dsa

SOUTH AUSTRALIA BRANCH.

"Have a Go Day"

Sunday 2nd December 2007 Disabled Surfing Association - South Australia "Have A Go Day"

Watching the news on Saturday night saw the weather forecast for Sunday 2nd December 2007 to be a hot one (37o C) with a late change. This was our first "Have A Go Day" on a Sunday afternoon so it looked like being a hot one. Some of the committee were busy picking up all the bits and pieces needed for the day, including trailers, bbq and drink supplies, shelters, awards and prizes.
Sunday morning dawned with the weather fine and a changed forecast of 27o C, with a change of wind after lunch. A bit more civilised for all our participants and even a small swell forecast after lunch. The committee arrived at the Moana Lifesaving Club at 11 am and got stuck into all the jobs. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Moana Lifesaving Club for all the support they give the DSA - SA branch in allowing us to use the facilities. The facilities are perfect for our needs, right on the beach, easy access, shelter against the weather, power for our PA system, bbq, an area to have our presentation of prizes and awards and a bar for a drink after the day.
As we have organised a few "Have A Go Day" now most people know what is needed to be set up and everyone goes about their allocated tasks. The registration area is set up, beach tents for shades, games area for between surf sessions and of course the surfboard and wetsuits are put out.
While the official start time was 1 pm we had a few keen starters role up well before that. The start of the sessions is always tentative because we do not know how many people are going to turn up for the day. Usually the day we have at this time of the year, is a relatively low attended event due to other activities on leading up to Christmas. The lower numbers does not mean the participants, or volunteers, do not have a good day. At the end of every "Have A Go Day" it is hard to figure out who has the most fun, the participants or the volunteers. Without both of these groups, the day would not happen.
The day progressed well with each group of volunteers making sure their participant was safe and having a good time on the boards. As we always have more participants than boards, people go out for awhile and then have a break until they can go out again. During this break some join in the beach games, with beach cricket and volleyball proving to be the most popular on the day.
Not long after we started, the forecasted wind change happened and it was a little cooler on the beach for those of us out of the water. As far as the participants and volunteers went we had trouble getting them out of the water at the end of the day. Everyone had a fantastic time with lots of laughing, splashing and the occasional call for the "Big Kahuna". There were some longer rides; some very short down the face rides and some fantastic wipe outs. Kym "Richo" Richardson (President) managed to pull off the best wipe out of the day, right in front of most of the volunteers.
As always the day had to come to an end and it was time for the BBQ and presentation of prizes, medallions and the raffle draw. There was not one face around that did not have a big smile on it. We had 30 participants for the day, with some new faces and some of the regulars. While this was our first Sunday afternoon session it did not seem to be any less attended because of this. There will always be people who cannot make a Saturday or Sunday but with different options during the year hopefully we can catch as many people as possible for the day.
Once again the committee did a fantastic job of organising the event and we had enough volunteers for the day. Every volunteer and family member who came for the day, should be congratulated for their efforts and hopefully feel that the day is worth while for everybody. Our next event will be in late March, early April 2008 and the ideas of how to put on a better day are already being discussed by the committee. Hopefully we will see all the regulars and some new faces on the day? Stay tuned for more information.

"HAVE A GO"

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The last six months has seen the South Australian DSA take delivery of our new trailer and we held two “Have A Go” days, one at the beginning of December and one at the beginning of April.

We were really excited to finally take delivery of our trailer which had been several months in the making. It was finally finished and ready to pick up just 3 days before the event but with temperatures in the low 40’s we could only apply the vinyl graphics late at night when it had cooled down !!!

Our event at the beginning of December was a real steamer – 42 degrees but it didn’t stop our enthusiastic participants or volunteers from turning up – we still had approx. 25 participants and 50 volunteers which was down on the last event but way higher than we expected given the extreme forecast. Everyone had a great time and managed to get several goes in the surf. We finished off with a sausage sizzle and whilst the presentations were taking place we also got a visit from Santa and his reindeer, much to the delight of all the youngsters.

Our next event in April was a beauty, the weather was absolutely brilliant and the surf was awesome – just perfect. A great time was had by all, plenty of beach games and everyone managed to catch a few decent waves!!! Once again the beach activities were followed by a sausage sizzle and then strangely enough – this time we had a visit by the Easter bunny while the presentations were going on.

A big thanks to all our sponsors who, by way of either cash, services or goods have enabled us to continue putting on a great event for everyone. We continue to learn and improve at each event.

This “off-season” will give us a chance to see what other plans we can put in place to make our “Have A Go” days even more enjoyable and memorable. We are also hoping to hold a fundraiser in a few months.