Displaying items by tag: Freedom Surf School

20th May 2013

Learn To Surf - Through Irish!

#Surfing - Fancy learning to surf as Gaeilge? One surf school in the sunny southeast is giving international visitors the opportunity to do just that.

The Freedom Surf School in Tramore, Co Waterford offers 'Ireland's only accredited surfing certificate course through the Irish language'.

And in time for The Gathering initiative, this summer the school is running a series of surf camps for developing oral skills through actively learning the language.

These five-day camps involve classroom tuition in the mornings, while the afternoons will be spent surfing trí Ghaeilge - all led by qualified Irish teachers and surf instructors.

For more details visit the Freedom Surf School website HERE.

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Surf2heal a Success in Tramore

This year's Surf2heal programme in Tramore has been hailed as a huge success, Waterford Today reports.

http://www.waterford-today.ie/waterford-sport/13528-high-five-for-surf-2-heal-13528.html

The annual nationwide surfing camp for children with autism pairs each child with four volunteers to help them have fun with the surf experience, with the aim of building their confidence, balance, co-ordination and communication skills.

http://www.afloat.ie/watersport/surfing/

In Tramore, Freedom Surf School provided its facilities and equipment free of charge to both the volunteers and children.

"Each year the camp keeps getting bigger and bigger," said Pam Butler, Surf2heal co-ordinator in Tramore. "But without the invaluable volunteers we couldn't make it happen."

This year's Surf2heal programme in Tramore has been hailed as a huge success, Waterford Today reports.

The annual nationwide surfing camp for children with autism pairs each child with four volunteers to help them have fun with the surf experience, with the aim of building their confidence, balance, co-ordination and communication skills.

In Tramore, Freedom Surf School provided its facilities and equipment free of charge to both the volunteers and children.

"Each year the camp keeps getting bigger and bigger," said Pam Butler, Surf2heal co-ordinator in Tramore. "But without the invaluable volunteers we couldn't make it happen."

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.