IT’S SUMMER, AND World Cup games don’t kick off until late in the afternoon. So you’ve got ample time to get out there and try your hand (and feet) at a new sporting pastime.
Over the coming (hopefully stone-splitting) month’s we’ll bring you some top tips on how to take on those sports you’ve always liked the look of, but didn’t quite get around to. This week… surfing!
Give it a go if… You like water and looking foolish initially.
What you need: A starter’s board, a wet suit if you’re going to try it in Ireland and some persistence.
I can’t afford any/all of that, now what? There’s plenty of places from Garrettstown to Bundoran offering lessons. You can expect to pay around €90 for a weekend course or in and around the €30 mark for single beginner’s lessons.
Anything I can do before taking it on? The movement of a Burpee, below, is perfectly adaptable to the motion of coming up from a position of lying flat to standing on your feet. And if you have a BOSU ball (that bouncy-half-a-ball thing) then you can use it to build up you balance with squats or other dynamic movements.
Top tip: Above all, listen to your surf instructor. But as Peter Collins of John McCarthy Surf School in Lahinch points out, you will use your arms an awful lot when surfing.
That’s how you get your board up to speed with a wave so that it can sweep you along, so be prepared for a lot of short bursts in a freestyle swimming motion.
