Disabled Surfers Association
At work this Christmas we’ve spent a bit of time thinking about how to help a few good causes, and one cause I’ve been introduced to is the New Zealand branch of the Disabled Surfers Association. Disabled Surfers was started in Australia about 20 years ago, and New Zealand is the first international branch.
The goal of the DSA is all about giving people of any disability the chance to experience the thrill of surfing. They run events each year over summer, where participants are teamed up with experienced and trained surfing instructors with the equipment needed to help them actually catch a few waves whether lying down tandem, sitting, kneeling or standing. Typically the ratio of particpants to instructors is 1:6 so it is a totally safe and supportive enironment. Pretty cool really.
The DSA is a not-for-profit association relying on volunteers and donations to fund it’s activities so particularly if you are based in New Zealand check out the local branch. Any kind of support would be gratefully received. As a new organization in NZ they are hard at the fund raising right now so they can afford to get more of the equipment they need.
