Australian Pro Adaptive Surfing Championships athletes swear by 'ocean therapy'

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The famous waves of Byron Bay now have some new fans. The world's best surfers with a disability have taken over the town for a championship that begins their world tour. And paralympic delegates are watching on with a view to adding adaptive surfing to the program in time for Brisbane 2032.

Transcript

00:00Byron Bay has rolled out the blue carpet for some of the world's most determined surfers.

00:08So far, Mother Nature has come along for the ride.

00:10This is like Hawaii in Australia, isn't it?

00:14Blue water, green surrounds, Wollumbin in the background under the clouds.

00:18It's beautiful.

00:19Absolutely beautiful.

00:20A one metre swell at Byron Bay's main beach was enough to give competitors the waves they

00:24needed to show off their skills and courage.

00:28That was good and I saw that end section and I thought, I've got to have a go.

00:31I didn't make it, but that's okay.

00:34Now in its second year, the Australian Adaptive Pro features more than 80 surfers from 16

00:40countries.

00:41They're divided into nine categories, depending on their disability, and everyone has a story

00:46to share.

00:49Earlier this year, Catherine Beattie lost everything she owned when her house burned

00:53down in the California bushfires.

00:56Almost immediately, people started offering to shape me boards, get me adaptive equipment,

01:02just to make sure I could get here to Australia.

01:04Adaptive surfing won't be part of the Paralympics in Los Angeles, but behind the scenes, the

01:09campaign continues to make it part of the 2032 Games in Brisbane.

01:14Australian Paralympic delegates are keeping a low profile at this event, but organisers

01:19know they're here and looking at things like the athlete classification system and the

01:24safety measures put in place to protect competitors.

01:26It's supposed to be an inclusive world, why isn't surfing part of it?

01:31So if they've got the professional surfers in, the para-surfers should be there.

01:35But for some, competition will never be the main game.

01:39I love this community and I love being in the water.

01:43It's my happy place.

01:45Saltwater therapy for those who believe in the healing power of the ocean.

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