Welsh Surfing Federation Course Fees

[Welsh Surfing Federation]

Welsh Surfing Federation Surf School

Lesson Costs

First ˝ day
(2 hours tuition)

Ł 25.00

Any other ˝ day
(2 hours tuition)

Ł 20.00 (in the same year)

This way you could either have a block of lessons or have them spread out over the year for the same price.

Full payment is required to book (see terms below)

All lessons include:

A surfboard that is easy to learn on

A full wetsuit

Wetsuit boots
Full 2 hours of instruction
One years surf insurance (see below)

All you need to bring is a pair of shorts/swimwear

Surf Insurance (new for 2009)

Everyone that has a lesson with us gets a free 3rd party surfing insurance policy. This provides cover from injury claims against you when you surf at any time after your lesson. The policy lasts for 1 year and is provided by the British Surfing Association. This is inluded free in your lesson price.

Surfing Lessons

A surfing lesson includes a suitable surfboard (long, wide, buoyant and made of soft foam), a wetsuit and tuition on surfing and water safety. The shortest lesson we offer runs for two hours and we usually run two of these a day. Some may have already tried surfing and have made the decision to take surfing up as a regular sport. They can then either have a block of lessons to start or have a number of lessons spread out over the summer to pick up new skills and get advice on fault correction. Surfing compares with similar sports like snowboarding/skiing in that the very basic skills can be learned in a day but more tuition time is needed to learn control and intermediate skills. We can also give unbiased advice on the correct surfboard and wetsuit for you to choose.

Surfing lessons provide an accelerated introduction into a very difficult sport by the use of 'beach teaching' the skills required by qualified instructors able to asses individuals ability and surfing conditions.

As a measure of the success of the Surf School we find that the majority of people achieve stand up surfing in their first day. Tuition is also available for surfers who want to improve or learn new skills.

You pay extra because for their travelling costs and as we are a non-profit organisation we can be cheaper to sart with.

Also your lesson time with them often includes driving and getting changed. We charge Ł25 for 2 hours of instruction with an additional 30 minutes given to get the changing and equipment allocation at the start and end of a lesson so you will be with us for 3 hours.

We do offer a discount at Ł20 for any lesson after a first lesson. We try to be fair to everybody and not just offer discounts to those that ask.

Please e mail or phone us if you require further information and see the How To Book page.

How Many Lessons Should I Book?

We get asked this all the time and there is no one answer. It really depends on whether you want a one off fun session or want to get into surfing as your sport as quickly as possible.

In our experience a little over 1/3 of the people we teach want a full day of lessons (2 sessions). The remaining 2/3 find a single lesson just right.

As you need to pay for each lesson we advise you book for only what you are sure you want. You can always add more lessons as you need (space permitting). We advise children under 12 and people who are not paricularly active to only book one lesson a day.

Splitting a number of lessons over more days is easier as is having rest days.

Payment And Refund Terms For A Booking

The Short Version:

Payment is required in full in advance of a booked lesson by card (phone) or by cheque (post)

If you cancel your lesson there is a charge of Ł5 per person per session. All other monies will be refunded to you.

If the surf school cancels a session due to no surf or gales then we will rearrange your booking or give you a full refund.

The Details:

The surf school operates a bookings system which we hope is as fair as possible to our customers. We require advance payment to book a lesson. This can be paid for by credit/debit card over the phone or by posting us a cheque (a lesson is not booked until we receive a cheque).

This payment guarantees that we can provide you a surf lesson when you want it, with a surfboard and wetsuit reserved. As many people we teach drive a long way to learn to surf we know this is very important. We have a fixed number of surfboards and when we are fully booked for a session we can take no more people. The surf school also needs to know in advance how many people we are teaching in a session to have the correct number of instructors working. In order to keep our costs down (and our lesson prices as low as possible) we only employ instructors when we need them.

