Bristol Para Surf Club

BRISTOL PARA SURFING CLUB at THE WAVE supported by THE FAT FACE FOUNDATION and facilitated by SURFING ENGLAND

 

 

Bristol based surfer with a physical disability or visual impairment? Want to surf regularly as part of a thriving community? Bristol Para Surf Club is here!

After the continued success of our para surfing roadshow and VI sessions introducing over 250 people with physical disabilities or visual impairments to the sport of surfing. We have seen a gap in our para surfing pathway in Bristol, with successful para surf clubs in South Shields, Croyde and Bude we wanted to launch a similar club at The Wave. With the support of The Fat Face Foundation and The Wave we are proud to announce a fortnightly para surf club at The Wave.

Bristol Para Surf Club will begin its first year as a pilot club in July 2026 and with a short winter break will run till July 2027. The club will be open to 30 members with a guarantee of 6 sessions in a calendar year. These sessions will be fully supported with coaches and volunteers and will cost £25 plus the £25 yearly membership fee.

To be eligible for membership you will need to have surfed at The Wave before or have one session before joining. The Wave will also be your local surf spot to try and give Bristol based surfers first priority over others that live by the ocean. The club yearly membership registration will be in July every year unless not filled. The club is open to people with physical disabilities or visual impairments, unfortunately we are unable to use seated boards in the pool due to safety. If you want to find out more about locations to surf using seated boards please drop us an email.

Locations and dates:

Monday 20th July 2026

Monday 3rd August 2026

Monday 17th August 2026

Monday 31st August 2026

Monday 14th September 2026

Monday 28th September 2026

Monday 12th October 2026

Monday 26th October 2026

Monday 19th October 2026

THE DETAILS

Timings: 

Bristol Para Surf club will run fortnightly starting Monday 20th July at 7pm-8pm weekly with arrival from 5:30pm.

The club will run on the intermediate setting to suit all surfers and all water support will be provided. If you want to bring your own support you need to let us know in advance.

All surfers and coaches/volunteers will need to sign The Wave and Surfing England’s wavier forms before entering the water.

Facilities: 

At The Wave, the whole site has been built with inclusivity at its centre, making it a fantastic venue for people with disabilities to surf. There are accessible changing places on site, accessible toilets, accessible parking and fully trained adaptive surf instructors.

If you need assistance with any personal care needs such as getting changed into a wetsuit, please bring someone with you. 

Equipment: 

As this is a surf club and not a surf school we expected most surfers to have their own kit (wetsuits/boards/booties). There are a small amount of adapted wetsuits on site and a few adapted boards. But these will be first come first surfed! There is a beach wheelchair on site.

What to bring: 

Please make sure to bring swimwear, a towel and warm clothes for when you finish your session. There is a fantastic cafe on site with lots of dietrey options. It is likely you will be quite tired after you finish your session. 

If it’s a sunny day, remember to bring suncream and a hat. Ideally make sure you have waterproof suncream for your face during the session. 

DON’T FORGET TO BRING ANY MEDICATION THAT YOU REQUIRE OR MAY NEED THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

Classifications

The ISA currently has 9 different classifications for para surfing. The description of each classification is below. Please specify on the sign up form which classification you think you fit in to. This will give us a better idea of the needs of participants for the sessions. If you decide to progress to competing in para surfing in the future, you would need to get officially classified by the ISA. If this is something you would be interested in, we can give you more information. 

Para Surfing Sport Classifications

Sport Class	Description
Para Surfing Stand 1	Surfers who ride waves in a standing position with an upper body impairment.
Para Surfing Stand 2	Surfers who ride waves in a standing position with a lower body impairment below the knee.
Para Surfing Stand 3	Surfers who ride waves in a standing position with a lower body impairment above the knee
Para Surfing Kneel/Upright	Surfers who ride waves in a kneeling or upright position.
Para Surfing Sit	Surfers who ride waves in a sitting position.
Para Surfing Prone 1	Surfers who ride waves in a prone position.
Para Surfing Prone 2	Surfers who ride waves in a prone position and need assistance to paddle into waves and while in the water.
Para Surfing Vision Impairment 1	Surfers who have a visual impairment defined by IBSA Sport Class B1.
Para Surfing Vision Impairment 2	Surfers who have a visual impairment defined by IBSA Sport Class B2 and B3.