Adaptive Surfing for people with disabilities.

Adaptive Surfing was introduced to the disabled community of South Africa for the first time in 2011 and the first event hosted 15 disabled individuals. Every year the event grew in size to a point where numerous adaptive surf clubs has sprouted nation wide. Follow the links below for full event reviews on each of the events we hosted since the inception of Adaptive Surfing in South Africa as well as other adaptive surf events organized by other like minded groups that followed the path we set out. At the moment Adaptive Surfing is in a fast paced developing stage on an international scale with the first ever World Adaptive Surfing Championships that was hosted in 2015 with 17 countries that represented. If you are a South African resident with a disability and you surf or have surfed before your disability, please contact us for more information on adaptive surf clubs in South Africa and we will put you in contact with an adaptive surf club near you. If there is no club near you and you are as passionate about surfing like us, we will help you start your own club.

Weskus Surfing Club - Establishing a Surf Culture

Extreme Abilities set out in 2011 with a mission to create a platform where disabled people can gain access to the ocean and learn to surf with their disabilities. With great success, there are now numerous adaptive surfing clubs all over South Africa and there has already been four national championships and five world championships since the first adaptive surf event was held in South Africa in 2011 and Extreme Abilities is proud to have been the spark that started it all. We have shifted and expanded our focus on not just disabled people, but now the youth of the West Coast too, will be able to gain access to the ocean and learn to surf. Without a surf culture that generates interest and cultivates talent, it is extremely difficult to host events for disabled people when there are no able people surfing in the region. After meeting with the NSRI at their Seapoint HQ on 30 August 2019, Extreme Abilities has agreed to work with the NSRI towards establishing life saving clubs in three locations through out the West Coast Peninsula; Saldanha, Paternoster and Laignville (St Helena Bay) that was identified by the Saldanha Municipality and then each site was assessed for risk by NSRI representatives.

Our Goals

Short term

·      Establish a surf lifesaving club on the west coast peninsula
·      Teach youth surf disciplines to host first surf competition
·      First surf trip to Jeffreys Bay as a team for winter festival 2021

Long term

·      Train lifeguards and establish three fully manned stations on WC Peninsula by 2025
·      Three clubs with five people each (15 Lifeguards) enrolled
·      Have a surf club infrastructure where school students in Saldanhabay Municipal area have access to the surf/lifesaving competition platforms

Timeline of events

2011 Big Bay

2012 Big Bay

2013 Big Bay

2014 Strand

2015 Big Bay

Adaptive Surfing initiatives in South Africa

2015 Adaptive Surf Road Show

Durban's first Adaptive Surf Event

ISA World Adaptive Surf Championship, California

Believe in Schatzi, Muizenberg

Adaptive Surfing South Africa

Walking on Waves, Mosselbaai

Made for More, Durban

Support us by making an EFT donation...

Extreme Abilities is a registered article 18 A non profit organisation, which means tax reclaim benefits for you.

Account Holder: Extreme Abilities Community Works NPC
Name of Bank: Nedbank
Branch Name: Vredenburg
Branch Code: 198765
Account Number: 1080042733
Account type: Cheque/Current
SWIFT code: NEDSZAJJ

...or by donating your old surfboards and wetsuits

Being at the forefront of adaptive surfing world wide, having to innovate and find new ways to surf, we need equipment that we can modify and test to the limits. A lot of beginner adaptive surfers don't have the resources to attain their own gear and equipment. Extreme Abilities serve as a platform where those less privileged can have access to adaptive surf gear. If you have old boards, wetsuits, surf/dive gear, we would greatly appreciate any donations. Contact us and we will make collection arrangements.