Now August is over it is time to look back over our epic summer in our new location at the National Surf Centre.
Aloha and welcome to the Sligo Surf Blog.
Now August is over it is time to look back over our epic summer in our new location at the National Surf Centre. But we still have lots of surf sessions planned for September and October. Our customers and staff enjoyed the new set up and indoor changing rooms and showers. No more car parks for us. And we had lots of curious visitors who came to check out Strandhill's newest development.
Our summer was packed full of waves and wipeouts, mixed weather, squalls, storms and flat spells. But we got through them all. So myself and the team want to say a massive thank you to all our friends, supporters, visitors and surfers and bodyboarders. Word had spread far and wide about the new National Surf Centre and lots of journalists and media people came to visit. We featured on Six One News, met the top rated GB travel journalist Simon Calder and spoke to Nationwide (airing in October, watch out for that one).
GB travel journalist Simon Calder (left) with Seamus
We also held a range of special events, supported Sligo Pride week and rasied money for Northwest Hospice with our Bleubird sessions. We are also running lots of bodyboard sessions and Fit Fun Forties weekends to get more people in the 40 + age bracket our surfing with us.
Ocean Warrior surf camp 23
Our summer blog would not be complete if we did not mentioned our showroom experience, the Ocean Warrior surf camp. Once again we ran a full course of eight Ocean Warrior surf camps with our supporters Good 4 U nutrition, the Wetsuit Company Strandhill and Clean Coasts. Plenty of surf coaching and good waves went down with the people who signed up for our teen, adult and family camps.
Some even broke the golden rule of surf school by bringing in sweets and snack on the last day of camp. But remember, Don't Feed the Surf Instructors! They are highly trained men and women on a strict diet and sugar outside of regular meal times could send them sideways.
But now it is time to wave goodbye to Ocean Warriors who attended our camps this summer. It is the time for children to go back to school. And it is time when surfers look forward to the first September swells arriving back on Sligo shore.
Ocean Warrior surf camp tee give away
To celebrate the end of another surf camp season, we are giving away one long sleeve Ocean Warrior surf camp tee to one lucky Ocean Warrior. All you need to do to be in with a chance to win is to share the link for this blog post on your favourite social media. Winners will be picked in mid-September.
Myself and team of Sligo Surf Experienced instructors had a well-deserved staff party in our favourite Strandhill restaurant, Stoked, above the world famous The Strand Bar across the road from the National Surf Centre.
After 10 national bodyboarding titles, chef/owner Shane Meehan decided to hang up his fins. This gave me an opportunity to go for gold at the national surf championships held last October at The Peak in Bundoran. I finally nailed my lifelong competion, Andrew Kilfeather and Martin 'TK' Kelly in the finals of the bodyboard open and got my name on the Shane Munnelly cup, which now sits in Stoked restaurant in pride of place on the back wall.
The bodyboard history is strong in that place.
Irish National championships Many thanks to Seadesigns for working hard on our new and improved website. We hope everyone found it easy to use over the summer and liked the updates we made this year. We will be posting some useful Sligo information on our blogs over the winter. You can book online for your Sept/Oct surf lessons and keep an eye on our social media for updates, lesson times and more giveaways.
