Blue Surf Festival

ended

The surfing community acts locally to accelerate change towards inclusion in the sport across Europe. It may seem contradictory that an individual sport helps the social integration of people with special needs, but the truth in the water we are all equal (we all feel the same stoke, as surfers would say). BLUESURFEST will create a network of non-profit inclusive sport events in six European countries: Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. These festivals seek to promote the practice of sport to people with different needs and capacities, improving their physical and mental health and well-being. Events will engage regional/national surf communities in a celebration of sport activities that will foster greater inclusion and accessibility for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities, volunteering, and sustainability in sports. The BLUE SURF FESTIVAL’s network will connect athletes, coaches, volunteers, and all diverse members of the surf communities from each participant country, together with their families, and other sport enthusiasts they’ll meet in some of the best surf locations in Europe, to celebrate different sport activities such as inclusive surf competitions and demonstrations, as well as good range of related side events (seminars, lectures, surf-films, live music, beach clean-ups) that contribute to community building. The activities, including good practices and overcoming stories, will inspire others to break barriers through sport, to reach new frontiers, to learn, share, work, respect, and understand people with different capacities. These activities will require a special involvement of well-trained volunteers and coaches during the events. Therefore, the adaptive surf methodology developed by Erasmus+Sport consortium INCLUSEA will play a major role as it will be shared in advance and then validated during the events while adding the peculiarities, specific needs, and the different approaches of each country.