From Christmas parties and camping trips, to Mums nights out and backyard cinemas, Surfing Mums members nationwide have been living their best lives this summer.

Perth Surfing Mums kicked off the summer with a family camping trip to Yallingup. Despite some atrocious weather on the drive down from Perth the weather turned around what followed was a weekend of glassy waves and fun had by parents and kids alike.

If you’re reading this and thinking “that sounds epic, I’d love some tips for organising this in our own group” read on…

Perth coordinators Elka & Anna were super organised and got the ball rolling back in March creating a facebook event and inviting all members to it. This gave everyone plenty of time to work it into their schedule. They talked to the campsite and created a group booking for members to book under so people could camp close together. On the weekend of the camping trip they used the facebook event to communicate easily with the whole group, organise swaps and alert everyone to when they were going out to dinner, a group chat on WhatsApp or Messenger would also work well for this purpose.

Central Coast Surfing Mums farewelled former president and princess of the point, Carla Wilson. With her youngest child now attending school, Carla joins the Surfing Mums alumni, enjoying kid free surfs at her leisure. The Central Coast crew organised a special night out at a local restaurant followed by a moonlit dip at their local beach. Over the years Carla has imparted some sage advice or as her Surfing Mums crew like to call it “Carla’s Commandments” (see pic). Carla had a few final pearls of wisdom she wanted to share with the community, and I think we can all agree that she knows what she is talking about:

• “The babies won’t remember you left and the kids will thank you when they are older for being a better mum - so get out there!”
• “Surfing is like a roller coaster- when think you’re on a downhill remember the incline is just around the corner!”
• “Don’t look down. Eyes up, hands up and steer with your boobs 😜!”
• “Remember life really IS so much better when you’re a Surfing Mum!”

  Thanks for all your years of dedication to Surfing Mums, stay salty Carla!

Sydney’s Avalon group will host their annual back yard cinema  courtesy of Surfing Mum extraordinaire, Mel Dolph. Mel has been hosting this event in her lush jungle garden since 2017 (when her husband got a projector for his birthday… thanks for the loan Larry!). Each year she invites the whole Avalon group and puts the call out for recommendations for a women focused surf movie. According to Mel “when we started it was pretty slim pickings for films featuring women, but I am happy to report that the tide is changing on that and we have had some amazing quality films to choose from for the last few years”.

Here are Mel’s tips for how to organise your own backyard movie night: “Beg, steal or borrow a projector, sew some large white sheets together for a screen, set a date at least a couple of months ahead so people can work it into their schedule and invite your crew. We usually do cinema nights at the beginning and end of day light savings so that it is dark that bit earlier. It is an easy, fun, and cheap night out. Everyone brings a plate and their own drink. It is nice to have a night just for the Mums to catch up without the interruption of little ones (as much as we do love them).