Currumbin Alley QLD

It was a hot summers day, the water a perfect temperature and lots of sunscreen and zinc applied.  The point was overcrowded but still punching through a few fun waves. Though only two mums turned up it still was exciting that the group had restarted up offically again.  I did have a couple of mums interested but their bubs had become sick, maybe next time we will have more of a turn out and share the experience 'THE SURFING MUMS EXPERIENCE'.  Davina and I took our turns out in the big blue pond while the kids(Jazi and Haylee) ran after seagulls and played with the life guards stereo/eski (which i'm sure he had to retune back to his radio station).  We decided to stay longer as there was only two of us.  The kids weren't complaining about this strategy, as more sandcastles could be built and lots more fun to be had.   When it was time to go,we packed up and ran as fast as we could across the sand which was overwhelming hot, we headed home a bit burnt and with sandy smiles and tired kids.  Hope to get more mums in the water next time.  KEEP SMILING

Surfcoast Victoria

The Surfcoast Surfing Mums Inc. group held their inaugural meeting on Saturday, 2nd February, 2008 at Torquay Point.

Lucky mums (and their surfing dads and kids):
Naomi, hubby Adrian, Sammy 9, Christy 6 and Mia 4 months. Debbie, 13yo son who was ripping up the waves already. Michelle, whose hubby came later with Mia 19 months. Mary, hubby Trent and Fred 4 months (Mary's first surf since having Fred!). And Janelle who came down to say hi with little Willis.

It was an early start, the kids were all packed and ready to go, the anticipation had been building over the last couple of days. The feeling brought me back to being a kid when you were dreading noone would turn up to your birthday party.

What a delight to find three surfing mums and their families already getting to know each other at the designated meeting spot.

The waves were fairly lumpy, and the take off area shifting regularly with the outgoing tide. This didn't stop the girls getting out almost immediately. My husband offered to pick up coffees, most declined, shifting their attention to the task of wrestling with their steamers. Yes, even though it was a warm morning for Torquay, and we could have gotten away with boardies, it is not uncommon to see surfers down this way in steamers all year round.

Suffice to say we were all absolutely stoked with the waves, the enjoyment of surfing with other women, and knowing how pleased our husbands were for us getting back into the blue stuff. Can't wait to meet all the other mums who couldn't make it to this meeting.

Our next two meetings will be held from 8am at Torquay Point, on Saturday 9th and 16th February. Stay tuned in the forums or email me for up-to-date meeting details. Cheers, Naomi.

 

Tweed Heads

The sun was shining as 9 mums and their little cuties got together for their first Surfing Mums meeting at Rainbow Bay. The mums has a good chat and got to know each other a little more. There was no surfing this time, as the first meeting was to get to know one-and-other and become familiar with each other’s kids. 

We had a special visit by Vanessa who drove up with Jen and the kids from Byron. Everyone was stoked to meet Vanessa and place a face to the Surfing Mums Originator.

Sarah of Currumbin managed to come and say hi regardless of her being called in to work. Julie drove from Logan which is a fair drive so we promised her that she could surf at every meeting if she liked. Janine and Bronja skipped their playgroup class to come along and join the fun. I can see these two getting together more often to enjoy surfing. Jenny and Miss Taige turned up and Isabel, who just had a baby two weeks before enjoyed having a yarn.

The older kids had fun at the playground while mums were back and forth to check on them and chat. The smaller ones were quite content who either played with their toys and enjoyed the surroundings or slept.

Our next meeting will be held at 9am at Snapper Playgrounds on 11 October.

October Group News

The Tweed Heads/Coolangatta’s second meeting was on 11 October. The waves were tiny and the wind was strong. The meeting was held at Scooterini Café in Coolangatta. Isabel and myself along with baby Ella and Island were the only ones to make it due to poor weather and other commitments. We enjoyed coffee and brunch and a good chat about parenting and routines. Hoping for better waves and weather for our next meeting on 8 Novemebr at Greenmount playground at 9am NSW time.

