Adaptive surfing day at Hendaye, France

On Friday June 11th 2021, an Adaptive Surfing day for prosthesis users was organized by PROTEOR and its partners: Génération Avant Garde and the Surfeurs Dargent, EuroSima and Handi Surf (adaptive surfing) associations.    

This event, set up to give PROTEOR users the chance to have a go at surfing, was graced by the presence of French adaptive surfing champions Sophie GIROUD and Eric DARGENT who led the workshops. The Handi Surf teams coordinated the day’s activities and supplied the equipment. PROTEOR prosthetists were also on hand to equip the intrepid beginners with prostheses adapted to riding a surfboard.  

For the first time, PROTEOR made the day’s events available to a broader audience by filming and posting live sessions on social media. One of these live sessions was an interview with Théo, who wears a prosthesis, and and Cyrielle, a prosthetist who works at PROTEOR Toulouse. The interview focuses on Théo’s experiences with his prosthesis and what he made of adaptive surfing. 

As the day was drawing to a close, the Génération Avant Garde (which manages an endowment fund) presented two PROTEOR running blades to Damien, a young bilateral below-knee amputee. Génération Avant Garde works with amputees and those with long-term conditions to help them to rebuild their lives through sport. Their funding comes exclusively from donations from individuals and corporate benefactors.