Creating Community
Community building is also a foundational element of the course. “Being out in the ocean is such a great experience,” Halberstadt says. “My favorite part of class is sharing the energy, the excitement, and the love for the sport. And having fun with the people and the friends they brought, or seeing them make new friends. It’s a great sense of community and it’s exciting sharing the sport that I’ve known for so long.”
“UC San Diego is a great place for surfing,” Claiborn says. “Our proximity to the ocean is incredible. Offering surf classes that allow students the chance to take a break from studying and come out of the library — maybe just once a week — and go down to the nearby beach is a unique part of the UC San Diego student experience.”
“We know how academically tough it can be to be a student here, so we try to make taking a break easy on them,” Claiborn continues. This includes showing the students how to ride either the public bus or the Scripps Institution of Oceanography shuttle down to Scripps Pier, encouraging them to appreciate the beach, and teaching them ocean awareness and safety skills that they can take with them long after the course is over.
Students are given surf boards and wet suits to use weekly in class, and while there is a required swim test before sign up, surfers-to-be can brush up on their water skills via “Learn to Swim” classes through UC San Diego Recreation as well.
And for those looking for an intermediate class, a course currently dubbed “The Outside” is being designed.
Find out more ways to get outside and get active with UC San Diego Recreation.