The importance of\u00a0diversity,\u00a0inclusion and awareness of\u00a0cultural, social\u00a0and racial\u00a0disparities in\u00a0our surfing spaces is\u00a0something for us all to recognise, discuss and\u00a0positively\u00a0address. The\u00a0unjust\u00a0death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests\u00a0in particular have\u00a0brought into sharp focus the extent of\u00a0structural\u00a0racial disparity across all walks of society, and introduced\u00a0awareness of\u00a0white privilege, neo-colonialism\u00a0and\u00a0the overwhelming\u00a0extent of\u00a0how the slave trade generated\u00a0so much of\u00a0the\u00a0financial\u00a0wealth of colonial Europe.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where\u00a0Greater London\u00a0today\u00a0represents one of the most multi-cultural regions of the world, why do British beaches remain largely white-dominated?\u00a0Why is British\u00a0surfing\u00a0overwhelmingly white, and\u00a0particularly\u00a0amongst\u00a0female\u00a0surfers?\u00a0Over the last year,\u00a0Caribbean surfer\u00a0Nick\u00a0Donawa\u00a0has been a positive presence at The Wave\u00a0in\u00a0Bristol (a city which is\u00a0an epicentre of UK black culture), both\u00a0freesurfing\u00a0with British Caribbean friends and coaching some of his junior squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nick surfs with style and flair,\u00a0reflecting\u00a0his\u00a0infectious\u00a0personality.\u00a0We\u00a0caught up with Nick to talk about\u00a0how he got involved in surfing and then the burning issue of\u00a0diversity in\u00a0waveriding.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was born\u00a0and raised\u00a0in Barbados,\u00a0but\u00a0I\u2019ve been based in the UK during Covid,\u00a0and surfing at The Wave has been really special for me over the last couple of years.\u00a0I\u2019m currently in\u00a0West Sussex in the South Downs,\u00a0so\u00a0East\u00a0Wittering is my\u00a0local\u00a0break, and I go up to The Wave with my son when I can.\u00a0A lot of my friends from Caribbean backgrounds\u00a0who live over here have been seeing me going there and I\u2019ve inspired\u00a0many\u00a0of them to come along, surf and hang out. Recently I had\u00a0a crew of\u00a0friends who\u2019d grown up in Barbados\u00a0and we were having\u00a0such\u00a0a good time. The only thing that was missing was a bottle of rum and a breadfruit!\u00a0And\u00a0wow, what a facility. I have always worked a lot as a surf coach and\u00a0surf judge and\u00a0it is just such an excellent site for training.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I grew up in Barbados in the 1970s there was no surfing organisation, and no contests, so freesurfing was the thing. Then after some time studying in Canada, when I returned in the 1990s, the Barbados Surfing Association had been formed (in 1983). Mark Holder, Zed Layson and Alan Burke were some of the standouts from that time. And that\u2019s when I got really involved in judging, doing the ISA courses and working as a head judge at many of the ASP and WSL events that came to the spots Soup Bowl and Brandons until recently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After working in the surfing governing bodies on the island as a vice president and president, and taking the team to the ISA World Championships, I found that the thing that Barbados was missing was coaching. We didn’t have any real resident coaches, so I worked up to become a Level 2 ISA coach and train the Barbados teams, specifically the juniors. That developed into working with other teams, including the Russian junior team before things slowed down from the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1970s access to surfing was about access to surfboards. They are very expensive pieces of equipment, and there were none that were made on the island. So it was often about who could access them from travelling surfers, and who might have the money to do that. But in the 1980s and \u201890s as surfing was getting real hot, there was a real boom in sponsorships, particularly with brands from the East Coast of the USA. And that helped level the playing field, allowing more surfers to get equipment and get recognised. Then we started getting some locals shaping and black representation really grew in Bajan surfing, with Mark Holder leading the charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then it all dipped off again\u00a0in\u00a0the 2000s\u00a0because of the economics\u00a0of the surf industry. The cost of a surfboard could feed\u00a0a\u00a0family for easily two weeks, so\u00a0the reality of it was that most families saw no future in surfing. The competitions that paid were aboard, and that cost money, with no guarantee of winning money back. So many parents saw surfing as a hobby,\u00a0and education\u00a0was\u00a0a better route to get a better career path. But before Covid things really felt on the rise again with more opportunities in surfing, and more access for boards again. I\u2019ve been really supportive\u00a0with\u00a0helping more kids access boards around the island.