability.
After a few demonstrations and selecting the proper length boards, the ladies split out into smaller groups with the instructors for more hands on learning.
Then it was time to practice paddling and popping up on land before taking it to the sea.
The instructors worked together to make sure all of the participants knew what they were doing and ensured they were well prepared before getting into the water.
After some dry land exercises the ladies were ready to drag their boards out and test their new knowledge in the waves.
The coaches were great about making sure the younger participants understood how to float the surfboards out perpendicular to the shore so the waves wouldn’t push the boards back into them.
Friends old and new supported one another as they took on the challenge of learning to surf together.
Some of the younger ladies even got a few free rides out past the breakers.
Frequently the smiles were larger than the waves they were riding!
Such a cool sight as the ocean was full of SheJumpers and several were starting to get the hang of it!
It was great to see everyone smiling and cheering each other on, even though many had just met.
At some point everyone fell off…
but more importantly, they each got back up…
and were still smiling!
Wes and his staff were patient, encouraging, and awesome as they helped everyone to experience the thrill of surfing.
It wasn’t long before the ladies were riding waves and loving it.
Wes again lived up to his promise of getting everyone surfing by the end of the day!
For some, there might not have been as much coaching necessary, but they still had a blast catching waves in an all female surf session!
Wes and his staff did a fantastic job of instructing and keeping everyone safe and smiling while they learned to surf in this awesome, supportive environment.
Although many were exhausted after several hours of wave riding, they still were grinning as they started to trickle back onto shore to rest and refuel.
After participants enjoyed delicious boxed lunches delivered from Taste Unlimited, the drawing for lots of awesome raffle prizes was held to raise money to support future SheJumps events.
The SURF hats from Athleta were a huge hit, along with everything else. Many took home either raffle prizes and/or some new SheJumps Girafficorn gear!
The best part of the day was seeing all of the smiles as everyone supported each other and celebrated a successful surf session together!
For most of the participants this was this very first SheJumps event. Many new friends came from afar, some 5 hours away, to get in on the SheJumps stoke at this awesome surf camp!
Several groups of mothers and daughters came out to bond while learning to surf together!
So awesome to see how excited the next generation is about SheJumps! Keep your eye out for another increase in Girafficorn sightings in the Southeast thanks to everyone’s generous support.
We’d like to give a big thanks to Wes Laine and the staff of Wes Laine Surf Camps for helping SheJumps put together this amazing Outdoor Education event. We’d also like to thank our local partners: Taste Unlimited for the delicious boxed lunches, gift certificate and koozies, Athleta at Hill Top for the backpacks and several great raffle prizes, Duke Automotive for the great swag bags, and Coastal Edge for the fun shirts!
Also a big thank you to our national partners EcoLips, Treeline Coffee Roasters, Essential Wipes, Rumpl, SunSki, Coola, Mountain Khakis, Western Rise, and Big Agnes for all the great swag and raffle prizes! Without each of these partners we wouldn’t be able to host such awesome events. Please support them as they have supported each of us in our endeavor to learn something new!
And a huge thank you to SheJumps volunteers Holly Carlson and Landon Figg who helped on event day. Thank you ladies, your stoke for SheJumps is truly awesome and we couldn’t have put this on without your assistance!
A final thanks to all the ladies and girls who tried something new and learn to surf with SheJumps. We had a fantastic time and are so appreciative of everyone supporting this awesome organization! We can’t wait to see each of you at future SJ events!
SheJumps into Surfing was a fun way to learn new skills, meet new friends and have a great time with fellow female outdoor enthusiast while spreading the word about SheJumps! We can’t wait to team up with Wes and his crew again to offer another SheJumps into Surfing event!