On location in Hawaii

Mel Clark heads up Christian Surfers in New Zealand.  She recently jetted over to Hawaii for the international conference.  We thought we would catch up with her and see how it went and see what is planned for the Jesus Pro that was postponed a couple of months ago.

SNZ: Tell us what you have been up to, we hear you have been sunning in Hawaii?

MC: I've been at the Christian Surfers International Conference, where all the CS leaders from around the world gather every two years. They definitely pick good spots to meet for conferences and camping in Hawaii in winter is a lot warmer than camping in NZ.

SNZ: How long were you over there for and how long was the conference?

MC: I spent a couple of weeks in Hawaii, having lots of meetings with other leaders, filming some training materials for Christian Surfers' leadership training programme, visiting Surfing the Nations to check out what they're up to (another non-profit surfing organisation who serve the surfing community internationally), and had six days of conference. It's only every two years so all the leaders try and make the most of it!

SNZ: How many representatives were there?

MC: There were over 200 leaders from 25 different nations represented at the conference.  Christian Surfers held their first international conference in Hawaii at the same spot 20 years ago and there were 25 guys there - amazing to see how it has grown.

SNZ: Did you get a bit of spare time to go surfing?

MC: Yeah I managed to sneak a few surfs in between meetings. Everyone was pretty pumped on getting to surf in Hawaii although a lot of the guys had been there before. It was my first time surfing in Hawaii and I was stoked to get a session in at Pipe (on a smaller day!) and a few other spots on the North Shore. It was neat to see some of the pros surfing in the HIC Sunset Comp and the Triple Crown too.

SNZ: What did you take out of the conference to bring back to New Zealand and implement?

MC: Chaplaincy is a growing service in surfing, particularly at a competitive level and Christian Surfers internationally and particularly in Australia, USA and Hawaii, have been facilitating chaplains for the ASP comps, regional, and local surfing events, which have been really helpful. It was amazing to hear some of the responses of the pros on the ASP about the chaplains especially after the death of Andy Irons, and more generally how it helps the community and their ability to compete having someone confidential to talk to about stuff going on in their lives. It's definitely an area we could be serving in NZ that is provided for other sports but not surfing yet. 

The theme of the conference was "Who do you surf for?" and there was a real focus on keeping Jesus at the centre of all that we do in Christian Surfers, focusing on serving the surfing community, loving our neighbours, doing everything with integrity - even our surfing - which was a really good reminder to keep the main thing the main thing and do things the way Jesus did if we want to see transformation in our communities.

SNZ: The Jesus Classic almost came back to life in October but for a lack of surf.  What are the plans for the event and now and also CSNZ over summer?

MC: Almost! The event has been postponed until early next year and we're just checking the SNZ calendar to set our new date. Our sponsors, the Tauranga City Council, and all our volunteers are on board for next year and it's going to be an awesome event with heaps of prizes, and opportunity for all competitive levels with a second chance format, men's, women's, groms, and we've been getting requests for a masters division for all the guys who used to enter back in the day.....  CSNZ will be running surf camps over the summer, partnering with Scripture Union for 4 day camps in Raglan in January, running learn to surf days in the community in Auckland, Coromandel, Gisborne and the Mount, premiering the Flux surf film around the country last 3 weeks in February, and all our local groups will be running weekly surfs, bbqs and activities around the country. People can get in touch at office@christiansurfers.org.nz or check out the CSNZ website.