\u00a0And we\u2019re seeing that better access to surf equipment\u00a0having an impact\u00a0all over the world.\u00a0But\u00a0just because you get a board and a surf lesson it doesn\u2019t mean you need to be\u00a0a\u00a0professional surfer.\u00a0It’s\u00a0more\u00a0a part\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0culture that I don’t think\u00a0kids\u00a0should miss out\u00a0on. The water is good for all of us no matter what level of\u00a0surfer\u00a0we\u00a0are or\u00a0how often\u00a0we do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. You have to appreciate the history of Barbados, which was a place where so many slave codes, that then heavily influenced America, were developed and written. Of course we\u2019re not fully over that, but we feel a divisive black versus white argument is not constructive in Barbados anymore. So the feeling is, just because somebody has a different skin tone than you, it doesn’t mean we have to be on the defence, or have to be suspect of everything that they do. So in Barbados I don\u2019t think we would talk about a \u2018black surfing association\u2019 because we’ve gone past that and it feels too divisive. We just want to support a \u2018good surfing association\u2019 that is inclusive for everybody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I think surfing in my part of the world is a place where you don’t see anything other than another human being. There’s no colour, there’s no country, it\u2019s nothing other than, \u2018Come let’s get into the water,\u00a0roast\u00a0some breadfruits, have a drink, be outdoors.\u2019 And you know there’s no divide between what you ride \u2013 surf, bodyboard, longboard, we all share the coast together, so we\u2019ve\u00a0got to look after the environments, and one another\u00a0because we\u2019re in this together.\u00a0Yes it\u2019s more of a healing, sharing attitude, but it\u2019s how we are in Barbados, and I think that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0And\u00a0I\u2019ve met\u00a0a lot of British Caribbeans closely connected to that way of thinking\u00a0over here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lack of black surfers in the UK is really something that I notice, but that can change. I think it’s a very pertinent question that needs to be asked. At one level it’s for many of the same reasons as the economic ones in Barbados that stopped people being attracted to surfing as a job and a worthy career path, or preventing them from accessing expensive equipment. It\u2019s not very aspirational to go into surfing. And that\u2019s where a stronger surf industry can help through creating those career opportunities and attracting people of colour and supporting people of colour to have more success in surfing. So for the Caribbean communities, I think that there needs to be more communication that says, \u2018Yes you can pursue this and you can have a professional career\u2019. It doesn\u2019t have to be big sponsorships with the \u2018Rip Curls\u2019 or the \u2018Quicksilvers\u2019, but small brands in your own towns. And of course it\u2019s the wider industry as well \u2013 the coaching, the judging, the organisation, the brands, the equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But\u00a0I think\u00a0this all has to\u00a0come really from a love of the ocean, and the ocean being\u00a0a celebrated\u00a0part of our lifestyle.\u00a0Now\u00a0I talked to\u00a0a lot of\u00a0people\u00a0here\u00a0and they say\u00a0that you\u00a0don’t really see a lot of black people at the beaches\u00a0around Britain.\u00a0I think you have to ask yourself why.\u00a0And\u00a0maybe they don’t feel comfortable\u00a0or welcome\u00a0there because\u00a0it\u2019s been a white dominated\u00a0space before.\u00a0I don’t know, but\u00a0it’s worth being open\u00a0to talking about it.\u00a0Teaching\u00a0people to\u00a0stand up alone on a board\u00a0is actually teaching\u00a0a way of life\u00a0that\u00a0is the best recipe for mental health that\u00a0I’ve ever come across. And then if you love it enough you can go and start doing contests and pursue your dreams, or just have surfing as a part of your lifestyle.\u00a0It\u2019s about\u00a0having\u00a0a big love of\u00a0water and\u00a0the ocean.\u00a0Every time I drive anywhere\u00a0and I see waves,\u00a0I’m imagining all the wonders that\u00a0can happen on those waves.