Ground Swell

If you want to make waves by finding a job and getting future work in the surf industry then you need look no further than the innovative Cross Step project, which is now recruiting surf hungry individuals for its new wave starting in March 2010. Specially designed for young people who are not in education or employment (NEETs), the exciting four week scheme gives young people from across Cornwall the opportunity to gain new qualifications in surf coaching and lifeguarding at no cost to themselves. After the successful Cross Step pilot scheme in summer 2009, the new programme will begin in the spring with graduates ready to take up jobs in the 2010 summer surf season.

The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) has been working with Chris Thomson, Managing Director of Errant Surf Holidays and Cornwall Business Awards’ Young Business Person of the Year 2009, to set up Cross Step. Based on the success of other similar vocational schemes such as Fifteen Cornwall and RIO’s Xtra-Vert, Cross Step is a fresh project aimed at giving young Cornish people a new and accessible way to improve themselves and help get them into jobs, courses or apprenticeships.

Through practical and theory sessions, one on one training and plenty of water time, The ‘Cross Steppers’ graduate with a NARS Beach Lifeguard Award and a British Surfing Association (BSA) Award, as well as work experience and further surf coach training. On top of that, the recruits have the chance to grow marketing and presentation skills, develop their CVs and build industry contacts; fully equipping them to forge bright futures in the world of water sports.

The first ever group of Cross Step graduates were put through their paces by Chris and his team at Errant Surf Holidays during the summer 2009 season. Thomas Jarman, aged 24, Naomi Jane Webb, aged 23, both from Falmouth and Mitch Corbett, aged 22, from Newquay, graduated with qualifications that now allow them to work anywhere in the world as surf instructors and lifeguards. Naomi has gone on to secure a position at Falmouth Surf School and Thomas is keen to get into surf coaching and lifeguarding abroad. Mitch meanwhile is going on to be an ambassador for RIO, helping to spread the word about the organisation. In return RIO has agreed to sponsor him in surf contests over the next year.

Mitch Corbett says of the Cross Step scheme, “I am really stoked to be going on to be an ambassador for RIO as they do such great work with young people. Because of Cross Step I now have qualifications that can help me get a job and compete in surf competitions all over the world. It’s a real bonus to have proper qualifications in something I enjoy doing.”

Jodi Redgrove, founder and Project Manager Cross Step says, “We’ve had such a good outcome from the pilot Cross Step scheme because we’ve been able to tap into something that is not only relevant and exciting for young people but is also sustainable and useful. We’re hoping to build on this success and get even more young people trained up for 2010.”

The next Cross Step course starts in March and is open to all young people across Cornwall and will take place in Newquay. The deadline to apply for the first course of the year is 15 February and to qualify you must be aged 16-25, unemployed and not in education.

If you are interested in finding out more about the next round of Cross Step, get in touch at hannah.barattini@realideas.org.

Next Monday 21st December 2009, 10am till 4, we are starting the next part of the Ground Swell surf media course. You will learn how to put your own online video profile together including how to shoot some surf footage, produce a professional looking interview and what all them clever buttons on the video camera’s do! Give us a shout if you fancy joining in.

How would you like to be part of the management team for a national UK Junior Pro Surf Tour?

Groundswell, The UK Pro Surf Association and Chew TV are investigating the possibility of creating a dedicated Web TV Channel to promote junior surfing and will be helping to organise a competitive tour across the UK for junior surfers in 2010, which will be run by junior surfers. That means YOU!

You will be working with some of the hottest talent in the design industry, as well as surf industry professionals, to develop a brand new promotional campaign for emerging surf talent with young people producing all of the video, image and text content for the new Web TV Channel.

This basically means that young surfers at forthcoming UKPSA events will learn how to document themselves and their friends surfing, whilst gaining the skills needed to promote themselves online, showcasing their surfing and media talents to the industries worldwide! The films are intended to encourage more of the UK’s young surfers to work within media, and submit their own films of them surfing, putting the UK groms on the map!

Chew TV will also be running other workshops, so you can learn the skills needed to administer content online, building up your media literacy in an area that is becoming increasingly relevant within the surfing industry and is a viable backup career plan.

