Saturday’s
14TH annual Illawarra region DSA ‘Have A Go Day’, held
at Thirroul, its traditional home, was a great success despite the
foreboding weather.
The
DSA’s protective deity, Huey, held off the approaching southerly until
just after the participants had finished for the day and were under
cover enjoying the 4 course meal at the Thirroul SLSC.
The
27 of the 29 participants came from as far as Bowral and Sydney but
the last 2 came from NZ and Sweden. “Despite the overcast skies and
onshore breeze, Sweden’s Sebastian Forzsea, could not believe us Aussies
were all decked out in wetsuits”, said DSASC president Ian Picton.
Sebastian,
a paraplegic, had never been surfing before and said it was a “brilliant
sensation” and asked when the DSA was setting up a branch in Sweden.
NZ’s
Curtis Palmer, himself a partial quad, was out here as the on air
reporter for a TV production covering some of the DSA members before
and during the event. Like Sebastian this was his first surfing experience
and the smile on his face said it all.
After
the pool work was finalised, for familiarisation with surfboards and
amphibious wheelchairs, the whole group were off to the surf.
With
small surf and low tide working favourably in conjunction, and with
Huey holding back the maelstrom, ‘smiles on dials’ were order of the
day.
A
solid 2 hours surfing finished on a high note with the legendary Kelly
McCann (Tracks Surfing magazine calls her “the bravest surfer
on the planet”) surfing 8 waves with her retinue of 30 helpers, constantly
being respirated with a hand held resuscitator.
At the closing awards ceremony
the major prize winners were:
Most
courageous effort of the day:
Sean Loves (Wombarra)
Wave
of the day:
Louise Kitching (Bowral)
Wipeout
of the day:
Curtis Palmer and Marty Reed (Bulli)
Most
Inspirational of the day:
Kelly (perpetual award) and Louise
Best
tube of the day:
Towradgi’s
John Soloman
Surfer
of the day:
first time surfer Koby O’Neill shared the award with Engadine’s Sarah
Walsh who consistently rode the waves to the beach wearing out her
prosthetic right leg (she gets a new one next week).
The
conclusion came with Ian thanking the Thirroul SLSC, the local surf
industry, the Royal Order of the Amaranth (for their donation of 2
boards and a shade tent), Mrs Mae Smith, Mrs Sue Ollis and Mick Van
Opstal from the Southern Collieries Surf Competition who all made
substantial monetary donations to the branch, and the many local schools
who had helpers at the event.
And
then it pissed down rain.
Seasons
greetings everyone - Jim.
‘Broulee
Rips!’
NOTE:
Click on Pictures to Enlarge & Double Click to Reduce
Saturday
25th November, 2006 Inaugural Bateman’s Bay region’s DSA
‘Have A Go Day’
held at North
Broulee Beach was
simply brilliant.
Over
100 participants, carers and helpers were treated to perfect conditions,
as the accompanying photo(s) confirm, at a venue that is ideal for
Disabled Surfing events with it’s gentle rolling waves over a slightly
sloping sand bank.
The
26 participants, most from the Bay area, but many from as far away
as northern Sydney, covered most of the spectrum of disabilities.
But
as president Pico said “who
cares what is the name of the individual disability - as Cindy Lauper
almost said, ‘disabled surfers just want to have fun’”.
And
fun they had. With the help of the 3 Northcott amphibious wheelchairs
there on the day, helped by a small army of helpers and carers, each
participant had the opportunity to go surfing several sessions during
the event.
After
a couple of hours of surfing, wipe-outs with much yelling and whooping
the whole group had lunch back up near the viewing platform – sausage
sangas, drink, cake and water-melon hitting the spot.
The
finale of the day came with the award presentation for especially
good efforts. 
Wipe-out
of the day
was wetly contested with the co-winners being Narooma’s Jordan Willis
and the Bay’s Ross Newman.
Longest
ride of the day
was Andrew Rodford (Batemans Bay)
Most
Inspirational of the day
went to western Sydney’s Iris and Rebecca Fann
Most
Courageous of the day
had to go to Matraville’s
Tannia Smith who surfed lying on her back propped up by especially
designed wedges
Surfer
of the day
went to West Hocton’s Adrian Delarmi who unbelievably stood up on
his very first wave and rode it to the beach in front of his tandem
rider.
