Welcome to AccesSurf’s Online Training!
Brought to you in part by: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation
E komo mai – Welcome!
These topics serve as an introduction to the heart of AccesSurf. When you are finished, we hope you will have a better understanding of who we are and what we do. Mahalo for your interest!
Work your way through the topics. Feel free to come back to any topic if you need more clarification or want to explore it a little more! This is an individually guided learning experience. This training manual is part of our efforts to support our volunteers in advancing their skills in creating accessible communities. Use this manual as a reference and supplemental aid to the in-person or virtual advanced volunteer trainings.
Ocean of Possibilities!
This training serves as a way for you to become familiar with who and what AccesSurf is as an organization and a community. It was designed to complement the advanced volunteer certification program and is a way to build your knowledge base in the industry.
Mission
AccesSurf builds an inclusive community that empowers people with disabilities through accessible beach and water programs.
Vision
In following the spirit of Duke Kahanamoku, AccesSurf continues to be a pioneer in the advancement of adaptive water sports, ocean recreation, and therapeutic instruction for people with disabilities throughout the state of Hawaii and worldwide.
AccesSurf History
2006
AccesSurf was born of humble beginnings with a few pickup trucks, lots of duct tape, and a determination to adapt in any way possible to get those with disabilities back in the water. Original founders Mark Marble and Rich Julian, along with two other original board members Kate Julian and Amen Somal, started first with a small trial run in November of 2006, followed by the first ever “Day at the Beach” the next month.
2007-2011
Some of the original volunteers and participants consisted of Jeff Hepfer, Chris Courtois, Nate Carl, Layne Fitzpatrick, Tommy Chorman, Ann Yoshida, Mark Matheson, DeeDee Eastman, Wes Eastman, Dennis Mosher, Peter Drews, Keala Fung, Kayla Adams, John Greer, Chris Greer, Dawna Zane, Dennis Okada, and Hanako Okada.
We’re proud to say that much of this original group is still very active with us, all these years later, and many have gone on to great things. Ann Yoshida went on to become a Paralympic athlete at the Rio Olympics. Rich Julian has gone on to compete in adaptive surf competitions around the world, inspiring countless adaptive surfers. Jeff Hepfer is still one of our key leaders running our Swim Clinics and is active on our Leadership Committee. Chris Courtois is now the head coach of the Hawaii Adaptive Surf Team. Mark Matheson has become a leader in adaptive prone paddling, completing the prestigious Molokai to Oahu crossing several times.
2011-2012
For the first seven years, Mark Marble served as Executive Director. During this time, AccesSurf and the Day at the Beach program continued to grow steadily. Mark forged partnerships for special programs with Make-A-Wish Hawaii and initiatives with City and County to establish permanent beach access, and even provided safe beach access for the Dalai Lama to bless the Hokulea. In 2011, a second monthly program was added – Wounded Warrior Day at the Beach – to serve our wounded service men and women, providing them with healing ocean experiences and helping many of them with their transition to civilian life. In 2012, AccesSurf became Hawaii’s first and only Paralympic Sports Club.
2014
In 2014, Cara Short became Executive Director, ushering in an era of rapid growth both for AccesSurf and adaptive surfing the world over. Our Day at the Beach program began seeing record numbers of participants and volunteers nearly each and every month. Quarterly swim and surf clinics were added, focusing on equipping participants with the skills needed to enjoy the water as independently as possible.
2015-2016
In 2015, the first ever World Championships for Adaptive Surfing were held in La Jolla by the International Surfing Association. AccesSurf was critical in developing the safety protocol and competitive classifications for the event and also helped found the Hawaii Adaptive Surf Team, who made a great showing that year. More than anything, this event galvanized the global adaptive surf community and put AccesSurf on the world stage. Thanks to this exposure, our own annual adaptive surf competition held each year at Duke’s OceanFest then became the world’s premiere competitive adaptive surfing event. 2016’s competition featured more than 60 athletes from 9 countries, showing just what adaptive athletes can do.
2017-2019
AccesSurf hosts more than 40 events each year, facilitating well over 2500 ocean experiences annually and has a volunteer base of over 900 people. The Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships emerged, we helped build a functional classification system, and we added a canoe day to our programming.
2020
The tide has changed with the worldwide pandemic. We have used 2020 as a time to reflect, review, rebuild, and re-imagine how we live our mission. The population in our community is more isolated, less accessible, and prone to poverty and unemployment. We find joy in increasing our quality and experience in our community and worldwide by offering offer both virtual and in-person programming and have gotten closer with our community.