Harper was laughing with her mates, sitting beneath a blue sky in crystal clear waters and waiting for the next chance to glide across the face of a wave along the reef at Inside Grunters in Gnarabup. What she didn’t realise that is that in a few hours time she would be exhausted, sun kissed and standing next to professional surfer Bronte Macaulay receiving a signed competion jersey holding aloft the trophy as a member of the triumphant Forest Faction at our surfing carnival.
She was one of 25 little warriors who challenged themselves throughout the day pushing against the tide in a relentless cycle of wave catching and paddling. Parents lugged tables and tents down onto the sand as first light burst across the Cape and the jet ski water patrol slid onto the shore ahead of a safety briefing. The team from Margaret River Surf Academy, Water Patrol Australia and our old friend Josh Palmateer were on hand to make sure that everybody was safe, learning about the ocean and pushing themselves in an environment that many of them had never paddled out in before. Families cheered, parents helped judge and travelling tourists came to see how it is that primary school students could be taking part in an annual surfing carnival.
They competed for their faction, shared in prizes for showing creativity, flair, bravery, determination and resilience and played on the sand, reminding us all that surfing is about having fun. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just enjoying the company of your friends in the ocean.
Thank you to all of the families who came along to help out, to cheer on the surfers and to pack away at the end of the day. Our P&C funded the water patrol for the day – thank you! This is a special day on our school calendar and we look forward to sharing with you all again next year.
Photos and written by Aaron Thomas; Posted by D. Veary
Canteen