So if you fancy kick-starting a career in project/ event management, journalism, photography, filmmaking or of course surfing! Then get involved. We will be looking to recruit a team of twelve keeno’s aged 13-19 to be the management team that will pull it all together, with the help of trained professionals, that cover all of the above areas.

Please email Josh Hughes (joshhughes1@btinternet.com) if you’re up for it and we’re going to be meeting in Newquay on Thursday 10th December at 5pm, so put the date in your diary.

This week Ground Swell CIC will be launching our new credit scheme to keep track of dedicated members, and reward them with free overseas trips and other great opportunities.

In short, the more involvement you have with Ground Swell the more GS Credits you will receive. For example people enrolled on the six week (every Saturday) Surf Media Course will gain 800 credits. If the same people turn up each Tuesday to our GS hang outs (more details to follow at the weekend) then they will gain 50 GS credits each night.
Every couple of months, Ground Swell will be putting on free surf trips.

In the past these have been to Lanzarote, Spain and France. These trips will have a GS value of anything between 1,000 – 4,000 credits. You can exchange your GS credits for these trips.

Check out our footage from a 2007 trip to Lanzarote. Edited at a recent video editing course in Plymouth, in partnership with Chew TV.

The day starts Saturday 17th oct at 10.00am and goes on till 6 pm at the Errant base. If you can’t make this one don’t stress, we have more planned!
You need to be under 25 and give Pete a call on 07968 892829, we only have 12 places so be damn quick!

You will get to use our latest equipment and software including access to the I Macs computer suite.

You will learn how to plan, shoot, edit and produce photo’s and videos for online content.

With the help of Josh Hughes and other professional surfers, you will learn what it takes to cut the perfect movie.

Ben Jones one of our Ground Swell team, and professional surf photographer will give you the chance to shoot from the water, a chance that is very rare within this industry.

As with all Ground Swell events this is free! But you do have to be quick to get involved. Extra cost may be incurred if you want your photos printed, and don’t forget with the help of our friends at The Print Enviroment we can have then printed on ANYTHING!

This Saturday 17th October, Ground Swell will be putting on a one day course for free to teach you Ground Swell members how to shoot the perfect surf photo. Carve surf magazine photographer Ben Jones will be on hand to show you what buttons to press and when!

This is a free event, but please do drop us a line on our Facebook wall to let us know you wish to be a part of it. You never know, you could be the next Tim Mckenna!

You will need to meet at 10am at the Errant Surf Holidays and Ground Swell base at Trebarwith Hotel.

A healthy spot of drizzle didn’t dampen the spirits as the first ever group of Cross Step and Xtra-Vert graduates took part in a showcase ceremony on the afternoon of Tuesday 22nd September at Trebarwith Hotel in Newquay. The celebratory event was the culmination of the two innovative skills based schemes, which have been specially designed by the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) for young people who are not in education, employment or training with the assistance of entry to employment and the European Social Fund.

Based on the success of other similar vocational schemes such as Fifteen Cornwall, Xtra-Vert and Cross Step are fresh new projects aimed at giving young Cornish people a new and accessible way to improve themselves and help get them into jobs, courses or apprenticeships.

The Xtra-Vert crew got a chance to show off some skateboard and BMX tricks on the impressive ramp that they have been constructing over the last four months as part of their intensive carpentry training and they also each received £100 of power tools for successful completion of the course. The Cross Step graduates received their brand new national qualifications in surf coaching and lifeguarding and after the ceremony demonstrated their new skills by taking guests for a free surf lesson on Great Western Beach.

Jodi Redgrove of the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) worked closely with Chris Thomson, Managing Director of Errant Surf Holidays and Cornwall Business Awards’ Young Business Person of the Year 2009, to set up Cross Step and with Will Woolnough, a carpenter and skater based in Newquay, to set up the Xtra-Vert scheme.

Xtra-Vert is based in St Day and of the nine young people from across Cornwall who started the course all nine successfully came through to complete it. Over the four months Will taught them a range of carpentry skills, including furniture construction and stud walling, so that they could also work on the construction of the skate ramp, which consists of a 4ft mini ramp and half pipe with a bowl and two 6ft extension turrets. The structure is specially designed to be dismantled into modules and can be
transported to different venues and events. It can now be hired out and the team has already been commissioned to build a new, bigger ramp that will be taken to festivals next summer.

