Gold Coast surfer Joel “Parko” Parkinson made a VIP appearance at Surfing Australia’s High Performance Centre this week, with the three-time Hawaiian Triple Crown champion stopping by for his Billabong Joel Parkinson Surf Camp.
Despite joining the early exit list at the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia last week, Parko wet his rails at Casuarina, going for a quick surf before sharing his surfing knowledge with a swag of star-struck junior surfers.
“It was cool to surf and chill out with the kids,” said Parkinson, who is known for his graceful yet powerful surfing style.
“As a young surfer growing up I always looked to gain extra knowledge from older surfers, so I feel honoured to pass on some pointers.”
The three day camp, which started on Monday and finished on Wednesday, was designed to give surfers (aged 8–17) a once in a lifetime opportunity to surf, hang out and soak up all the valuable knowledge and surfing tips that Parkinson and the HPC coaches have to offer.
Junior surfers participating in the camp included: Lachlan Englis, William Englis, Etienne Prestage, Kalani Prestage, Reef Heazlewood, Emerson Hynard, Jade Procee, Harley Webster, Corey Webster, Luke Chaffer, Eddie White, Harm Kassulke, Tom Antonie, Issac Elias, James Taylor, Aurelio Prieto, Connor Bourke.
The camp included coaching from Australia’s finest fully accredited surf coaches, video analysis of each surfing session, Silicon Coach DVD, product bags from Billabong and of course the opportunity to meet and surf with Parko.
The Billabong Joel Parkinson Surf Camp was based at the Surfing Australia HPC at Casuarina Beach which is just 15 minutes south of the Gold Coast.
The camps facilities, resources and coaches cater for all surfing levels, from surfers looking to complete that first cutback all the way to launching and landing aerial manoeuvres.
For all camp bookings and further information please contact James Eggington (HPC Manager) on (02) 6674 9868, email james@surfingaustralia.com or visit www.surfingaustralia.com