 

Albany Western Australia

The first meeting was off to a rainy, cold and windy start with the local surf break ripped to shreds and too wild too surf! They will try again in October.

 

Eastern Beaches Sydney

April 08

Last Friday's meeting saw about 5 mums & bubs attend which was just super. The weather was great & Huey turned on a small but clean fun swell. Because there was so many of us we were finally able to go surf in two's which was fun. Leanne & Maria took the first shift, then Miriam & Suzy went out together. Gina came down as well & we got to meet Gina's beautiful new baby boy, Kai. Gina was so stoked to finally get back out there after giving birth just a week or so ago.
 
I forgot to discuss with you all the offer that was made to us by Brenda Miley of Let's Go Surfing. Aside from the free training session, she's also offerred a discount at her surf shop & surf school. The most exciting thing she's offerred is a surfboard for us to raffle. We need to have a chat soon so I can reply to Brenda - she's been an absolute champion with the support she has offerred.
 
Maria, thanks for that link, it's great hey.

Unfortunately the forecast for tommorrow's surf conditions is pretty grim & it's going to be cold. I'd love to meet anyway, grab a cuppa & let the kids have a play - it's great that they're getting to know each other, Amy treats Finlay like her little bro. She's always looking out for him & sharing her food with him etc. It's so precious watching the children interact.
 
In saying that, there's always something for us mums to catch up on when we have some free time so if most of you would rather give it a miss that's cool too.
 
A text will go out tonite anyway so we'll see what everyone wants to do.

December

It was a great show at our last meeting on Friday 30th. We had about 6 mums turn up and most of us had a surf. It was small but surfable and just getting in the water was fabulous. Alanya, Miriam, Heather & myself got some waves while Gina & Tess were great looking after our kids. It was great to have such a turn out & great to see you all again. It was a real nice vibe & a great day.
 
After we surfed we met the film crew from ABC Insiders & we went to the surf club to be filmed & interviewed. We apperared on their show on Sunday morning & for those who missed it, I have attached it to this email. It was a real fun thing to do once our nerves subsided and it was a buzz to watch it. Amy went straight up to the TV & pointed saying "there's mummy". I think for now though I'll stick to my day job.
 
Next meeting is this Friday 7th December at 9am. Hope to see you there.
 

October

Well we had a great day surfing yesterday. The weather was beautiful and the waves were about 2 to 3 foot & real fun until the wind came up. My daughter had a great time with the other kids though we're still learning about sharing. Julia, Leanne & Miriam got into the water and Kayla & new member Gina were there also, there was also mum-to-be Suzy who's getting in early.
 
I had a suggestion to start to meet twice a week for those that can't make wednesdays, so from next week onwards I'll be there friday as well and I'll see how successful it turns out to be, I'll let you know the time - maybe make it earlier for better conditions. Once again please send any suggestions that will make it more convenient for you to come have a surf. I get such a buzz from this and I just want as many of you to join in as possible.
 
Also some of you would have got an SMS from me about the TV show ABC Inside Edition. Well they still really want to interview & film us & they are calling me later today to make a date for next month some time. We'd like as many of you there as possible, at this stage I'm going to make it on a Wednesday in about a months time. Please send me suggestions if you can't make it & we'll see what we can do.

August

The Maroubra to Bondi (name to be confirmed) group had their first meeting last Wednesday 1st August. We had about 9 mums with bubs showed up, and there were a few interested mums who couldn’t be there then but rang and are keen, so we should end up with a nice little group.

We were all very excited and are very keen to get things going. We all chatted away and gave our info, got to know each other a little and spoke about working together to make this work for us.

Our meetings will be Wednesday 10am fortnightly. The next one being Wednesday 15th August.

All in all it was a productive meeting with us starting the list of peoples names, email addresses, availability etc.

The God’s were also smiling upon us that day, as it was the most glorious winters day I’ve seen in a while.

I’ll try & get some pics from our next meeting for you so you can see it.