Most
Excited surfer of the day
went to Epping’s Krystal Keller who, although she could not see the
waves, let everyone know she was out there ripping.
The
conclusion came with everyone being thanked including the Batemans
Bay SLSC, in particular Steve Innes, Beryl Wehner and the Broulee
Women’s Boardriders Club, Father Chris Riley’s team, Caz George who
travelled down from the ACT to help, the general community and local
surf shops that supported the event. But especially the DSASC members
(Pico, Tom, Tricia, Cec, Bethany, Len, Carol, Sue, Nerissa, Jim and
adoptees Gary, Graeme, Ramona) whose hard working team travelled 400km+
return to run the event. Well done, team!
PS:
the new world record for loudest snoring, briefly set by Ian
on Friday night, surpassing world champ el Cid Gary’s mark of 131db,
came in at an astounding 134db (do the math – that’s twice as loud!),
only to be disqualified by the official secret
certification committee, on the basis it was adjudged to be a whistle
- not a genuine snore. So Gary still holds the title. Great effort
though, Ian.
**
Special thanks to Broulee’s John Hicks to
took all of these photos
and presented us with prints and a CD at day’s end – magic! **
Jim
Secretary
DSAA
What
the Disabled Surfers Association means to our Family.
NOTE:
Click on Sarah's Pictures to Enlarge & Double Click to Reduce
Late last year we received an invitation to bring our then 7 year
old daughter Sarah (a below knee amputee) to a DSA ‘hands on’ day
at Thirroul
Beach
. Initially we were somewhat apprehensive about
the idea of Sarah attempting to surf but following a conversation
with a DSA member we were assured that there was nothing to worry
about so we decided to give it a go.
It
was one of the best decisions we made not just for Sarah but for all
our family. On that day we were immediately accepted into the DSA
family.
Initially Sarah was lacking water confidence but within a few events
thanks to the dedicated volunteers Sarah stood up on a surfboard a
rode a wave all the way to the beach. As you can imagine that was
a day none of us will ever forget. Since that special day in April,
Sarah has been to Ireland
to visit her grandparents where she showed them
her surfing abilities spending a week surfing on
Ireland
’s west coast.
Not
only has the DSA improved Sarah’s water confidence her confidence
in public speaking has improved. She now likes nothing better than
grabbing a microphone and standing up in front of her fellow students
and discussing her surfing experiences.
We are so grateful for what the DSA has done for our family and in
particular Sarah. The committee and all the volunteers have changed
a girl who was scared of the surf to riding a surfboard in the space
of 5 months. The DSA family is dedicated to helping all disabled people
without any hesitation. The severity of the disability does not deter
the DSA from helping. Their help support and encouragement to people
with a disability is second to none.
When Sarah was asked what the DSA meant to her, she replied that she
“enjoyed meeting other people with disabilities and having fun in
the surf with them”.
Thanks
to the DSA Sarah has been introduced to a sport that many able bodied
people can only dream of.
Walsh
Family.
December
2005
South
Coast Ripples
Perfect Surf At Disabled
Surfers Annual Thirroul Beach Event The 13th annual 'Hands On Day'
primarily for Wollongong's disabled was held on Saturday 3rd December,
2005 at Thirroul Beach in perfect 2-3' waves in offshore conditions.
With over 70 volunteer helpers on hand to give the 20 disabled participants
an experience of the thrill of surfing, together with the Weather
God and DSA patron Huey ensuring the previous night's violent electrical
storm had passed well out to sea, it was all smiles on deck.
The first
one and half hours saw fun and mayhem in the Thirroul saltwater pool,
as the helper group became familiarised with the mix of disabilities
presenting on the day. Results of the single paddle final had new
member Geoff Ollis coming in first in front of the legendary Len Snowdon
and regular DSA surfer Julia Corderoy. This was Geoff's first surf
since his base-jumping accident 18 months ago in which he lost a lot
of bark for which he is still in rehab at Prince of Wales in Sydney.
