Surfers become seals at Red Bull Camp
Boards were abandoned this morning as 19 of the world’s most talented junior surfers from the US, France, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, South America and Australia took part in a ‘navy seal’ team building exercise at Kingscliff Beach as part of the invitation only 2008 Red Bull World Qualifying Series (WQS) Selection Camp.“We were expecting blood, sweat and tears; we got the blood and sweat, but the team held strong on the tears”, said Camp Director and former WQS surfer Andy King. “It was 90 minutes of hell and they performed really well”, he said. “We evolved from a bunch of rugged individuals into a unified group where everyone took responsibility for the team”, he said.
The exercise involved paddling a canoe, surviving a wipeout that left
the surfers scrambling up the Kingscliff breakwall, carrying team
members and intensive exercises using the canoe as the weight. “One of
the selection criteria Red Bull looks for in potential team members is
that of sporting character”, said Andy Walsh, High Performance Manager
for Red Bull USA. “Even though surfing is a highly individual activity,
it’s vital that our athletes can work and travel well as a team.“It was really challenging because surfing is such an individual activity, we don’t often have the opportunity to work in a team environment”, says Aussie surfer Clint Kimmins, 24.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a good way to get to know the international guys”, agreed countryman Luke Dorrington, 22.
“We normally compete against these guys, so it was a good chance to work together”, added Kimmins.“It was pretty amazing as it taught us a lot about teamwork”, said central coast surfer Matt Wilkinson whose team members were from France, UK and the Dominican Republic. “The training was really tough”, said Wilkinson. “It puts a hard day’s surfing into perspective”.
After a recovery session, the surfers were then transported by helicopter from Gold Coast Heli Tours for a trip over the gorgeous Gold Coast beaches and then onto where they had the chance to pick some hot racing skills from Rick Kelly, the 2006 V8 Supercar Champion at Karting in Paradise at Darlington Park. Zooming around the track at up to 90km, the surfers showed that they are just as competitive and energetic out of the water. The exclusive camp which invited 19 future world champions including four Australians is being held at the Surfing Australia High Performance Centre in Casuarina, on the far north coast of NSW. Tomorrow they will enjoy a special seminar with world champion Mick Fanning and big wave surfing legend, Ross Clarke-Jones.
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