 

 

Northern Beaches Sydney

January 2008

We were lucky the week’s rain cleared this morning for our first meeting at the enclosed playground at Dee Why.  Four mums turned up, Tina, Cristen, Esther and Bec - three with their gorgeous littlies (see photo), and we swapped contact details and organised another meet time for a surf next week - maybe at Freshwater, Manly or Curl Curl.  Two of the mums don’t even live beachside but have well and truly caught the bug since first trying surfing in 2004.   At this stage we agreed to have a regular monthly meeting and surf on the 3rd Sunday of each month.  In the meantime we’ll text/email each other to arrange a surf.

 

February 2008

We had great weather for our 2nd meeting but decided against a surf at Dee Why after a surfdad reported he’d been stung by a bluebottle that morning, and so had his mate.  There was also a carnival thingo on and it looked a little crowded out.  It was nice to have a bit of a chat and a coffee anyway at the playground.  A couple of us moved on to Manly, where we received great tips from a very friendly Manly Surf School instructor about the best spot to try there, pointing out a channel to use to paddle out etc etc.  He also took one of our flyers.  So Cristen (baby free that morning) and I had a great little surf and my son had fun with his boogie board.  In between our January and February meeting, different members of our (so far small) group managed to meet up a few times either for a surf, swim or coffee.

March 2008

Only 2 Mums managed to get to our meeting this month (Tina with Cody and Bec with Sol), due to various reasons such as “overseas visitors”, “taxi run to the airport” and “big night” (!!) preventing some Mums from making it.

 

We decided to have a quick swim at Dee Why and via text arranged for a possible surf meet later in the week.  Later in the day, I met up with surfmum Cristen and baby Georgia (after her airport taxi run was done) and we had a great day at Mona Vale.  Surf baby Georgia had a great time trying out Sol’s boogy board – she had the ‘chest up’ paddling technique worked out real well and she had an absolute ball.  Perfect weather, perfect day.

The previous Friday four surfmums managed to get to Dee Why to meet the photographer, Ros, from the Manly Daily, and a couple of us even got a quick surf in afterwards. Yay!  Surfkid Cody wasn’t too keen on the whole photoshoot idea, but Ros eventually got it all sorted.  Surfkid Sol even got the day off school (hello 2R!) to be included in the photo, and he spent the rest of the day having a great time on his boogy board.

Welcome to new surfmum Sally and gorgeous baby Ella.  Sad farewell to surfmum Cristen and baby Georgia who are heading off to Melbourne next week, with plans to hookup with the Torquay mob – hooray for the great surfingmums network!

 

South Sunshine Coast Meeting News

August

The first Sunshine Coast meeting had a good turn out with 4 mums starting off the network of Surfing Mums in their area. They have made a time to meet next week already with boards in hand to let the kids get to know each other and test the waters for some actual surf time.We are looking forward to hearing from them as the group grows!

 

August (second meeting)

so it was just Daniele and I which worked out great the surf was no good at Maroochydore so we went to Collum which is 20min north and found a great little spot it was glassy and perfect weather crazy for the middle of winter, the kids were angels and everyone had a ball.
 

October

We met up today and went to Yaroomba pocket it was about three foot at the point strong winds bit of a mission with the kids stairs and sand dunes, Girls went out on the dumpy shoreys. It was a fun and exhausting day.
 

 

North Sunshine Coast

Well, what a great day we had!  11 mums met at First Bay (Coolum) for the our first gathering and we picked a perfect day.  The sun was shining, the waves were breaking and the kids were playing happily in the sand.  It was great to see so many mums enjoying some beach time!  Yolanda, Louise, Lauren, Michelle, Caroline and I all managed to get some time on our boards while the other mums were happy to chat and get to know each other a bit better.  

