Surf’s Up!

09 December 2021

Did you know that in the first weekend of December, we held our first face-to-face activity since we came out of lockdown? Across Saturday and Sunday, we made two surf trips to the sprawling beaches of Anglesea with our Challenge teens and what a blast we had!

Before the weekend kicked off, the group was provided some words of encouragement from world class surfers, Tom Carroll and Isabella Nichols. You can check out their videos on our YouTube channel!

The weather was chilly at times – good old La Nina! – but the sun still managed to break through and come out to deliver us a beautiful weekend as we embarked on our surfing escapades. Some of us were like “fish out of water” as we tried our skills on paddle boards for the very first time, while others took up the sport more naturally… watch out, Tom and Isabella!

It was such an amazing weekend and most importantly, it was fantastic to be out in the community again with our Challenge troopers. With ongoing restrictions and lockdowns, we were uncertain if we would be able to pull this weekend together and although there were some obstacles thrown our way, we managed to get it off the ground and into the sea! To see our members laughing, smiling, and breaking out of their comfort zone made the wait all worth it.

A big thank you to the incredible Cathie Morcom and our extraordinary volunteers, who made this weekend possible! We needed someone to step up when Tom, our Camps and Activities Coordinator, had a COVID scare and was forced to sideline himself for the weekend to err on the side of caution. Cathie raised her hand and made sure these kids enjoyed the weekend!

We are looking forward to many brighter and sunnier moments like the weekend just gone by.