SURFING Australia chief executive officer Chris Mater can think of around two million reasons why surfing should be the sport of choice for young Australians.
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He was in Port Macquarie on December 1 to mark the start of summer as well as create awareness about the prospect of becoming a surfer for life.
A surf program aimed at five to 12-year-old's titled SurfGroms provides an opportunity for kids to start their surfing career in the hope of following in the footsteps of local hero Matt Banting.
It caters for young surfers and offers five separate skill levels nationally with two distinct age categories - MiniGroms (5-8 years old) and SuperGroms (9-12 years old).
"Surfing is growing - there are over two million recreational surfers in Australia," Mr Mater said.
"A lot more women and girls have taken up the sport along with more kids and the surfboards are now softer and along with technology has made it safer and easier for kids to learn."
The focus of the program is on friendship, fitness, fun and teaching the groms water safety with the program ranging from eight weeks in a row to four days straight.
"I think surfing is a fabulous sport; we live on an island and we're by the water so from my experiences it's super fun and a really enjoyable thing to do."
- Surfing Australia CEO Chris Mater
"I think surfing is a fabulous sport; we live on an island and we're by the water so from my experiences it's super fun and a really enjoyable thing to do.
"It's a way to keep fit while we help young kids learn about the beach, water and ocean safety."
Mr Mater said there are 120 surf school across their network along with more than 200 boardrider clubs situated up and down the coastline around the country.
"It's important for us to get out and talk to people as well as learning about their businesses, challenges and opportunities," he said.
"We're not really directing it at any specific age group.
"The two divisions are both really important but the kids are at different learning stages so our programs are designed around being age appropriate with their skills.
"The only requirement is you've got to be able to swim and that's it. If you've never surfed or been to the beach we can get you surfing straight away."
To book your lesson, head to https://www.surfgroms.com/.
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