The Ł5 per person per session cancellation charge covers our credit card charges and instructor booking. This charge is not transferable to another session even on the same day. If you are concerned about the risk of losing a the Ł5 charge because of problems with transport, illness, or any unforseen circumsatnce then we recommend you purchase holiday insurance. This cancellation charge applies to group bookings or bookings of blocks of lessons. We treat each session independantly so a Ł5 charge is only for each session cancelled. Also we treat each person in a group indepenantly with a charge of Ł5 per person.

In order to maintain the highest quality of teaching and safety a small number of lessons have to be cancelled becuase of no surf or very strong winds. We make every attempt to rearrange a session for another day if this is possible for you. If the surf school cancels a session and you cannot make another date then all payments are refunded in full. The decison as to whether a session is cancelled because of surf or weather conditions is made only by the surf school. The WSF surf school is proud of its well established reputation for being the only surf school in the area that runs lessons only if there is surf big enough to ride waves.

In our season from April to October the majority of surf lessons are lucky enough to have fine weather but as we run from Wales not Hawaii we do not cancel surf lessons if it is raining or breezey. Surfing is an outdoor sport that means you can experience all of what weather we have (sometimes in the same day!). We have 5mm wetsuits designed for winter use from November to April. We also have boots gloves and hoods designed for the coldest weather if you need. You will be warmer in the water wearing a wetsuit in the spring, summer and autumn than staying on the beach.

Paying By Credit Card

Phone us on 01792 386426 and we can take your details.
You may get our answering machine if we are teaching so please leave your name and contact telephone number for us to call you back.

For your security please do not leave credit card details on our answering machine.

Paying By Cheque

All cheques made payable to:

WSF surf school, The Barn, The Croft, Llangennith, Swansea, SA3 1HU
A lesson is not considered booked until a cheque is received and we reply with confirmation.

Please include with your cheque a letter with:

Your name

Your phone number(s) (home, work and mobile)

The session(s) you want

Group Discounts

There are three other visiting surf schools that come to Llangennith their prices are higher than ours ranging from Ł30 and over for a shorter lesson.

You pay extra because for their travelling costs and as we are a non-profit organisation we can be cheaper to sart with.

We do offer a discount at Ł20 for any lesson after a first lesson. We try to be fair to everybody and not just offer discounts to those that ask.

Please e mail or phone us if you require further information and see the How To Book page.

Age/Other Requirements

Every person wishing to take part in a lesson must be able to swim for 50M in a pool and any medical conditions that they have that might endanger themselves or others in a lesson must be stated on the surf schools consent form. If under 18 a parent or guardian can fill the consent form in. A surf lesson is not suitable for anybody who is pregnant.

Surfing is a sport that can be enjoyed by all ages. There is no maximum physical age for a surfing lesson (it's all a state of mind). The surf school normally recommends a minimum age of 8 years old for a lesson. For children under 10 years old we ask a parent/guardian/brother/sister/etc to be on hand for the lesson to help with changing into a wetsuit, taking the child out of the lesson if they become tired and to cheer good rides from the beach. If you would like a child younger than 8 years old to have a lesson we ask a parent/guardian/brother/sister/etc to go into the water to individually assist (we will lend you a wetsuit). This advice has been arrived at from over 20 years of experience of teaching young people to surf. It is designed to ensure safety and to make a lesson as fun as possible.

Our lessons operate with a maximum of 1 instructor to 8 people. Also all beginner lessons are kept within waist/chest depth water in conditions that have been assessed by the surf school manager for safety.

Surf Conditions

Due to our reliance on the surf to run a lesson there are occasions when the surf school has to cancel or delay a lesson to ensure customer safety and satisfaction. The WSF surf school prides itself in its reputation for only running lessons if there is surf big enough to ride waves. We do use surf forecast websites to identify problems. These forecasts are often inaccurate but we can allow us to warn you in advance of a lesson if there might be a problem. The decision as to whether or not a lesson can run is made by the surf school manager by 8.30am by the surf school on that day.

Due to the beach conditions at Llangennith the surf school is able to safely operate in very large surf. This is because a beginners group will always be kept in waist to chest depth water where the waves will be small and safe for beginners.

As the surf school uses very large and buoyant surfboards, surf as small as ˝ foot can be used for teaching.