Girls learn to ride the waves as part of Aboriginal health program

A Mid West Indigenous sports leader says surfing can help promote wellbeing among Aboriginal people. Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Adrian Bartlett said surfing was about positive experiences, water safety, health and wellbeing. “Get in the water, mate,” he said. He said a surfing program his organisation was running for primary school-aged Indigenous girls was “an educational wellbeing program using the sport of surfing.” It was aimed at tackling issues like drowning rates among Indigenous people and helping Aboriginal children have a healthy lifestyle and respect their culture, he said. In a previous program, his organisation had taken students down to Margaret River to meet 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater. The World Surf League has postponed its Bells Beach and Margaret River competitions because of the coronavirus. Bartlett said instead, the group might take the girls down to Perth or Margaret River later in the year to surf. Data from the Royal Lifesaving Society of Australia showed Indigenous people in Australia were four times as likely to drown as non-Indigenous people, and more than a quarter of drowning victims were under the age of 10. “The girls seem to love being in the waves, learning to surf as well as ocean safety and wave knowledge,” surf coach Shaun Glass said. “Their courage has grown, wanting to go out deeper, surf bigger waves and learn new tricks. “My focus is 30 per cent learning, 70 per cent fun.”