We get little notes from past students and campers all the time, but when we got an email from a parent about a persuasive essay (complete with photo collages!) that her daughter created for her friend, to convince her and her parents that she should also attend camp this summer, we just couldn’t wait to see it! We were so impressed with the essay we just had to share it! Please enjoy Natasha’s reasoning for “Why You Should Go To Maui Surfer Girls’ Teen Camp” :
About The Maui Summer Camp
Maui Surfer Girl is an unforgettable experience! It is not like any ordinary camp. The first day you walk into a grassy area in the center of all the cabins. The counselors and CITs (counselors in training) greet you with leis and necklaces made from palm leaves and a maui surfer girl bag containing a shirt, notebook, surfboard wax and much more. They take you to your cabin where you meet your cabin mates and cabin CIT. Once everyone is at camp we get in a circle and tell our names, age and where we are from.
After, we grab surfboards and paddle out a little bit from the beach. We make a circle and splash water into the air. That is always the camp tradition. The next few days, you wake up in the morning and surf for a few hours. It is bright and warm and the water is refreshing. After a few hours you come back to camp for chill time. You can swim at the beach footsteps away from the cabins, make necklaces and bracelets, paddle board, or just tan on the sun chairs. After lunch, we have afternoon activities. There is waterfall hikes, mermaid pools, cliff jumping, crafts and so many others. Then, we have dinner and after dinner, evening activities. Some of them are going to Haleakala and watching the sunset, the camp luau, cabin bonding and talent show night. And after a fun day full of memories, you can sleep in the cabin beds or a hammock and have the sound of waves loll you to sleep.
Thanks to Natasha for compiling these great collages!
No better way to learn how to surf
Maui surfer girls is not like any ordinary camp. Every morning, you get up and surf. Paddling out into the beautiful crystal blue water with your friends, there is no better way to spend a week of summer. The thing with this camp is it is not about your surfing ability, it is about your love the sport. For learning how to surf, this is the best camp. The counselors are always positive and willing to help you out. They will get you up on a wave in no time! They even taught their dog, Luna, to surf! I learned how to surf from the Maui Surfer Girl lessons and now my family and I surf all the time on our vacations. You do not need any skill to go to the camp, you just need passion. And by the end of the week, you will feel like you have been surfing for years.
Lifelong Friendships
Maui surfer girl camp is a girl power camp. No guys, only girls wanting to learn how to surf and make new friendships. And with 20 girls in the camp, you get to know everybody. With so many people in school, we never get a chance to get to know everyone well, we usually just hover around our own groups. But with this camp, everyone is friends. I still am in touch with my friends from camp. And there is always someone there for you if you want to skip surfing because you don’t feel well or if you just need to talk at night. The counselors are so supportive and will always make sure you have the best experience. Feel like sleeping outside? No problem, just let your surf group cit know where you are sleeping. My friend and I slept in Hammocks behind our cabin for two nights. Want to have a snack? There is always fresh fruit, cold water, toast, peanut butter and jelly if you need a little snack. After surfing want to do arts and crafts? Just pull out the box of supplies you want and clean up after yourself and there is no problem. Everyone is very supportive, and just want you to have the best camp experience.
Water Safety Part 1
Water safety always comes first at camp. The first thing we do is wherever we go out to surf, we always watch the waves. If they look too big for the ability of the group, they will take you to a different location. If they look good, we unload the surfboards from the van and take in the conditions. The instructors help us see the conditions. For example, it may be slightly off shore winds and the channel (where the waves break smaller). Once you ride a wave down near the beach you use the channel to paddle back to the lineup. If you paddle in the channel, you will not have big waves crash on you when you go back to the group. The channel also allows you to not get in the way of others surfing. In summary, the channel is the safe zone for you to not get crashed on by waves and you will not need to use a ton of energy to get back to the lineup. It also makes sure you won’t run into other surfers. It is like a safe passage.) lines up with the telephone pole on our left and the tallest palm tree on our right. Before getting in the water we also make sure the leash on our surfboard is secured to the board and our ankle and then the whole group paddles out in the water together.
Water Safety Part 2
Also, before getting in the water we practice our pop ups and how to have good surfing form. In the water, there is always a surf group counselor. For beginners, they will help you get into waves and in a few days you will be able to catch them your own! They will always be watching out for you. There are also CITs in the water helping you. Counselors tell you when set waves are coming and if you were drifting too far from the lineup. There will never be a time where you are alone and away from at least 2 counselors in the water. And if they see that anything happened, they will surf over and help you. All of the counselors are trained lifeguards and know what to do in every situation. I am not a super strong swimmer personally but surfing is easy for me. The only thing that you want to remember is that the water is pretty shallow so you do not want to kick the reef if you are swimming. And on the first day, there is a ding repair and surfer etiquette talk so everybody stays safe, has knowledge of the ocean and what surfer, in every situation, has wave priority so no surfer collide. You need no concerns about water safety at this camp!
Mahalo Natasha for such beautiful words about our camp!
As of January 31, our Week 1 is full. There’s lots of space in Week 2!
Click here to view more about Teen Camp and get registered!
Paddling into the ocean for our opening circle ceremony on the water.
Maui Summer Camp
Maui Teen Camp
Maui Girls Camp