WHAT AGE IS GOOD TO START SURFING?

If you’ve been to the beach in San Francisco, you have probably noticed surfers, walking to or from the ocean with surf boards. Sometimes we drive to “Soul Grind Café” in Pacifica for lunch, which is located close to the beach, which seems to be a favored spot by the surfers.

When I asked a surfer friend what is a good age to start surfing, he said, “At an early age”. This came to mind during our recent vacation to Kauai. When we arrived to the Poipu area where we stayed for a week, I noticed the construction of an elevated podium close to our timeshare. The next morning at 7am, I went to watch a surfing competition for children below the age of fourteen.

176 girls and boys were registered to compete. When I asked a woman on the shore about her son, who was a good surfer, at what age he started, and how old he was now, she said, “he is now eleven, and he started at seven”. Online I learned that the best age to start is between seven and nine. But there are certain surfing camps that teach children as young as five years of age. These three images are of the brave kids I have encountered.

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