Before the Xtra-Vert scheme all of the participants were out of work or education. Due to the success of the initial skate ramp project four of the Xtra-Verts, Jack Latham Byrne aged 21 from Watergate, Matt Duff aged 21 from Grampound Road, Luke West aged 17 from St Austell and James Follett aged 19 from Newquay, are now able to apply for full-time jobs with RIO to stay on and build the festival skate ramps and other commissions that have started coming through to Xtra-Vert. James Penfold, aged 20 from Wadebridge, has gained enough skills and qualifications to be taken on as an apprentice for a two year term with an external company. Charlie Banfield aged 16, Luke Keogh aged 17, both from Truro, Jack Gardener aged 21 from Bodmin and Herb aged 16 from St Agnes are all reentering education.

Chris and his team at Errant have spent the last three months putting Cross Step students Thomas Jarman aged 24, Naomi Jane Webb aged 23, both from Falmouth and Mitch Andrew Corbett aged 22 from Newquay, through a specially designed training programme. They have graduated with a NARS Beach Lifeguard Award and a British Surfing Association (BSA) Award, which will allow them to work anywhere in the world as surf instructors and lifeguards. Naomi has gone on to secure a position at Falmouth Surf School and Thomas is keen to get into surf coaching and lifeguarding abroad. Mitch meanwhile is going on to be an ambassador for RIO, helping to spread the word about the organisation. In return RIO has agreed to sponsor him in surf contests over the next year.

The action packed afternoon gave businesses, youth workers, other young people, employment agencies, policy makers and funders from across the South West the opportunity to see what the innovative Cross Step and Xtra-Vert schemes are all about and to talk to the young people directly about their experiences.

Xtra-Vert James Follett was out of work for six months previous to joining the scheme and says, “I heard about the project from my Aunty who works for a youth club. The course has been immense, I didn’t think this sort of stuff existed. It has made me more organised, more confident and obviously I have learnt valuable carpentry skills that I can use to get employment. I am really hoping that I can work for RIO and carry on at Xtra-Vert.”

Luke West adds, “I took on the course because skating is my life and I love working with wood and getting the chance to be creative with it. The fact that Xtra-Vert combines both is fantastic, it’s opened up so many doors.’

Mitch Corbett says of the Cross Step scheme, “I am really stoked to be going on to be an ambassador for RIO as they do such great work with young people. Because of Cross Step I now have qualifications that can help me get a job and compete in surf competitions all over the world. It’s a real bonus to have proper qualifications in something I enjoy doing.”

Jodi Redgrove, founder and Project Manager of the schemes says, “It was a really great afternoon and it was fantastic to see the Xtra-Vert crew and the Cross Step graduates showing off their new skills and work to so many interested and influential people. They have every right to be extremely proud of their achievements and we are really pleased to see them taking their new found skills onto other projects, further training, apprenticeships and employment. We’ve had such good outcomes from these schemes because we’ve been able to tap into something that is not only relevant and exciting for young people but is also sustainable and useful.”

For more information about Cross Step and Xtra-Vert please visit www.xtra-vert.com or email jodi.redgrove@realideas.org.

Check out the offical Ground Swell Facebook page right here you can upload photos, stay in touch with other members, well you know what we are talking about as you’ve probably been using Facebook for ages now!

Hey folks. I’m looking for people who are interested in contributing to the ongoing success of A1Surf.com. We’re a big website, but only a small team working on it (despite being part of a large new media company). I’m therefore looking for people to help in the following areas:

* Design promotional online adverts (banners, buttons etc)

* Write articles, news, guides etc

* Upload content to our site and help promote it online

There is no money available for payment unfortunately, but what we can offer is the opportunity to be able to have some of your work on the UK’s leading surf website – a great thing for your CVs -plus you’ll get references if required. And I’m sure we can sort you out with some freebies too )

If you have any skills in the above areas then please email david@a1surf.com, outlining what areas you are interested in.