Our doubles' paddling races must have an abled and a disabled surfer
team on the same board which often presents some challenging moments.
The final was 
won by a touch by Farmborough
Heights disabled surfer John Soloman with his partner Henry Hudson
from Woonona High. Hot favourites Kelly McCann and Jim Bradley were
edged out for 2nd and despite their protest that they had to stop
halfway while Kelly was resuscitated with a hand held ventilator,
John and Henry were given the decision. The youngest competitor in
the final, Brenton Ashford-Potter with partner Towradgi's Craig Mulder,
were a close finishing third. Trireme racing is still new to the Illawarra
but is always enthusiastically enjoyed at DSA events.
This
year, after the 3' foot waves in the Thirroul pool generated by the
8 teams had subsided, the winners were Tamara Cunningham, Anna Doyle
and Daryl Wardman. And then we off to the surf with the 4 amphibious
chairs at the event, made by Sydney's Northcott Society, making the
trip across the soft sand and into the surf a very simple affair.
It was a brilliant day's surfing with our large helper pool outdoing
themselves with some challenging disabilities to accommodate. For
those still uniformed as to the range of capabilities that our disable
surfers are able to perform, Saturday's event demonstrated the full
spectrum.
At one extreme we had Wamberal's Ian Lindsay (a 360 km return trip
on the day) who despite being a paraplegic, designs and makes his
own surf-craft which he surfs completely unassisted along the east
coast, often in conditions that sees many surfers sitting out. His
surfing on the day in the clean offshore conditions, in waves with
a little grunt, was inspirational. Ian is also on the executive of
the new Central Coast DSA branch that formed just 3 weeks ago.
The other end of the spectrum sees Kelly McCann, who many Australians
now know as a result of her national television exposure this year,
and who has been rated by Tracks surfing magazine as the "Most
Courageous Surfer on The Planet", bar none. Kel with her personal
helper squad of 30, I repeat 30, surfed 8 waves in between being resuscitated
since her life sustaining oxygen tanks must be left on the beach.
In between
these 2 extremes the other 18 disabled surfers suffering from any
of spina biffida, cerebral palsy, autism, downs syndrome, loss of
limb(s), paraplegia, or loss of function due to accident or illness,
all had a ball.
At the
'after surf' presentation, back at the Thirroul Surf Club the major
awards were: Wave Of The Day to Geoff Ollis for an unassisted 80m
screamer. Tracey Lee took out the Wipe-out of the Day trophy - it
looked great on camera Trace! The Most Inspirational trophy went to
Kiama Downs' Eddy Rice who got to his feet 3 times - a first for him.
Surfer of the Day was a popular result with first timer Brenton Ashford-Potter
taking the award.
The highlight of
the presentations was the awarding of life membership of the DSA to
Len Snowdon for his ongoing inspirational promotion of the DSA not
only here in the Illawarra but literally throughout Australia. Len,
together with South Coast DSA Committee members Ian Picton (president),
Sandra Gould, Sam Hardaker and Jim Bradley will join national president
Gary Blaschke next weekend in flying to Perth to train over 200 volunteers
eager to get the new DSAWA branch up and running.
Finally, big thanks go
to Thirroul SLSC, Wollongong's APOLA Professional Ocean Lifeguards,
Woonona Bulli Sports Store for their ongoing help with trophies and
uniforms, the surf shops of the Illawarra for donations of prizes
but particularly the volunteers who give up a day of their time to
help others enjoy what we take for granted - the surf.
Jim Bradley
May,2005
South
Coast Ripples
(1)
What a big month April turned out to be for the branch. Starting with
the 4th annual ‘Hands On Day’ at Gerroa on Sunday the 3rd
and then again at Gerroa on Saturday the 23rd.
We
can all blame young Kelly McCann for the out welling of excitement
and resulting publicity, who first went for a surf at Collaroy in
February.
Sun
3rd was a brilliant day with 17 participants and 60 helpers
in attendance, the bulk from our host longboard club, Club MALnutrition.
