FAQs

Registration for ALL Summertime Surf programs opens on February 1st, 2023.

Outlined below by location are the expected offerings at each location. External factors outside of Summertime Surf’s control could alter program offerings.

Asbury Park

Kids Surf Camp

Keiki Camp

Kids Surf Club

Adult Surf Club

Private Surf Lessons

Beginner Surf Class

Bradley Beach

Kids Surf Camp

Keiki Surf Camp

Kids Surf Club

Adult Surf Club

Private Surf Lessons

Beginner Surf Class

Women’s Surf Weekend

Belmar

Kids Surf Camp

Point Pleasant

Kids Surf Camp

Keiki Camp

Kids Surf Club

Adult Surf Club

Private Surf Lessons

Beginner Surf Class

• Summertime Surf School is constantly adjusting and refining its programs each year. In 2022, we are growing our programs offerings based on your feedback with new early-morning options for adult beginner and intermediate surfers.  With these new early-morning programs, our hard-working instructors will now have a shared team lunch break to recharge for the afternoon.Therefore, we will no longer be offering Kid’s Surf Camp supervision between 12 noon and 1 pm, the time usually reserved for lunch and enrichment. If you would like to enroll for the full day, you can sign up for the AM session and the PM session of camp, but must be there to pick up your child for lunch, or alternatively, provide a permission slip to for campers to sign themselves out and back in for the lunch break. Permission slips must be filled out and signed on Monday mornings.
• We love our students and we love our instructors, and we are stoked to continue providing programs that meet our high standards unforgettable experiences, all season long.

Program Pass vs Gift Card

Program Pass

Formerly known as “Gift Certificates”

• Purchase an experience that lasts a lifetime!
• Non-transferable between programs.

Gift Card – NEW 

• Purchase a customizable dollar amount to be applied towards any Summertime Surf program.
• Excluded from all sales 

Yes!

Program Passes are available for purchase for all  Summertime Surf programs:

Buy Program Passes Here

Packages are available for purchase for select programs:

Kids Surf Club

Adult Surf Club

Beginners Surf Class

2023 Summer Grom Team information is COMING SOON!

Summertime Surf’s Grom Team programs are NJ’s premier home for advanced surf coaching. Summer teams practice weekday mornings, while Fall-Winter Spring practices are scheduled after school & on weekends.

2023 Summer Grom Team tryouts will be held on June 3rd, 2023. Everyone must tryout, even if you are a returning surfer. 

We listed to student feedback and were stoked to expand our programming in 2022 to include the following this season:

Adult Surf Club:  “Next-Step” programming for students 15 years and older.  These 1hr and 30min guided surf sessions for intermediate and advanced students are the perfect choice for surfers seeking coaching and camaraderie in a more independent practice setting.  

Offered Saturdays 

Kids Surf Club: “Next-Step” programming for students ages 7-14.  These 1hr and 30min guided surf sessions are for experienced young surfers looking to progress their skills in a more independent setting.  Perfect for kids who have mastered the basics and have begun to try to catch waves on their own.  This Club is the “next-step” between Kids Camp and the competitive Grom Team. 

Offered Saturdays

Beginners Surf Class: Beginner Surf Classes are for students 15 years and older.  This one-hour class is a great starting place for someone who feels comfortable swimming in the ocean and wants to work on the basics of surfing and reading the ocean.  Good for first-time students and students who are working on surfing fundamentals.  

Offered Weekday mornings AND Saturdays 

During your skills progression, you will advance through 4 stages of development.  The amount of time that it takes to move through the stages depends on the student, and everyone progresses at their own pace.  

Check out the outline below of the stages of progression and the programs offered for each stage.

Level 1 – Beginner

Try one of our Beginner Programs

• Beginner programs are for true beginners with minimal experience and understanding of how to read the ocean.

• Stoked adults can move past the beginner stage as quickly as four classes, but most will find success in around a dozen classes.  Physical fitness is a huge component of progression, and advancing surf-specific fitness levels is the fastest way to reaching the next level.

• Stoked kids ages (7-14) can graduate from the beginner stage by working hard during their week(s) of camp.  We recommend a 2-week camp commitment for stoked young surfers, preferably consecutive weeks.  As they grow and their strength develops, many kids who attend camp recurring summers gain the confidence and skills to be ready for next-step programs within 3 summers.  Of course, some kids have the talent to progress faster than others, and for some, one week is all they need to gain an understanding of the fundamentals and be ready for next-step programming.

• Keikis “little ones” ages 4-6 are usually not physically developed enough to move from the beginner stage.  That being said, there are some very special exceptions to that and we are very proud to work with.  

Programs offered for beginner surfers: Kids Surf Camp, Keiki Surf Camp, Beginner Surf Class, Private Surf Lessons, and Women’s Surf Weekend

Level 2 – Intermediate 

Ready for “Next-Step” Programs

• Level 2 is an area that students can expect to spend a lot of time in.  This is where surfers become independent, and start to develop consistency in their success.  

• A Level 2 surfer is one who:

1. 1. Has grasped the fundamentals and possesses a basic understanding of reading the ocean
   2. Can perform the “four P’s”, from positioning to pop up
   3. May not be consistently catching their own waves yet, but has attempted to, and with an instructor’s help can consistently get to your feet and ride the wave.

• Level 2 Surfers are consistently finding success in waist-high conditions or smaller: 

1. 1. Safely entering and exit the water independently
   2. Paddling past the breaking waves to the lineup independently

• Level 2 Surfers are starting to find success :

1. 1. Catching their own waves and making the drop in clean conditions with waves as big as stomach high.
   2. Repositioning themselves in the lineup to catch waves even with a light to moderate current.
   3. Showing control of their surfboard while riding straight in the whitewater.
   4. Cutting down the line (to the right or left) on the open face of the wave.