The mums all got along really well and we've decided to run along the same lines as the Byron group - meeting fortnightly as a group (once a month just doesn't seem like enough!) and having surf mum buddies that we can call upon during the week when the surf is good.  We're going to be mobile depending on where the waves are, how great is text messaging for a surf check?!  With four or more mums (and a dad) who couldn't make it today though, we'll be meeting again next Thursday so that these new mums can join in.

Well Huey has been smiling upon us lately and its just been too good not to meet each week... Five mums met again today at First Bay for some great waves and hot, hot sun! Maybe over the Christmas holidays we could meet earlier to avoid the hottest part of the day? Next Thursday is the first Thursday of the month, so I'll be looking forward to seeing heaps of you for a surf... As always, I'll text in the morning to let you know conditions and where we'll be.

January Meeting

The Northern Sunshine Branch of Surfing Mums got off to a great start for the year today after weeks of relentless wind and rain! It was a great beach day today with beautiful little peelers coming through First Point and Johnson's. About 10 members made the drive up to Noosa to compete with the crowds, but it was worth it to get back in the water and get some great long point-break rides...

The Channel 7 News team joined us for a while and we were all happy to get in front of the camera and talk about how great surfing mums is! We love it up here! Big thanks to Judy, who was here for the first time and, at 3 months pregnant, agreed to be our demo mum and get out and catch some waves for the cameras.

With ever growing numbers we're a pretty friendly and contented bunch
- if you're on the Sunshine Coast on any give Thursday, be sure to drop us a line and come for a surf!

 

Perth Meeting News

Perth Surfing Mums June Meeting
Huey shined on us again when we met at Trigg for the second time, with winter sun, offshores and a clean groundswell running. Still just two mums - this time I was joined by Maria, mother to three boys and keen to get back into surfing after a while out of the water. The kids got to know each other in the playground while the mums chatted, then it was onto the beach where I was able to take advantage of the perfect conditions. If it turns on like this every time we meet we'll have to meet more often!
Next meeting will be sometime in July, after the school holidays. In the meantime if anyone wants to contact me then please drop me an email. Even if you haven't been to a meeting, I might be able to link you up with a surf buddy!

Perth Surfing Mums First Meeting
It was the perfect Autumn day for the first Perth Surfing Mums meeting at Trigg Point on Thursday 10 May. If this was the birth of our group, then it was a peaceful home-birth, attended by just two mums and their littlies. With other interested Mums out due to sick kids, back injuries, travel and work commitments, it's easy to understand why surfing mums are like over-excited grommets when they actually get to hit the water! Remember when it was only the wind and waves that needed to come together? Even Christine, who came along with her smiley 9 month old son, was temporarily sidelined, having sustained a very impressive injury at swimming lessons. So whilst Chris kindly watched the two kids, I was able to take advantage of the great conditions. Yippee! How rejuvenating it was to be sitting out the back in crystal clear water, beneath blue skies and sunshine, with a howling offshore whipping the spray off the back of the waves. Thanks to Chris and a nice clean swell I managed to get a few in before returning to relieve her of her duties. Having said our farewells, it was time to take my very keen three year old out for a go on her new foamie, aquired the previous day courtesy of a kerbside cleanup. Thanks to Mum (who should have known
better) she soon experienced her first wipeout, sliding off the front after being pushed onto a wave. The look on the face when she surfaced was priceless - eyes popping out, hair plastered to the head. “Nice work, Mum”, I'm thinking, “now she probably won't want to go surfing again until she's 20”. The board was relegated to the shore and we stuck to wave jumping.
Fortunately my resiliant youngest child is a bit of a tough nut and seems to have seen the funny side of her brush with Mother Nature.
She has been re-telling the story with relish all week like a seasoned grom. I see a big wave charger in the making...
Stay tuned for the date of our next meeting, which we’ll schedule for a Sunday in the hope that everyone can make it.
Happy surfing
Pippa

 

Cronulla Group News

The coordinator Katie is featured in the profile section so make sure you introduce yourself if you see her out in the surf or get a long to the meeting to start Cronulla's first network of surfing mums. Good Luck Cronulla! It will be a happier place for having more mums in the surf.

