The Beaches are Open and So Are We!

Southern California beaches are officially back open! After months of being cooped up inside, we couldn’t be more excited to spend more time at the beach this summer, and we know we’re not alone. Unfortunately, life won’t be totally back to normal for some time and safely re-opening for surf lessons means taking new precautions in order to keep our staff and students safe and healthy. Here’s what you need to know about taking a surf lesson with us right now.

Expect Social Distancing

Forget the handshake and say hello with a shaka!

While there’s no way we can guarantee you that you and your instructor will be able to stay 6 feet apart in the water, we’re doing our best to abide by social distancing rules when out on dry land. Plan on shooting your instructor a shaka hello rather than going in for a handshake! We request that students wear their masks when finding their instructors and changing into wetsuits. State rules permit masks not to be worn in the water (of course) and during outdoor exercise when social distancing is possible. During the beach portion of our surf lessons, our instructors will maintain their distance and guide pop-up practice vocally, avoiding hands on adjustments entirely.

Our Instructors Will Be Regularly Tested

Surf lessons, particularly for beginners, innately include some degree of person-to-person contact. Wearing a mask in the water would be extremely dangerous both for our staff and students, and while try to abide by the 6 foot rule as much as we can, it’s not possible to maintain for the duration of the lesson.

Luckily, recent studies have shown that regular testing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19. As a mobile school, we’re not able to offer onsite testing ourselves, but we have committed to compensating our team for their time spent getting tested.

Students are also highly encouraged to get tested before their lesson. Free testing is available in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego.

If you think you might be sick, please stay home.

While our cancellation policy is usually pretty strict, we’ve made some changes to make sure you don’t feel like you have to make the choice between loosing out on what you paid for and doing the right thing for yourself and others.

If you’ve received a positive Covid-19 test, have symptoms that haven’t been diagnosed yet, or think you might have come into contact with someone who has it, we are waiving our $50 reschedule fee so you don’t have to worry about missing out. Just let us know when you’re officially cleared, and we’ll get you out for a heavy dose of vitamin sea!

Parking might be unpredictable

Some cities have closed or limited main beach parking lots

In order to re-open the beaches safely, some cities, have closed or limited the capacity of some of the main beach parking lots we typically use as meeting places. While we’re trying our best to give our students the most up to date and accurate parking information, please plan on giving yourself extra time to find street parking and account for unexpected lot closures. Our private lessons are scheduled to start and end on time at the designated meeting are.

Surf Camp Will Look a Little Different

Camp has officially been approved to Re-Open!

The City of Huntington Beach has officially given us the go ahead to re-open our children’s surf camp. We know that after months of home-schooling, parents not only need a break, but also need child care so they can return to work. In order to serve the local Huntington Beach community, we’ve worked with the city to create a plan that will allow us to keep campers as safe as possible.

During Drop Off:

• To reduce congregating, our team will meet you and your child in the grassy area next to the sidewalk and the beach stairs at 9th St.
• Please arrive with your printed and signed liability waiver (to avoid the sharing of pens)
• Each child and staff member will have their temperature read and recorded with a no-touch forehead thermometer upon arrival. Any child with a fever will not be permitted into the camp for the day.
• All staff will be wearing masks during the drop-off process and during parent interaction.
• All staff members and children will have their hands sanitized before joining the group.
• Your child will be issued a wetsuit to use for the week, and parents are asked to assist the child in putting the wetsuit on  at the beginning of surf camp in order to limit instructor-to-surfer contact.
• Our instructors will escort the surfers down to the beach to the Wavehuggers canopies.

During Surf Camp

• Our entire group will be divided into 2-3 smaller groups between 10 and 15 surfers (depending on total number of sign ups). Groups will be socially distanced from each other during the entire week.
• There will be two surf sessions within the 4-hour time frame with a snack break in-between. We will provide buckets to create hand washing stations so surfers can wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap prior to eating food. After snack break, surfers will re-apply sunscreen and sanitize hands before engaging in other activities and surfing.
• Parents are expected to assist the surfers out of their wetsuits at the end of the camp session and take the wetsuit home with the kids to prevent any mix up with the wetsuits during the week. Surfers should arrive the next day either wearing the wetsuit already or ready to put it on with parents’ help before being dropped off.** Surfers who are registered for just a drop-in day session need to return the wetsuit to the beach manager after each day. (After each week of camp, wetsuits will be soaked in anti-bacterial soap prior to the next use.) If you are interested in purchasing a wetsuit for your child to keep, let us know and we will give you more information!

Check out Video Surf Coaching – A New Way to Learn!

For surfers who want to limit in person interaction almost entirely but would still like a way to improve their technique, we’ve partnered with pro surfer Holly Beck to offer video surf coaching! Experienced surfers who can paddle out on their own have the option to either send us your footage or have one of our masked filmers meet them at a beach of their choice and film their surf session! Footage will then be sent to Holly who will edit it with voice over coaching and send clips of your best waves to share with friends! Video coaching can also be added to a surf lesson for those who still want in-water coaching as well. Sign up today!

Questions? Call Us!

While lockdowns are lifting, we know that getting back to some version of normal life right now requires some extra thought and careful planning. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 310.910.9099.