North Cornwall’s innovative Surf Academy gets underway

Eight talented young surfers who won coveted places at North Cornwall District Council’s Surf Academy, met at Treyarnon Bay on Saturday 17th June for their first session with their coaches from Harlyn Surf School.

The eight local youngsters, who either live or go to school in North Cornwall, have been selected for their surfing potential and will get 16 weeks’ free expert tuition to develop their competitive edge.

During the course the students will learn technical and tactical skills to help them develop their balance, timing and positioning.  They will also have physical training and tuition in psychological skills like goal-setting, imagery, visualisation and personal performance analysis.

In addition the coaches will focus on ancillary skills such as fair play, sportsmanship and communication, and giving the students basic lifeguard and surf coaching training.

The academy students are:

• Barnaby Morgan aged 14 and Alex Morgan aged 15 from Porthcothan (Wadebridge School)
• Nathan Bennetts aged 16 from St. Merryn (Wadebridge School)
• Steven Davis  aged 15from Bude (Budehaven Community School)
• Kennan and Robert Fowlie aged 15 from Liskeard (Launceston College)
• Max Marshall aged 15 from Bude (Budehaven Community School)
• Daniel Runnals aged 13from Blisland (Wadebridge School)

Nick Reader from Harlyn Surf School is one of the coaches:

“We had a very good first session on Saturday. We filmed the students surfing and will be reviewing the video and giving them feedback on their performance next week. In the meantime, we have given them things to work on to develop their skills.”

The Surf Academy has been developed as part of North Cornwall District Council’s CREST project.

CREST is regarded nationally as one of the most innovative sports projects in England. The project part of the council’s Leisure Service, received £122,000 of Lottery Sport Funds and provides a programme of lifestyle sports aimed at getting local people more active and introducing them to the natural environment in an exciting way using the existing sub culture of extreme sport.

Councillor Linda Spear from NCDC says: “It’s brilliant to see the surf academy getting underway. I wish the students every success – this is a great opportunity for them, and the expert coaching will give them a real chance to develop their potential as competitive surfers.

The CREST project is being delivered by New Horizons NCDC’s outdoor pursuits unit.

Paul Meadows, NCDC’s Coastal Recreation Officer, explains: “One of the more innovative parts of CREST involves using commercial providers to deliver a number of the activities; this includes the surf academy that is being delivered by Harlyn Bay Surf School following a tender process.

“It is much more effective to recognise that, where we do not have the expertise or resource within NCDC to provide an activity, we should invest in local companies to deliver some of the project, because at the end of the day we want the best experiences for those participating.”


Picture by Mary Neale attached:

Front row L-R:
Barnably Morgan; Steven Davis; Danny Runnals; Alex Morgan

Back Row L-R:
Max Marshall; Nick Reader, (coach): Nathan Bennetts; Rob Fowlie; Ryan Humphreys (coach); Kennan Fowlie.