Surfing festival teaches new skills

Jane Emerick
Students will have a taste of the surf industry next weekend when they run a Festival of Surfing in Torquay.
Sixteen Oberon High School students will run the event as part of an applied learning program for youths aiming to enter the workforce immediately after graduation.
Program director Stui Hawken said the tight-knit group was working hard on the festival’s competition and award ceremonies, learning skills including promotion, catering and judging.
The surfing competition would be a team event comprising longboard, shortboard and retro-board divisions, with entries costing $100.
Mr Hawken said the festival would culminate with a trivia night at Surfworld as a fundraiser for Surf Aid International.
He said that as well as giving the students new skills, the festival would also raise coastal, cultural, environmental awareness.