 

 

Byron Bay Group News

March Easter Egg Hunt

The surfing mums got together to watch the kids go crazy at an easter egg hunt. We sat back and enjoyed drinks and nibbles while the kids fought over easter eggs and generally had a great time for two hours!

November Xmas Party

We got our christmas party in before the rest of the festive season could take up too much of our time! The kids got a visit from santa clause (that would be me) and the adults got to catch up and share a few drinks. The kids probably made themselves sick on chips and dips, but as usual they took the bikes to the grassy knoll and tore it up, much like their parents in the surf!! Fun was had by all, and it was Surfing Mums one year anniversary as well- so thanks to everyone for all the support over the past year.

 

October Meeting

It was a wild and windy day in the bay with the strong North Easterly wind keeping us mothers shivering and the kids in the water. My son took up station beneath the Pass stairs charging all sightseers for the privilege of walking up the stairs and enjoying the view. It was funny until he wouldn't let any other kids join him and a screaming match resulted. The joys of an only child!

We had a small group show up (about 5 mums) as to be expected considering the weather and the predicted school holiday crowds. We ended up at the Pass cafe sheltering from the wind and having coffees and ice creams at the Pass cafe. We can only hope next month will bring waves and off shore winds.

September Meeting

What a lovely meet we had on a gorgeous spring day at the Pass. The waves were nothing special but a few fun ones came through. The kids had a ball, between tandem surf board rides with me and catching waves with Jodies husband on the kayak the fun never stopped! I even had a go at stand up paddle boarding on Julia's 10 footer with a kayak paddle- we were a sight to see! We had two new mums come along so its good to know there are surfers that are having babies and moving to fill the ranks of Surfing Mums. Most of the mums that started out in Byron now have kids that are nearing school age which means we will have more time to surf and will get to surf with our friends rather than one of us always on the beach with the kids. I really felt like there was such a nice atmosphere today with the kids all knowing each other and playing in the water- I felt like Surfing Mums is such a wonderful phenomena!

Click here for Previous Byron Bay Meeting News

 

 

Surfing Mums Byron Bay Contact: vanessa@surfingmums.com

Group Guidelines:

Think it’s a great idea? Set up a surfing mums group in your local area.

We have set up the below suggestions to help everyone create consistency no matter were your group is located.

You can contact me on vanessa@surfingmums.com.au for tips on how to promote the group and to register your group with us. We will then post information as to dates and times for your meetings and news from the group as well as include members in the profile sections so perspective mums can see if they might relate to anyone in the group before attending.

All Surfing Mums groups must be part of Surfing Mums Incorporated to benefit from the insurance coverage. Find out how to join here.

Surfing Mum Inc. Group Coordinators Role

1. Surfing Mums groups are registered with www.surfingmums.com.au and all participants are a Surfing Mums Incorporated member
2. Surfing Mums group use the www.surfingmums.com.au site to communicate with members

3. Surfing Mums welcome all parents or guardians of children who surf or want to learn to surf or their children surf ,into the club with out prejudice or discrimination of any kind
4. Surfing Mums groups meet monthly in a location that allows access for all people
5. Surfing Mums meetings must be held in a safe area with duty of care taken for all members, however no liability is accepted for any of the members as all participation is voluntary
6. Surfing Mums support the needs of all members to the best of their ability
7. Area coordinators must be financial members of the association. They must collect membership fees and signed membership forms from their members. They act as a local contact person for their group and provide meeting dates and locations.

8. Surfing Mums may attend an annual meeting for their chapter
9. All new coordinators are to advise www.surfingmums.com.au of their appointment
10. Coordinators must provide www.surfingmums.com.au with a monthly news from their area
11. All coordinators are to try their best to source and provide 1 article annually to the www.surfingmums.com.au webpage

* *Please be aware we are only coordinators of this activity and you participate at your own risk. We hold no responsibility for any participants safety. All involvement is voluntary.