On Friday afternoon, some of our students gave Noosa’s most iconic sport a try, surfing!!
In Noosa, surfing isn’t just a historic sport here, it’s our lifestyle.
Learning to surf in Noosa is an exciting and memorable experience for anyone who loves the ocean and adventure. With its beautiful beaches, clear warm waters, and consistent gentle waves, Noosa is an ideal location to learn how to surf. It’s a way of life for many people living in Noosa, and there are numerous surf shops, cafes, and bars that cater to surfers. This creates a sense of community and camaraderie among us, which can be a great motivation to keep learning and improving our surfing skills. So, that’s exactly what our students did.
Merricks Learn to Surf School run 2 hour lessons for people of all ages and experience levels. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced surfer, you’ll enjoy a structured class by 2x Australian and World Pro-Am Champion, Merrick, and his elite team of world-class coaches. With their new technology, quality surf boards and teaching techniques you’ll be provided with the skills, drills and style you need to stand up during your first lesson.
We had 9 students join in Merricks Learn to Surf class on Friday afternoon, and it was such a memorable experience for them all!
Merrick taught the students how to paddle, stand up, and ride a wave.
Paddling is an essential skill that you need to learn as it is the primary way to get out to the waves and onto them. To begin with Merrick showed the students to lie on the board and use their arms to paddle.
Standing up is the most exciting part of surfing, but it is also the most challenging. Merrick then guided the students through the process of popping up from your stomach to your feet. He taught us how to position our feet and shift our weight to maintain our balance.
Once the students mastered the basics, they hit the water and started catching some waves! The instructors were there with the students every step of the way, helping them to position themselves correctly and gave them feedback on their techniques. They also taught us about safety in the water, including identifying rips and currents, spotting for dangerous hazards like rocks, how to avoid collisions with other surfers and how to stay safe in the surf zone.
The girls were absolute naturals at surfing and most of them even stood up on their very first wave! They had such good balance that they could ride the waves all the way into the beach.
Below is the Surfing Code of Conduct in Australia.
Right of Way
The surfer closest to the highest point of the wave (the peak) has the right of way on the wave. This means that if you are catching a wave on the right-hand side of its peak and a surfer to the left of you intends to catch the same wave, this surfer has priority and you must get out of their way.
Don’t Drop In
To drop in on a surfer means to disrupt their path on the wave, by taking off on the same wave in front of them. Dropping in on someone is extremely annoying and not to mention dangerous.
Don’t Snake
To snake someone on a wave means a surfer paddles around another surfer in order position himself to get the right of way for a wave. Whilst this does not put anyone in any immediate danger, it is incredibly frustrating. When surfing there is something called a line-up. This is basically a line for catching waves, and snaking someone means you cut in, something that is not accepted by surfers, and will cost you a great deal of respect.
Do Not Throw Your Board
Ditching your board before diving under a wave can be very dangerous, especially if it is crowded. Try to maintain control of and in contact with your board at all times, surfboards are large and heavy and ditching it before you dive under a big wave will eventually lead to someone getting hit in the head. This rule is especially difficult for beginners but building these habits early on will make it much easier in the future.
Communicate What Will You Do
A quick yell, “yep!” or “I’m going left/right!” will allow for other surfers to have sufficient time to get out of your way or decide if they want to catch the wave in the opposite direction. It is important that your communication remains positive so that you do not lose the respect of other surfers in the water.
Give Respect to Gain Respect
Respect is large in the surfing community, and you have to earn it. By following some simple surf etiquette, you will earn the respect of surfers in the line-up and this will make both your surf and their surf safer and more enjoyable.
The girls even got to witness an extremely rare situation at Noosa’s Beach. In the shallow waters, about shin-knee deep, there was a huge bait ball (school of tiny fish) that baby Bull Sharks were feeding on. Everyone was standing around on the beach watching in ore as the sharks were jumping out of the water and splashing around. It was hard to count, but there would have been approximately 100 small sharks feeding on the fish. The surfing instructor’s assured us that we’ll be safe, and the girls were so brave as this did not stop them from getting in the water and learning to surf! They were even stoked to have been a part of a true Australian experience where the wildlife is unpredictable.
Learning to surf is a fun and rewarding experience and you can see the girls were having so much fun by the smiles on their faces and endless laughter out in the water!
Not studying with us yet, but would like to?
Lexis Noosa delivers academic excellence in Australia’s most desirable study location where you can combine your studies with the great outdoors. Studying at Lexis Noosa is more than an experience, it’s a lifestyle! If you want more information on the courses that we offer, click here.
