Who are NWSC CIC? 

Newquay Women’s Surf Club CIC was founded in March 2020 by 3 local surfers with a passion for bringing the community together, empowering women to get into the sea and sharing the stoke! This trio of wonderful women set about creating  a community focused, not for profit inclusive surf club in the heart of Newquay, Cornwall. Newquay Women's Surf Club CIC is a Surfing England accredited surf club.

NWSC strives to provide affordable and accessible surf coaching for women and girls in Newquay and the surrounding area. NWSC seeks to increase the participation of women in regular sporting activity and encourage statistically less active groups (women ,mums, girls)  to take part in sport. We also offer subsidised activities for low income families. 

Our emphasis is on fun and creating an inclusive community of confident, sea savvy women, that build each other up and inspire others to get involved in social, outdoor physical activity.

NWSC aims to:

• Promote surfing for women in a safe and inclusive environment
• Encourage women to stay active and participate in surfing regularly
• Provide affordable regular access to surfing
• Build participants ocean knowledge with regular education opportunities
• Create a community of supportive connections through social events
• Empower and educate the next generation of ocean loving surf girls through the Little Ladies Surf program

What is The Little Ladies Surf Program?

Little Ladies is a weekly Surf Club for Girl’s Age 7 - 16

 We don’t just teach surfing we aim to inspire young women to regularly participate in social, physical and outdoor activity. Building a community of confident, healthy and happy surfing women, no matter their age, ability or experience.

All equipment is provided making the sessions inclusive to all. Whether you are a complete beginner or regular ocean dweller, NWSC have fully qualified coaches on hand to help to get you started and progress your skills. 

Little Ladies surf club runs twice weekly  throughout the season enabling as many participants as possible to take part in sessions. Run in small groups, split by age and ability, all our accredited female surf instructors are fully DBS checked.

Community Sponsorship Programs

NWSC provide funded places for girls and women on low income via the Community Little Ladies Sponsorship Program for girls age 7-16  and our Community programme for women. These programs provide Lessons, access to a community of like minded women and support for those who would not usually be able to access the sea. Ensuring our impact is reached by those most in need. 

Why are we Crowdfunding?

This Crowdfunding campaign will help us raise the money needed to continue to deliver impact within our community. We are looking to raise a total of £20,000 

We're really excited that Sport England have agreed to support our Crowdfunding campaign with a £10,000 pledge IF we can raise £10,000 from a minimum of 100 supporters from our Crowd! 

Raising £20,000 will enable us to do the following:

Purchase equipment:

NWSC is in need of new equipment to be able to reach more young girls and women and to continue to provide sessions to members of the community. We want to ensure that we can provide equipment to all those attending sessions in order to remain as financially inclusive and accessible as possible. 

Provide more subsidised places:

We are looking to increase the amount of subsidised places for both the Women's Surf Club and the Little Ladies Surf Club. 

We provide free funded places for girls and women on a low income via the Community Little Ladies Sponsorship Program Girls Age 7-16 and our Community programme for women. These programs provide surf lessons, access to a community of likeminded women and girls as well as support for those who would not usually be able to access the sea. We work with partner referral organisations to ensure that our impact is reached by those most in need. 

Fund further training opportunities:

We also want to increase the amount of women taking part in industry training and aim to do this via providing subsidised accredited training courses. This will lead to better representation within the surf industry ultimately encouraging more women to participate in surfing overall. Each year NWSC supports women to access accredited training courses. These are partially or fully funded by the Surf Club. Courses include:

ISA Level 1 Surf Coaching

Surf coach: progression

National Surf Coach Lifesaving Award (NSCLA), 

National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NVBLQ)

Successful course participants have the opportunity to go on to find paid employment within the Surf Industry with many choosing to become surf coaches with NWSC. 

Find our forever home:

Since 2020 NWSC has had a various temporary bases. We are incredibly grateful to the local surf shops/ hotels and fellow surf schools for allowing us to rent space in order to store equipment and  provide a safe space for our participants to change and store belongings. The downside has been the uncertainty of how long we can use these facilities throughout the season and the increasing cost of renting having a potential impact on the affordability of our sessions for participants. We always want to ensure that the cost of taking part in our Surf Club sessions are kept as low as possible and so we have made the decision to try and find a permanent base for Newquay Women's Surf Club. Somewhere that we can build our own identity. Somewhere to call home!

Community impact

Newquay is a tourist hotspot in North Cornwall. It’s picturesque coastline and wealth of surfing beaches make it a haven for holiday makers throughout the summer months. Newquay is however an area of high levels of disparity. Lack of employment opportunities, unaffordable housing and the rise in the cost of living are a few of the challenges faced by residents of Newquay and the surrounding area. Many postcodes within Newquay score between 1 and 3 on the National Index of Multiple Deprivation. Despite their proximity to the ocean, some Newquay residents and those from surrounding areas have little or no access to the ocean and surfing. Due to financial constraints, no access to affordable travel and lack of ocean skills/ swimming ability these members of the community have limited opportunity to enjoy the ocean on their doorstep.

Taking part in sport and in particular those that take place within Blue Spaces have been shown to improve both physical and mental wellbeing. According to study conducted by mental health charity Mind, Around a third of adults and young people said their mental health has got much worse since March 2020.

During the pandemic between 128 - 267 local women and 27 - 44 young girls regularly surfed with NWSC. Current  active NWSC membership numbers are 246 women, 62 Little ladies as well as 4 (subsidised) community Little ladies.

Surfing, as a sport, offers a unique blend of physical activity, exposure to nature, and a supportive community. Surfing helps to improve fitness, reduces social isolation and promotes mental well-being. Surfing also requires a high level of focus and mindfulness. This can help individuals develop resilience and cope better with the challenges they face both in and out of the water. By participating in the club's activities, women not only improve their physical fitness but also develop resilience and coping mechanisms, contributing to a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Read more about how to Surf your way to better health - Improve your mind and body with surfing (Surfing England)

Rewards

We have some amazing rewards on offer from our wonderful community. Simply click the "select reward" button under the reward(s) that you fancy and we'll sort the rest - go on treat yourself!

Here's a look at some of the great things you can get for yourself or as the season of gift giving is fast approaching, maybe treat someone else. 

Newquay Women's Surf Club Christmas party info

All you need to know about the 2025 Spain Surf Trip  - click here

Find out more info on the March 2025 Devon Rd trip here

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'become a fundraiser' button at the top of the page. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

5. Follow us on socials