Young people with special needs enjoy surfing with the EDP Open Sessions
The participants, accompanied at all times by EDP volunteers, caught their first waves and shared with their peers a day of coexistence and fun in the water.
The San Lorenzo beach in Gijón is hosting the third round of the EDP Surf Pro Spain league, an event, the EDP Gijón Surf City, in which the best surfers on the national scene are competing in the men's and women's categories. EDP, as a sign of its support for the preservation of the environment, diversity and inclusion is the promoter of this first edition of the EDP Surf Pro Spain 2024 that, among the many initiatives organized, has once again the 'EDP Open Sessions', a sporting activity that the energy company has been organizing since 2021 and whose objective is to offer surfing as a recreational and inclusive tool and to promote sport and healthy living.
The EDP Open Sessions try to bring surfing closer to young people with different abilities who find in surfing a way to get in touch with nature and an activity that offers them great freedom, as the participants say, such as Miguel, from the Alarde Association who adds “great, a good day, with friends, a great day for surfing”; although “the water is frozen” adds his partner Paula.
The surf instructors from the Skool Surf were in charge of teaching the surfing class, and were backed up by a group of 15 EDP volunteers, who helped them transport the material and accompanied the participants all the time, who were members of the Castiello Special Education School (Gijón), the ALARDE Association, the El Marítimo Special Education School and the Patos Salvajes Association. They all enjoyed a unique experience surfing, a sport that brings them so many benefits, as it is positive for their socialisation and the improvement of their psychomotor development.
For Elena Iglesias, EDP Group Brand Manager in Spain, this initiative, which is part of the ‘When we surf, we choose the Earth’ programme, is the best example of our commitment to social responsibility. In addition to this, "in EDP we have been supporting surfing for almost a decade, as surfing is a sport where we share common values and a passion for nature. It's great to see them, enjoying the sea, the sport and getting to know their fellow surfers".
The EDP Gijón Surf City sessions also include a beach cleaning activity, as surfing is closely linked to protecting the environment.