General Guidance for Surfers
The government’s roadmap out of lock down came into effect on the 8th March and from the 29th of March the ‘stay at home’ rule comes to end and either 6 people (the Rule of 6) or two households are allowed to meet. This is stage one of the roadmap and many other restrictions remain in place, such as no overnight stays or social mixing indoors.
Our guidance for surfers is:
SOCIAL DISTANCE – Stay 2 meters (6 ft) apart from anyone not in your household
SURF WITHIN YOUR LIMITS – If in doubt, don’t paddle out. Be honest with yourself about your capabilities and avoid taking unnecessary risks. If you see someone in trouble in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
PLAN YOUR TRAVEL – Whilst we should continue to minimise unnecessary travel we are allowed to travel for sport and exercise, including surfing. Sport and Tourism minister Nigel Huddleston suggests people need to think carefully about their travel plans, suggesting that if you need food and petrol to fill up before you go and to remember the intention of the guidance is to prevent people intermixing in different parts of the country to any greater degree than necessary.
RESPECT OTHER SURFERS – Avoid crowding beaches and busy peaks. Be mindful that you do not always know what the surfer in the lineup near to you is currently going through – consider taking that pause between sets to ask ‘how are you?’ and share some stoke as we start to emerge from the pandemic.
PROMOTE GOOD SURF ETIQUETTE – Don’t snake or drop in, smile, be thankful we can still enjoy some waves for our exercise, be kind & surf safe.
