Waves of Strength: Making Surfing Accessible
- Shelley Sontag
- Aug 14
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
When you have a child with complex/support needs, you become an expert in research. You're always hunting, always learning, ever-refining and optimizing. You are looking for the best doctors, the best therapies, the most supportive schools, the best way to advocate for your child. It can be rewarding, frustrating, and exhausting all at once.
One area of research I love as a parent, though, is finding accessible opportunities that allow my son to experience as much of this great wide world as he can. Accessibility can mean a lot of different things, depending on your needs and expectations. For me, I'm looking for activities that allow my son to experience something in a positive, safe, and hopefully joy-filled way.
A few weeks ago, we had that exact experience with Waves of Strength, enjoying an amazing day of accessible surfing that exceeded all our expectations.
My son has always wanted to surf, or at least we know he loves to watch surfing and likes the idea of trying it himself. Whenever we go to our local smoothie shop (hooray for Playa Bowl), they almost always have surfing on the TVs to watch while you wait/eat. My son loves it. He claps, he cheers, he oohs and ahhs - it definitely sparks a boatload of joy. We always hear "me too" when he sees them hitting the waves and we knew, if we could ever find a way for him to try surfing safely, even once, it would be a great thing to offer.
Enter Waves of Strength. Based on LBI, New Jersey, they are in their 8th year of providing a Surf Therapy Day that is a simply AMAZING event. I learned about the event from a friend who grew up on the island and has family members who have participated in the past. You have to sign up early, as the event fills up, like so many accessible opportunities. (To be very clear, this is not the fault of any events - there are always more kids/families interested than there are spaces available - more on that another day)
This year, Surf Therapy Day fell on my son's actual 11th birthday! How cool is that? There was staged timing for the event, so surfers could go out in small groups versus just mobbing the beach - brilliant! We were assigned Wave 2, with a 9 AM start.
As we needed to be there by 8:30 AM on a Sunday morning, with a rain date of Saturday, a drive time of 2-3 hours from our home, knowledge that traffic would be intense as it was a beautiful weekend to go down the shore, we decided to make a weekend of it. Saturday saw us at the Cape May Zoo, the lovely model train house and playground just outside of it, and hiking some beach trails on the lookout for cool birds.
Sunday morning we drove to LBI, giving ourselves extra time as we knew parking could be a challenge, but we needn't have worried. It was our first time on the island and everything was clearly marked - signs where participants could park, easy access to the beach - they had it covered. Beach wheelchairs were able available for those who needed them. My son absolutely loved that within about 40 seconds of parking our car, a gator (beach ATV) pulled up and offered us a ride up to the beach. Our driver was so kind, engaging with our kids right away, assuring us to take our time loading up all the things we need for our beach day as there was zero rush.
Once we were loaded, we drove right up to the beach, got out and headed to the registration tables. From there it was a life jacket fit check (life jackets are provided for participants and you can also bring your own), a short pause to wait for our friends to join on the beach to cheer our little surfer on, and then he was swept away by an energetic and amazing team of three experienced surfers who were helping him get pumped up about trying surfing, letting him know it was going to be safe and awesome and fun. They helped him pick out a board and headed down to the waves. They learned it was his birthday and thought that was so great and it was heartfelt birthday wishes all around.
Once at the waves, they made sure he was ready to go. They then got him on his belly on the board to paddle out, one surfer at the nose of the board and a surfer on each side, always within an easy hand's reach of my son. They swam him out, guiding him over the waves, and then stuck with him for an excellent run back to shore. It was intense! He enjoyed it but also decided one awesome run was good and he spent the rest of the morning watching the waves and cheering on all the other surfers.
The breadth of participants was so wonderful to see - some had prostheses, some had genetic conditions like my son, some used wheelchairs - whatever their support needs were, the surf teams adapted. They did such a beautiful job making everyone feel included and capable, encouraging kids who wanted to to try standing on the board, supporting kids who chose to stay on their bellies, even sitting behind kids on the board tandem-style if they needed that support. I saw surfers sitting in the sand with some participants who were working through fears or sensory needs, helping them get familiar with the boards and answering any questions the kids had. The best part of the day was the feeling of joy emanating off everyone - the kids, their families, and the volunteers. Even the Coast Guard came out to cheer everyone on, making waves and honking the ship's horn.
We stayed for a couple hours, walking the beach, watching the other surfers, cheering hard and soaking it all in. On our way out, we checked out the tents - a merch spot, coffee and bagels, a few accessible organizations in the area, and a fun photo booth. As we left, my son was presented with a surfing trophy, which he loved, as well as a Waves of Strength swag bag. We chose to walk back to our car - downhill is always easier - but the gators were running continuously for anyone that needed a ride. The entire event was so well-planned, supportive, uplifting and accessible for all needs. It was also super chill and welcoming. I'm so happy we had the opportunity for our guy to try surfing and have an incredible 11th birthday on the beach.
A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers and organizers at Waves of Strength! If you have a kid in your life who would love to try surfing or a desire to donate/support, you can find out more about this incredible non-profit organization here: https://www.wavesofstrength.org or https://www.instagram.com/wavesofstrength/
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