每日大赛

By Lauren McDonald lmcdonald@thebrunswicknews.com听

The college at the beach is now offering a new way for students to take advantage of its locale.

每日大赛 students and community partners recently launched the college鈥檚 first Surf Club, also called COAST (Coastal Outdoor Adventure & Surf Tribe), with hopes to create more opportunities for students to spend time outdoors.

The club will orchestrate activities like surfing, hiking and camping, kayaking and more. They also plan to organize trash cleanups and outreach efforts to help underprivileged youth in the community experience parts of the coast they may rarely see.

Sam Ghioto, a senior at CCGA and one of the club鈥檚 founders, said the pandemic鈥檚 influence over the past year and a half led to stir-crazy feelings for himself and his friends.

Those feelings fueled the creation of this new club.

鈥淚 enjoy getting outside,鈥� Ghioto said. 鈥淪ome of my friends that I鈥檓 really close with also enjoy getting outside. We like to do a lot of activities, whether it鈥檚 hiking, kayaking, surfing, camping. We like to always be out in nature somehow, someway. And over the course of the pandemic, when you鈥檙e inside more, you know it takes a great toll on your mental health.鈥�

The club hosted its first surf lesson for a group of new members on the Friday afternoon that kicked off the Labor Day weekend. Surf instructor Jason Latham brought out several boards and offered a quick introduction on how to surf the waves at Gould鈥檚 Inlet before venturing out into the water.

鈥淭he thing about our area is that it鈥檚 not massive surf conditions, but there are waves,鈥� Ghioto said. 鈥淪o you can surf, and it鈥檚 a great place to learn how to surf.鈥�

And there are plenty of places in the Golden Isles and within driving distance for kayak trips or long walks through nature.

鈥淲e have some trails around, and there鈥檚 Cannon鈥檚 Point (Preserve) at the north end of St. Simons,鈥� said Ghioto, who also works as a kayak guide for Southeast Adventures. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 like 7 1/2 miles, and you鈥檙e around 300-year-old-plus oaks so it鈥檚 really beautiful.鈥�

The club, as a student organization, will be able to request funding from the college to support its plans.

The goal is to normalize getting outside, Ghioto said, and to take full advantage of attending a college on the coast of Georgia.

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 inside all the time or doing a bunch of school work I get caught up and I feel miserable,鈥� he told a group of interested students at the club鈥檚 first meeting last week. 鈥溾�� It鈥檚 almost like I need to get outside because I feel like nothing else matters when I鈥檓 present in nature.鈥�

Anyone interested in supporting the new club can reach out via its Instagram, @coasting_georgia.

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Surf instructor Jason Latham, left, and Omar Guzman are hit by a wave as Guzman paddles out on a board. (Photo by Terry Dickson/The Brunswick News)

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Logan Hildreth practices a stance on a board as club members Sage Christman, from left, Lauren Ray, Jason Latham, Nolan Bachman and Omar Guzman watch. (Photo by Terry Dickson/The Brunswick News)

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Republished with the permission of The Brunswick News. Originally published in .