Programs offered for Next-Step surfers: Adult Surf Club, Kids Surf Club, Private Surf Lessons, and Women’s Surf Weekend

Level 3 – Advanced 

Advancing in “Next-Step” Programs

• Level 3 surfers have made the most difficult step and are fully independent surfers.  They have progressed from riding straight towards the beach to comfortably surfing down the line in either direction.  Some surfers will remain at this level for their entire lives and enjoy surfing intermediate breaks around the world.

• A Level 3 surfer is one who: 

1. 1. Has their own equipment that suits their ability level
   2. Surfs independently outside of coaching sessions and is comfortable in waves up to chest/shoulder high in most conditions

• Level 3 Surfers are consistently finding success in chest-high conditions or smaller: 

1. 1. Has full control of their surfboard and can stay in position against a strong current. 
   2. Can read the lineup and position themselves in critical areas to catch waves.  They can also get themselves out of a hazardous situation independently.
   3. Demonstrates competent wave selection.
   4. Has attempted some advanced maneuvers such as the bottom turn, speed trimming, and cutbacks.

• Level 3 Surfers are starting to find success :

1. 1. Working toward confidence and consistency in your execution of the bottom turn, trimming, and cutback.

Programs offered for Next-Step surfers: Adult Surf Club, Kids Surf Club, Private Surf Lessons, Women’s Surf Weekend, and JV Grom Team.

Level 4 – Performance 

Ready for Specialty Programs – elite service offerings

• Your surfing has progressed to the point that you are consistently executing maneuvers in critical sections of the wave. 

• You are comfortable in waves up to head high in all conditions, and have the skills to push your surfing in bigger conditions under the guidance of coaches. 

• You can read the ocean well, and demonstrate good positioning and wave selection the majority of the time. 

• You have a basic understanding of the body mechanics associated with different maneuvers, and can make adjustments based on feedback from coaches. 

• You have likely surfed on a variety of different equipment, and demonstrate above average board control in any conditions and on all equipment.  

Programs offered for performance Next-Step surfers: Varsity Grom Team and Private Surf Lessons

Note: Specialty Programs (Private Surf Lessons and WSW) are for all ages and abilities!

After many years of experience trying different methods of renting equipment, the owners of Summertime Surf and Paddle School have concluded that renting equipment is not aligned with our core values. Our mission is to provide experiences that are safe and fun not only for our participants but also for the general public. We have a responsibility to our communities to keep the shared resources of our ocean and bays safe.

There is no license for surfing or stand-up paddleboarding, and there is no fair way to decide who can rent and who can’t. We do not want to be involved in giving access to equipment that can be harmful or fatal in the wrong hands.

If you are genuinely interested in surfing or stand-up paddling, we are happy to provide equipment along with proper instruction on the etiquette of keeping yourself and your fellow surfers and paddlers safe in the lifelong journey in the water.

Through the years, Summertime Surf Schools have strived to provide the best environment for teaching and learning, especially at our Kids’ Surf Camps. With experience and perspective on how kids learn best, our core surfers have created an original curriculum that keeps the surf camp experience positive and effective for campers of all ages and abilities.

THE SUMMERTIME SURF CAMP WEEK-LONG CURRICULUM:

• Builds surfing and ocean safety skills purposefully and effectively

• Teaches a well-rounded understanding of surfing and ocean safety

• Uses cumulative skill-building – starting on Monday and concluding on Friday

• Each day of camp has a new surf theme and goals for campers to reach.

• The most important day is Monday – this is where surfing basics and important Safety Systems are explained at length.

• Fridays are a special day where we tie all the lessons together in review and show how the lessons all work together to make well-rounded, safe surfers.
  • Also, the Friday award ceremony recognizes campers for individual achievements.

Our dedication to the next generation of surfers can be seen in the way we have improved our curriculum every year. Summertime Surf Camp is designed to teach the fundamentals in one week. While one week might not be enough for every surf camper to surf completely on their own, it’s the best way to start. Highly focused students learn enough in one week to effectively and safely practice their new skills on their own for the rest of the season (with lifeguard supervision).

While we recognize (and embrace) the fact that campers are on summer vacation from school, we have found the most success when the campers and counselors are working together to achieve goals throughout the structure of the day. In short, these practices allow for more waves ridden, little distraction, and harmony among campers. Summertime Kid’s Camps achieve a balance where kids can learn through the freedom in their experience under our expert eye.

A BALANCE BETWEEN FREEDOM & STRUCTURE

• Familiar practices like roll call, the buddy system, water breaks, and skills stations are used throughout the day.

• The day’s schedule is outlined at the beginning of camp, so campers know what is coming next.

• Campers are split up into small groups based on their ages/abilities.
  • Campers who want to be in the same groups together are encouraged to do so before groups are finalized.

• Within the camp stations, there is plenty of freedom to socialize and learn at their own pace.
  • We emphasize peer encouragement at all times.

• We do not post official “rules.” Rather, camp counselors lead by example and live by the code: “RESPECT ourselves, each other, and the ocean.”

Campers and parents are always asking us “what do they need to bring?”… Less is more!

Ty — a camper from Point Pleasant, shows how it’s done — a bathing suit, a smile, and maybe some water. The most important piece of the equation? The good attitude.

If you bring that, it doesn’t really matter where you’re going, because you’re going to end up having a good time when you get there regardless.