Teach your children to surf in Les Landes!

Surfing is best enjoyed in the Landes! Would you like your children to learn to surf, but don't know how? Camping Lou Pignada has some advice on how to get your little surfers onto the waves with confidence!

What are the benefits of surfing?

A healthy mind in a healthy body - that's the motto of surfing! A complete and demanding sport, but also a fun one, surfing transmits to children the fundamental values that guide us in everyday life. As well as the exhilarating feeling of freedom and catching a wave, surfing also teaches patience, perseverance and humility in the face of the elements. The benefits of surfing are many and far-reaching. In particular, surfing helps to :

• develop children's motor skills
• improve flexibility and balance
• develop a taste for effort in the youngest,
• overcome their fears and push back their limits,
• fostering a spirit of mutual aid, fraternity and friendship.

At what age can a child start surfing?

One of the advantages of surfing is that it can be practised from a very young age, whether you're a girl or a boy, thin or strong. The only requirement is that you know how to swim.

Surf schools in the Landes offer lessons and courses for children from the age of 6. At that age, surfing is child's play, with the aim of acquiring the technical basics of the discipline through a teaching method based on play and discovery, so that children can make the most of their bodies and the space available.

What happens during the first lessons?

We start by acquiring practical and theoretical knowledge of the sand: the phenomenon of the tides, the formation of waves and waves, the direction of the current, the basics of balance and body positioning on the board, the rules of safety and priority on the water.

Once this stage has been completed, the young surfer can move on to the next level and learn the technical basics of surfing: paddling, catching a wave lying down on the board, standing up and standing on the board, keeping your balance after the start, following a wave and adapting your trajectory.
You'll be pleasantly surprised to see how much your child has progressed in just one session. They'll be able to surf small foam waves and glide to the edge of the beach like a boss!

Surfing is a sport that demands a lot of energy from children. So it's advisable not to exceed 2 hours a day.

Where can you sign up?

There are many surf schools in the Landes département. In Messanges, just a stone's throw from the Lou Pignada campsite, the Mana Surf School offers fun, professional teaching adapted to all levels, with courses, group and individual lessons for children aged 6 and over. Sessions take place at low tide and are supervised by instructors who hold the French State Surfing Certificate and are lifeguards. To find a surf club or surf school in Hossegor, Seignosse or Capbreton, visit the French Surf Federation website: www.surfingfrance.com

How much does a surfing course cost?

A surfing course is ideal for those who want to make rapid progress. Prices vary from club to club. For a surfing course of 7 lessons, you should expect to pay around €200. An introductory session (1? hours in a group) costs around €30. Individual lessons cost €70. Prices include the loan of equipment (surfboard and wetsuit) and insurance.