Elise M. 

Girl Reporter

At a weekend long camp at Imperial Beach in California, girls splashed at the beach as time drifted away. Some were learning the basics of surfing, while others used knowledge from previous visits, and others were off making crafts, or climbing the rock tower. The girls wandering around were in between the ages of 5-16. The camp was established in 1969, and has been used as a camp ever since – that’s 48 years and almost 10,000 camp sessions in total! Girls have been coming to Camp Surf for generations, even though it’s not just a girl camp.

The staff at YMCA Camp Surf really enjoyed their jobs, they all seemed friendly towards each other and were extremely helpful with some of the younger campers. The lifeguards would help you with most anything if you asked. They even gave small lessons on how to surf, body board, and paddling to those who needed them. Jared, a YMCA Camp Surf staff member, was extremely helpful to me and other girls who needed a bit of a refresher on how to surf. He taught us how to paddle out to a far distance and taught us how to catch a wave.

This particular weekend camp was a Mother Daughter camp, the girls all came with their Mother. As the girls played on the beach, did crafts, or climbed the rock tower the mothers socialized. One of the mothers, Bonnie, enjoyed spending bonding time with her daughter, despite not being to fond of the beach. She also enjoyed talking to the other mothers about their children. Mothers who brought their children in the past, pointed out a couple of landmarks, such as the sand sculptures that change each year.

After a day of surfing, the girls began to wind down. Some played volleyball while others relaxed in their cabins. Savanah and Quin, from Troop 2153, in Arizona, had their first experience with this particular camp the weekend of 26th and 27th. The two girls enjoyed surfing, the stuck together out and in the water and enjoyed every second of it!  Two other juniors enjoyed their stay and made plans to come again. The girls of troop 2532 also enjoyed their weekend at the YMCA Surfcamp, and would like to do it again. Many of the campers have returned multiple times in the past, while some enjoyed their very first experience.  The girls enjoyed bonding with their mothers, and it even brought some of them closer together!