As dark clouds and hail rain upon the British Isles, eleven young surfers from Croyde, Newquay and Wales are thankful that they are cruising the waves of Northern Spain this week. This is the second year Errant Surf Holidays has run the Grom Exchange, after last years trip to Lanzarote the groms have been settling into “La Hosteria De Latas” Errant’s latest surf destination.
Since arriving last week, the groms have been put through their paces with beach drills, video coaching, strength training and surfing different surf spots around the Cantabrian coastline. With still a few days left, and the swell set to continue, the groms will be heading out to surf breaks such as Laredo, Sardinero and the home breaks of Loredo.
Since arriving last week, the groms have been put through their paces with beach drills, video coaching, strength training and surfing different surf spots around the Cantabrian coastline. With still a few days left, and the swell set to continue, the groms will be heading out to surf breaks such as Laredo, Sardinero and the home breaks of Loredo.
The idea of the Errant Grom Exchange is to make trips abroad feasible to children under 18, who may not have had the chance to travel overseas. Thanks to funding from local authorities and sponsorship from Errant Ltd, week trips come at a very minimal cost to the children themselves. In turn the children can experience better waves, new landscapes, deal with language barriers and bond with their peers. All essential experiences for them, as they develop into travelling surfers.
Jamie Mather one of the groms from Cornwall comments “We had some great waves on the first day, after being on the ferry from Plymouth overnight we were really pumped to jump straight into the Sea. Chris and Damian drove us back to La Hosteria; from there we got suited up and walked down to the beach to find perfect 2’ waves and no one out! I got to ride my new board, it was nice and warm and all the group was sharing waves” When asked about being in Spain, Jamie continues “The place itself is excellent, we have iPod stations in all the rooms, Playstation, Dreamcast, table football and whole big living space is a cool place to hang out with everyone, we even watched the WCT live streamed on the big projector on the ceiling. There is a big half pipe just down the road that I skated on the second day and meet some local skateboarders. I have been walking around with a piece of paper with Spanish phrases on it, so I was able to practice talking to them. They were really cool and we spent the afternoon skateboarding together.”
Errant team rider and senior grom, Josh Hughes has also been coaching the groms alongside Chris and Damian from Errant. The Welsh under 18 champion is also staying on at La Hosteria to train in warmer waves then back at home. “It is a cool aspect of being sponsored by a travel company, the fact I am able to use the facilities overseas to help me train for European and UK events.
The groms head back to the UK this Thursday, and will be looking forward to surfing on the BPSA tour, and other events.
To register interest in future grom events e-mail here groms@errantsurf.com
For details of La Hosteria in Spain click here http://www.errantsurf.com/loredo_overview.php
To view clips of the 2008 Spring Grom trip go to Errant Surf Holidays YouTube Channel.
