What is an itinerant surf school?
Surfing is a natural sport. The activity follows the vagaries of the weather, but also the constantly changing topography of the coastline, a succession of bays and sandbanks.
If there’s one sport that can’t always take place in the same place at the same time, like a tennis lesson, it’ s surfing.
Surfing is a natural activity that doesn’t require a lot of equipment and energy. All you need isa surfboard,a neoprene wetsuit,a leash and access to the beach. And I forgot the main ingredient: a competent surf instructor!
Itinerant schools meet their students in front of the surf school truck, parked in the parking lot opposite the beach access. Students change in the back of the truck, as any surfer would, and leave their gear there for the duration of the surf session.
Immersion in nature and an eco-responsible approach
No changing rooms or showers, which are the hallmarks of a large surf school with commercial premises and a street address. The itinerant school will therefore offer a little less comfort, but a truly eco-responsible approach, since surfers can change in a parking lot and rinse their feet at home or at any public showers.
This means no unnecessary consumption of water and electricity, and no renting out walls that have no real use other than to develop a flourishing business with a multitude of students who will overload the spotlights.
The main attraction of a surf school is the immediate proximity of the rental apartment to the surf school and the nearby beach. However, sometimes surf schools also take their customers to other beaches in other towns. In these cases, the students sit in a van with other students, in safari mode.
Roaming for quality
The average surfer is mobile. Sandbanks change and surf spots evolve, as does the weather. So you need to find the beach that offers the best surfing conditions. This is a basic rule of surfing.
The mobility of an itinerant school makes it possible to vary practice locations, whereas a permanent school will often send its students to a location opposite its business premises, whatever the cost.
This mobility also allows you to avoid overcrowded beaches and find quiet spots.
Truly sustainable development
We can collect all the labels we want, and equip ourselves with mixer taps and low-energy light bulbs, but there’s no point in developing a gas factory!
Some summer beaches are already packed with surf trainees. A surf school that respects the environment, both natural and social, will tend to limit itself rather than expand infinitely and bombard the beaches with a multitude of groups. 32 to 56 students on the beach, at the same time, for the same structure – that’s a lot of people!
Some surf schools have their own fleet of cars, enabling them to bombard the beaches of neighboring towns, creating tensions and conflicts of use.
The itinerant surf school aims to remain small. It’s the enterprise of a single instructor, who doesn’t dream of creating an empire, but simply wants to make a living from his passion and share it in pleasant conditions, with a small group of students, immersed in nature, sharing and conviviality!
