The first ever ISA Surf Instructor course in Myanmar is on now at Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Resort!

 

The first ever ISA Surf Instructor course in Myanmar is underway at the beautiful Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Resort.  The resort is hosting this ISA Level 1 Surf Coaching and Aquatic Rescue & Safety Course from 1-8 May, as it is home base for the Surf Association of Myanmar (SAM) whose mission is to develop and grow surfing in the country.

The still clean and relatively undeveloped beach here offers a great venue for surfing, and its proximity to the capitol city of Yangon, a 5 hour drive, makes it a perfect place for city dwellers to learn to surf and then continue to develop their surfing skills.  The Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Resort has the only organized surf school in Myanmar, and as such seeks to ensure that their instructors receive the highest level of training in order for them to provide the best and safest instruction to their students.

Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Resort / Photo By Tim Hain
Myanmar Beach Scenery/ Photo By Tim Hain

This ISA program is taking place over a 7 day period, and is a mix of classroom and beach/water activity from 7-8 hours per day.  The participants will receive both theory and practical training each day, and at the end of the program will receive ISA certifications on ISA Level 1 Surf Coaching and for Aquatic Rescue & Safety.

Day 1 of ISA/ Photo By Tim Hain

Jonni Morrison-Deaker is the ISA (International Surfing Association) Presenter for this course, which is a comprehensive program that not only teaches these surf instructors proper surfing instruction techniques but also proper ocean rescue and safety techniques.  In developing nations such as Myanmar, there are rarely if even any lifeguards at the beach, so surfers and surf instructors are often the only ones that make the rescues.  Morrison-Deaker is the owner of the Rip Curl School of Surf in Bali, Indonesia, and has been teaching and making ocean rescues for more than 20 years here in the Asian Region.

Practical Teaching With Jonni /  Photo by Tim Hain
Practical Teaching With Jonni /  Photo by Tim Hain
Classroom Teaching With Jonni /  Photo by Tim Hain

ISA  Instructor Course Participants/  Photo by Tim Hain

This program is sponsored by the Surf Association of Myanmar, which is headed up by Phone Kyaw M Myint, who reached out to the ASC (Asian Surf Cooperative) asking for assistance to provide this training. His goal is growing the sport of surfing in Myanmar, and ensuring that this growth progresses safely and properly.

 

Consistent with the ASC’s mission to develop and grow the sport of surfing in the Asian Region, the ASC was delighted with the opportunity to provide the resources and organize this program, and is committed to providing further assistance to help support and encourage the growth of surfing here in Myanmar.

Life Guard Training With Jonni/  Photo by Tim Hain