‘Take a Kid Surfing Day’ expands to North Myrtle Beach, makes Olympic sport accessible
Tyler Watkins never thought he’d see surfing become an Olympic sport.
But last week, just days before he hosted his inaugural Take A Kid Surfing Day in his hometown, North Myrtle Beach, that distant dream became reality. For Watkins, watching American surfer Clarissa Moore take gold in the Tokyo Olympics made him all the more excited to continue teaching his beloved sport.
“Surfing is an amazing sport physically and mentally,” Watkins said. “Maybe we’ll see the next Olympic athlete come out of this event. Who knows?
“Kids today tend to be stuck in their phones too much,” Watkins added. “They tend to be stuck on the TV or computer or whatever. This gets them out into nature and gets them out into the ocean in a safe way and smiling and laughing and happy.”
Take A Kid Surfing Day, which happens multiple times every summer, is one of the biggest ways that the Surf Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit based out of the Grand Strand, works to grow the popularity of surfing and help kids safely learn to surf from a young age.
On Saturday, Watkins hosted North Myrtle Beach’s first-ever Take A Kid Surfing Day, where more than a dozen volunteers took 120 kids out into the waves to help them learn to surf. Until now, the event had primarily been held on the south side of the Grand Strand, near Surfside Beach and Garden City. The Surf Dreams Foundation will bring the event back once more this summer, hoping to introduce even more kids to the sport that’s shaped his own life.
“It’s an excellent opportunity for the parents because they get to bring their kid to something that’s safe, whereas they may not have known how to go about that process because they didn’t know what to do or where to go,” Watkins said. “There’s enough volunteers that are going to help the kids if they fall off, and they get excellent instruction in a fun environment.”
Erica Butler grew up surfing and brought her son Giovanni, 9, out to see if he would enjoy it as well.
“It’s awesome to see him out there. He was nervous to come out here to begin with, but I told him once he got out there, he’d be loving it,” Erica Butler said.
Within a few minutes of getting out on the board, Giovanni was able to stand up on the board a few times and ride it to shore. “I was curious to see if it would work out that way, but I’m very proud to see that he got up there quite a bit,” Erica Butler said.
Most of all, Butler said she appreciated all of the work Watkins and his volunteer instructors were doing to help kids learn.
“All these guys and girls wanted to come out here and be here for these kids,” she said. “It’s phenomenal. ... Get them to learn to love it now, and they’ll want to keep going” for the rest of their lives.
Steve Herlihy brought his son Logan, 9, out for the event. He said they’d been to Take A Kid Surfing Day before down in Surfside Beach and appreciated Watkins expanding the sport’s footprint. Herlihy lives in Little River, so the event was much closer this time.
“We see him progress every time, and he’s getting to where it’s like feeling natural, comfortable for him,” Herlihy said. ”Surfing, it helps make a love for the ocean and a desire to keep things nice, nice and clean and protect the environment.”
Of helping dozens of kids learn to surf, Watkins said, “It’s wonderful — the happiness, the smiles that I see on these kids faces and the high fives that the adults are giving them. I heard a parent say to their kid, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” Watkins said. “It’s emotional, and it’s a lot of pride in my community and North Myrtle Beach and what we’ve been able to put together.”
There’s still one more chance to get your kids out onto a board this summer for free. The Surf Dreams Foundation has its final Take A Kid Surfing Day, in Garden City, on Aug. 29. The “End of Summer Bash” starts at 9 a.m. that Saturday and will end with a pizza party and awards at Good Vibes Surf Shop. Space is limited, so be sure to register in advance online.
