Surfing Trip for the Advanced Sports Class

A week of summer, sun, and surfing. That already sounds like vacation, doesn’t it!? But it wasn’t quite time for that yet… For the 12th-grade advanced sports class, however, it was already a reality—they went on a field trip! Early Saturday morning, they hopped on the TGV headed for the popular surfing town of Carcans-Plage in southern France.

After a long trip, we kicked off the evening by watching the soccer round of 16 match between Germany and Denmark at a local restaurant. The initially bad weather was more than made up for by the great atmosphere and joy over Germany’s victory.

The next day, feeling refreshed and well-rested, we set out for our first day of surfing. For some, it was their first time on a surfboard; others had already moved beyond the beginner stage and were giving their skills a thorough refresher. The great weather and excellent conditions sparked a love of surfing in most of us and allowed us to enjoy the rest of the day at the beach.

 

Surfing the “green waves”

The following surfing sessions led to more and more success, and we realized that with the right technique and a few tricks, you can make rapid progress. In the evenings, we sat together on the beach, built bonfires, and enjoyed the sunset on Carcans Plage. With our experienced surf instructor Tim, the bravest among us ventured out to ride the taller “green” waves, while others honed their basic skills in the “whitewater.” We also strengthened our class bond and spent a lot of time together through our group Spikeball, volleyball, and soccer tournaments.

Even though the trip was coming to an end at an ever-faster pace, our schedule was still packed. On the last evening, the sports class passionately cheered on our German national soccer team, wearing Germany jerseys and waving flags. The entire restaurant was filled with the spirit of Germany, and emotions ran high. The frustration and sadness over our national team’s elimination from the European Championship briefly dampened the mood, but it couldn’t take away the wonderful memories of a fantastic week of surfing!

Martha Mengel and Emiliya Yanets