A New Year, New Waves and Big Dreams for The Surfer Kids
- magusha1
- Jan 21
- 3 min read
A new year has arrived for The Surfer Kids and our kids are excited to be back in the water. The holiday season gave us time to reflect, recharge, and get ready for the busy year ahead. Looking back at 2025, we’re incredibly proud of all our kids’ achievements,from winning the 2025 Western Cape Grom Games with the Eden Grom Team, to watching the world’s best surfers compete at the WSL J-Bay Open and achieving our best results yet at the SA Junior Surfing Championships. We truly have much to be thankful for.
At the Surfer Kids, surfing is more than a sport—it’s a way to learn long term commitment and to grow as an individual. It’s inspiring to see our children progress not only in surfing but also in their personal lives. During the December festive season, two of our kids—Alforenzo Serfontein and Owethu Tabata became qualified lifeguards. Both have been part of the programme for nearly a decade and worked as lifeguards over the holidays. They also serve as junior coaches, and their lifeguard training will help them become even better coaches and mentors for the younger surfers. We’re very proud of these two young men.
As the year begins, so does the competitive surfing season. Our first event being the O’Neill Cold Water Junior Classic at Long Beach,Kommetjie, Cape Town. This competition is part of the South African Surfing Tour (SAST), where the country’s top junior surfers compete for points that count toward selection for the SA Junior Team. That team will represent South Africa at the ISA World Junior Championships later this year and one of our big goals at The Surfer Kids is to have one of our kids make the National Junior Team and compete at the international stage. It’s ambitious, but with hard work, commitment, and consistency, even showing up on tough days, it’s within reach.
This past weekend, twelve of our kids competed in the Eden Grom Trials where the surfers who make the team will represent Eden at The Sea Harvest Western Cape Grommet Games. The Western Cape Grommet Games will be held in Muizenberg, Cape Town, from March 13th to 15th. Last year, Eden won the regional competition, and one of our surfers, Avethandwa Mosikare, was crowned the U12 Boys Champion. Eden returns this year as defending champions, and we’re ready to give it our all again.The Western Cape Grommet Games aren’t just about competition—they’re about introducing young surfers to contest surfing, building confidence, encouraging teamwork, and to foster long-term participation in surfing
For The Surfer Kids family its more than just surfing. We support our kids and employees in many sports, giving them opportunities to discover and develop their talents. One example is Akhona Mabuto, our safety officer and facilities operative. Akhona is a seasoned lifeguard with over 20 years’ experience protecting some of the Garden Route’s most challenging beaches. In 2019, he was named Lifesaver of the Year after a dedicated year of saving lives at Glentana Beach. Since joining Surfer Kids, Akhona has also become a triathlete, completing his first full Ironman last year and placing third at the Eden Triathlon Championships just this past weekend. We’re proud of his dedication and hard work. We wish him luck for the upcoming season.
We’re looking forward to the year ahead and can’t wait to watch our kids keep pushing boundaries and achieving great things. Until next time—here’s to more waves and an exciting year for The Surfer Kids!
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