The drama at the surfing competition in Tahiti during the Paris Olympics may have made you eager to ride some waves yourself.
Surfing has been hailed as a great sport to improve your cardiovascular fitness, balance and coordination.
“Surfing is a great form of exercise. It is total body exercise working all the major muscle groups but especially the core, the chest, back and arms,” explains Sam Davies, CEO and co-founder of Surfwell Limited, a community interest company that provides surf therapy to people in the emergency services who struggle with their mental health.
The experience of riding a wave for the first time is like no other.
“The feeling of riding a wave is completely unique, it’s a feeling that cannot fail to bring a smile to your face when you experience it for the first time,” explains Davies. “It’s exhilarating and exciting, but it also gives you a feeling of connection to nature and the world around you, to be able to directly harness the natural energy from the ocean for your enjoyment is an incredible feeling.
“I love surfing because it can be so many things depending on what I need from it. It can be exercise, it can be a release, it can be a reset in difficult times, it can be a form of identity – but above all, it is always fun!”
Davies co-founded Surfwell Ltd with James Mallows in 2018 in response to the national mental health crisis within UK emergency services as they strongly believe that surfing has a vast array of mental benefits.
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“The mental benefits to surfing are absolutely huge,” says Davies. “The immersion in nature, the cold water, the challenge of a new activity all lead many people to experience profound changes in mood and psychological wellbeing. By spending time in the ocean and through surfing, it really is an extremely powerful tool to help tackle so many different mental health issues.”
When going surfing for the first time it is important to stay safe, so Davies recommends going to a lifeguarded beach or booking a session with a reputable surf school that has trained instructors.
There are so many amazing beaches dotted around the UK and Ireland that are ideal for surfing, but here are a few of the best.
Whitesands Bay
Pembrokeshire, Wales
Whitesands is a large west-facing expanse…
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