\u00a0Some of us are born with that love, but others\u00a0can discover it through a teacher who introduces\u00a0waves and\u00a0the ocean safely. Black British communities would benefit from more of that I think.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think\u00a0promotional events are a great way to get recognition from the wider community.\u00a0These can be family days where transport is arranged, or connecting communities from similar backgrounds, like a Barbados Day,\u00a0or an India Day, or an Iran Day,\u00a0that could open the\u00a0awareness\u00a0to Caribbean, Indian, Iranian\u00a0communities, for example,\u00a0around\u00a0a city\u00a0to come and try surfing. It\u2019s\u00a0getting the word out there,\u00a0and\u00a0getting both parents and children involved.\u00a0It\u00a0could lead to the next best talent rising up,\u00a0or it can just lead to happiness and a\u00a0good day out.\u00a0And once you have some new and\u00a0different role models,\u00a0that really helps accelerate things.\u00a0I want to see\u00a0surfers from all over the place. With the colonial history of the UK\u00a0there should be\u00a0British\u00a0born surfers representing so much\u00a0more\u00a0of the world\u2019s diversity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a new generation of Russian surfers that are ripping. Nikita Avdeev is from Yakaterinbug, Siberia, and now performing well at WSL events. He learned to surf in Bali and is now part of a really strong Russian team. My stepson Nikita Petrov is also from Russia and he learned to surf in Barbados. Before Covid we started doing training camps with the Barbados and Russian junior teams. And those guys now are friends for life. That to me is what surfing is all about – the sharing, the cultural mix, the internationalism and multi-culturalism. That\u2019s what really excites me about surf communities. It\u2019s about exchanging and working together. Then we are all stronger. Today some of the best young surfers in Barbados are from mixed families, including Belgium. Guyana, Italy and many more places. And the young Russian surfers are very international in their perspective and approach, but also proud of their background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u00a0used to run a\u00a0Caribbean pro tour called the Caribbean\u00a0Surf\u00a0Network and we did events in Trinidad and Barbados and Jamaica.\u00a0The Jamaicans\u00a0are just ripping\u00a0now.\u00a0They are setting the highest levels in the Caribbean.\u00a0And that\u2019s really come from the local surf families supporting and coaching the juniors. But also the inter island rivalry is really good, and now\u00a0Guadeloupe and Martinique\u00a0and\u00a0Dominica\u00a0are rising up with their federations\u00a0supporting the youth. Good surfing governance is so important, and actually rivalry between nations can be healthy for competition and pushing performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, that\u2019s\u00a0fantastic. And\u00a0something we\u2019re working to\u00a0do\u00a0as well is develop some surfing exchanges between West Africa and the Caribbean.\u00a0We have such a cultural and musical bond, and surfing can strengthen that.\u00a0And British beach culture should embrace it\u2019s African and Caribbean communities more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, we can use the power of our surf communities to go past the divisive argument of black and white and talk more about opportunities and a new wave of interconnections, and then that can hopefully help naturally generate more chances for wider participation in surfing from all backgrounds in the UK and beyond. And then the good role models with evolve and inspire. But good coaching and surfing governance really helps structure and support all this. And I go back to what I said about Barbados where we don’t see anything other than another human being. There’s no colour, there’s no divide. We\u2019re in this together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The importance of\u00a0diversity,\u00a0inclusion and awareness of\u00a0cultural, social\u00a0and racial\u00a0disparities in\u00a0our surfing spaces is\u00a0something for us all to recognise, discuss and\u00a0positively\u00a0address. The\u00a0unjust\u00a0death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests\u00a0in particular have\u00a0brought into sharp focus the extent of\u00a0structural\u00a0racial disparity across all walks of society, and introduced\u00a0awareness of\u00a0white privilege, neo-colonialism\u00a0and\u00a0the overwhelming\u00a0extent of\u00a0how the slave trade generated\u00a0so much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-topics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n