Australian Sports Commission – Indigenous Sport Program

Quand on reparle de surf… (J’ai un peu la flemme de traduire, alors je mets des aides entre parenthèses:-)

Robert ‘Bushy’ Mitchell’s nickname (surnom) probably says it all — the guy who is now the President of Surfing Australia was originally a kid from the bush who never saw his first wave (vague) until he was 12.

He’d grown up in Ebden, a tiny blink-and-you’d-miss-it place (un petit bled) on the Victorian–New South Wales border (limite). When he went to the beach for the first time and saw people surfing, ‘I just said, “Wow, look at that!”’ he recalls (se rappelle).

By the time he was 14 or 15, Bushy was surfing himself — although he had to learn it the hard way (à la dure).

‘I wish they’d had surf schools back then (à l’époque),’ he says. ‘Every kid has them at their fingertips (à portée de main) these days, and that’s why they progress so quickly.’

Bushy now lives in the heartland (coeur) of surfing in Australia — the Gold Coast — and works hard promoting (faire la pub) the sport of surfing throughout (à travers) Australia.

He says there’s a couple of ways that kids or adults can take up the ‘lifetime sport’ of surfing. They can cruise along (se rendre tranquillement) to their local board-riders’ club — there’s one just about anywhere there’s a decent-sized (d’une taille respectable) community enjoying some decent waves.

And if kids take to the surfboard and like it, they can even compete in the cadet or ‘grommet’ class that some clubs have. If they stick with it, they can progress through the different age categories, which go all the way up to ‘grandmasters’ and ‘legends’ for the over-55s.

Bushy says kids can try surfing through a learn-to-surf class, which are held (se tiennent) in all states (but not territories) of Australia. This usually takes the form of a one-hour lesson with an instructor, with equipment such as surfboards (with a soft rubber (caoutchouc) finish) and body boards supplied. Some classes are free of charge — just ask.

At a first lesson, beginners might try surfing unbroken waves or the white water, but it will usually take some time to progress to the big waves.

‘Some kids are just naturals,’ says Bushy. ‘They can read what the water is doing, they can get to their feet on the board and make it turn left or right, and they have uncanny (exceptionnelle) balance.’

Those who prove to have exceptional talents in the water, such as Lucas Proudfoot (le bien nommé;-, non, c’est pas une trad!) and Ty Arnold, have been encouraged by their surfing mentors to apply for scholarships (effectuer des demandes de bourses) through the Indigenous Sports Program.

But you don’t have to be an elite surfer to be eligible (remplir les conditions requises) for Indigenous Sports Program funding. People who want to become surfing coaches, judges or event administrators can also apply.

Bushy says that women, in particular, seem to make exceptional coaches. ‘Whatever it is, their patience, I don’t know, they’ve just got the right touch.’

Did you know?

A goofy-footer (« goofy » en français;-) plants the right foot forward as the lead foot on their surfboard while a natural-footer (« regular » en français!!!) puts their left foot forward.

Sydney surfer Layne Beachley became the most successful female surfer in history — and Australia’s most successful surfer ever — when she won her fifth world title in December 20(02) in Hawaii.

Beachley joins Kelly Slater as the only surfer to have won five or more crowns.

When Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing into Australia in 1915, the first person he taught to surf was a woman called Isobel Letham. Surf champion Pam Burridge says she named her daughter Isobel after Letham.