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Groms at Tupira. Photo by Simon Williams courtesy of SAPNG
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
A local Victorian surfer has taken it upon himself to initiate a donation drive across the state to collect pre-loved surfboards and equipment and ship them to coastal towns in Papua New Guinea, where many local surfers often make do with planks of wood due to lack of funds.
The drive will run from now until the end of the year with a number of surf shops and clubs joining the cause and acting as collection points for donated goods.
Marty Brown, a keen surfer from Mornington Peninsula discovered a passion for PNG when he took his first surf trip up there in February 2005 but along with the incredible, uncrowded waves and pristine beaches, Marty saw first-hand the lack of money and resources in the local surfing villages.
“I travelled to PNG for the amazing surf without the masses of tourists and it was cool to meet the locals who share my love of surfing – but it was confronting to see them surfing on splinters, which are make-shift boards made of left-over wood from dug-out canoes, when I knew I had six or seven old surfboards sitting at home in the garage,” Marty said.
“I came away and started thinking about how much they could make use of my old gear and I knew I had mates who were in same situation who would gladly give their old boards to the Papua New Guineans – if there were a way to get them there. So I decided to do something about it.”
Marty made contact with the president of the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea Inc (SAPNG) Andrew C. Abel, ML, and shared his idea to get Aussie surfers to donate their old boards and equipment including leg ropes, rashies, fins and wax.
The SAPNG offered their support to ship the equipment, carry out any ding repairs and re-conditioning and fairly distribute the donations to key surfing areas including Vanimo, Kavieng, Wewak , Madang, Port Moresby, Manus and Bouganville.
“Surfing is still a relatively new sport in PNG and the passion is growing amongst the local villages, but there are no surf shops or money to provide the proper equipment so Marty’s initiative will be really welcomed,” Mr Abel said.
In a nod towards gender equality in surfing, the SAPNG will be painting the tips of half the boards pink, dedicating these boards to budding female surfers.
“There is a lot of opportunity for surf tourism to grow and benefit these local communities and this is a grass roots campaign to encourage interest in surfing. Including the girls in the donations is an important step to creating gender equality in PNG’s surfing world – which until now has been completely male dominated.”
Despite surf tourism still being in its infancy in PNG, the SAPNG has implemented a unique and ground-breaking Surf Management Plan (SMP) that not only protects the natural environment but also provides a financial benefit to local surfing communities. The SMP establishes a strict quota on the number of surfers permitted in a particular area at any one time – ensuring that the waves are always un-crowded in PNG and also requires visitors to pay a nominal fee to surf which directly benefits the local surfing communities.
It is this SMP together with initiatives like the donation drive that increases local interest in surfing and provides more opportunities for potential surf areas to open up.
The drive has kicked off in Victoria with interest quickly growing in Queensland and NSW.
Victorian donations can be made at the following locations:
· Trigger Brothers Surfboards: all stores
· Mordy Surf: all stores
· Island surfboards: all stores
· Speakys Surf ‘n’ Skate: Geelong
· Anglesea Surf Centre: Anglesea
For more information on where to make donations or how to become a collection point contact Marty Brown on pngsurfdonation@hotmail.com or 0418 388 415
For more information on surfing in PNG visit http://papuanewguineasurfing.com/ or www.papuanewguinea.travel
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