Reef McIntosh glides tandem at last year’s event in Malibu. Photo: A Walk on Water
More than most, surfers are innately aware of the therapeutic benefits of time spent in the ocean. Recently, science has caught up with what surfers already know, with compelling evidence that ocean therapy has a positive impact on the wellbeing of not just healthy people but cancer patients, PTSD sufferers, and the like.
Surfing, of course, adds another element to ocean therapy. Along with submersion in water, there’s the learning of a new activity that refocuses the participant on the present moment – that’s the formula for success in veteran surf therapy programs, for instance.
For some time the surf therapy program A Walk on Water has leveraged the power of the ocean to empower kids with special needs across the country. With events in Huntington Beach; Ventura; Montauk, New York; and this weekend at First Point Malibu.
In addition to being a day of healing for the kids that participate, the event is also a day of restoration for the whole family. In an interview with ABC 7, Ari Markow explained the joy on his son Max’s face when he surfed in the event last year. “They took him out to the water, and I lined up on the beach with all these volunteers and all these other parents,” he said. “My child was being cheered for by an entire beach. As he came in surfing, I could see the pride on his face. He was doing something that even typical kids don’t get to do.”
Instructors at A Walk on Water events range from CPR-certified big wave surfers to lifeguards to ocean swimmers, and each kid gets one-on-one coaching.
“We’re all surfers at heart, and we all love the ocean and what it does for us,” said AWOW President Steven Lippman.
AWOW’s Malibu event will take place at Surfrider Beach this Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. For more information check out their website here.