Perfect weather, perfect surf and perfect location made the day memorable
– and that was before Kelly and her entourage arrived at the beach.
We
have to give Supasoft Surfboards’ Dan Keelan a big rap for the great
boards he is supplying and his support of the DSA generally. The boards
are perfect for our groups – the 9’ers are soft, buoyant and stable
for our participants and his new 11’ers (actually 10’10”) are perfect
for the more challenging participants. Currently the SCDSA owns 4
of the 9’s and 2 of the 11’ers. AND, Dan is providing them at unbeatable
prices ($360 and $440 resp). Contact me if you want more details.
Kelly
finally got her wetsuit on and joined us out in the line-up with her
own band of 30 helpers. 
For those that have not heard about Kelly’s exploits, Kelly
has full quadriplegia and requires constant breathing assistance through
a tracheotomy. It taught all of us there on the day just what degree
of disability we can handle – truly the DSA can claim there is no
limit to what challenges we can conquer.
(
Feature on Kelly Click Here)
At
the wind-up ceremony after the 4 course meal, the trophies went: Best
Wipe-outs Julia Corderoy and Nick Taylor(the latter a Wollongong Hawks
Roller import from South Africa), Most Inspirational Summer Martin
and Marusha Rowe (both first time surfers), Wave of the Day to legend
Sam Hardaker for getting to his knees for the first time in 11 years
and riding a succession of boomers to the beach, and Surfer of the
Day went to Kelly for an 8 wave effort, being resuscitated in the
water the whole time.
Finally,
big thankyou’s go to rodeo king Michael Shearer for helping the branch
and the DSA generally raise nearly $3000 over the past two years,
as well as to Kiama Council for providing us with a disability friendly
toilet block at Emery Park reserve and the agreeing to buy a ‘Free
Wheeler’ amphibious wheelchair for use at our beaches.
(2)
The James O’Laughlin Show on ABC Radio FM on Wed of the following
week had at as its theme for the nightly quiz “Tell us something beautiful
that has happened to you in the past few weeks”. Well, yours truly
got on and Kelly’s story blew everyone out of the water. By 9pm (an
hour and a half later) a live to air interview had been organized
with Kelly and she killed them. Next day the ABC’s 7.30 Report producer
Jonathon Harley had made contact and another special surf day was
organized, focusing on Kel and the DSA.
(3)
Gerroa II was run on the 23rd and Huey delivered, as always
(see Gary’s story on Adelaide’s first ‘Hands On Day’ for proof of
Huey’s preferential treatment of the DSA). Another perfect day ensued
with the ABC crew stoked with what they were seeing. Also in attendance
was Shoalhaven City council’s deputy mayor John Anderson and Kiama’s
mayor Sandra McCarthy and associated questions of the general problem
of accessibility was also a topic of the day.
With
Marusha, Sam, Len and Graeme out in the line-up at the same time as
Kelly, the 7.30 Report crew had a wide choice of surfing styles to
record. Graeme paid the price for not having a full steamer to protect
him from bruising but, what the heck, the surf was great. Kelly had
her first wipe-out, which for her with an open trachy can be very
distressing, but was back in the line-up after a bit of water extraction
– what a champion. See Story
At
the time of writing we are waiting for a screening date, most probably
mid-May. I’ll contact each branch to forewarn them when we know a
firm date.
Ps
The amount of publicity surrounding the SCDSA in April has been truly
phenomenal. Special thanks must go to the Illawarra Mercury’s Mike
Gandon (legend) and William Verity, the Kiama Independent’s Kaitlin
Lewis and especially to the South Coast Register’s Glenn Ellard for
his huge full colour double page feature in the “SE Magazine” that
went to all 11 south coast papers as well as sent on to the Australia
wide ‘Rural Press’ network. We have a great story to tell so get out
and tell the world you branch media officers.
May,2005
Jim
Bradley
Disabled
Surfers
Meet at
Emery Park
(on
the northern side of the Crooked River)
In closing the event, president Ian Picton thanked the volunteer
helpers, with special mention being made of Culburra’s Paul
Bodley, Cade and Dailin deLepervanche.
