ISA Level 1 Surf Instructor Course in Pembrokeshire

Classroom blocks at the farm mix with water work across two days, usually 9.30am to 5pm, with breaks. Most of the second day is assessment and a recap of the lesson plan.

Day one starts 15 minutes before registration. The beach is confirmed the evening before if you are not starting at the farm.

Sixteen. Anyone under 18 can hold the award but must work under an instructor who is 18 or over until they turn 18. You should already surf well enough to show left and right turns and to sit in a line-up.

You also need to be swim fit. Bring proof of a current water-safety award, or be ready to complete one after these two days before the certificate is valid.

The farm building at Gupton Farm, Castlemartin, SA71 5HW is the usual day-one pin. Turn right off the main road, follow the drive, then park by the wood-clad containers and the farmhouse-style building on the left. Toilets are in the building.

Water sessions use Freshwater West or Manorbier when those beaches are working. The pin comes the evening before if day two starts on the sand rather than at the farm.

Training with an ISA presenter, use of a board and wetsuit if you need them, and tea, coffee and a kettle on site. Manuals come by email before you arrive.

Accommodation, meals and the ISA e-learning module sit outside the course fee. You complete the Introduction to Surf Instructing module on the ISA Source platform before day one. Twenty supervised coaching hours sit after the two days before the award is fully valid.

Yes. Show you can negotiate a line-up, understand priority, and turn left and right. The two days are about how you teach, not a first pop-up for you.

Rusty surfing is worth saying before you arrive. Extra time in the water first is better than struggling through an assessment you are not ready for.

ISA Level 1 needs a current water-safety award such as an SLSGB, ISA or ILS instructor rescue qualification. You can sit that before or after these two days.

Twenty supervised coaching hours also sit after the course. Once those hours are logged, the paperwork goes to the ISA so they can issue the certificate.

Ordinary rain does not cancel the two days. The water block moves, or a classroom session swaps in, when swell or wind makes the planned beach unsafe.

Messages the evening before carry the next pin. The course stays on this coast, just not always on the same stretch if a beach is closed or flat.

A pen and paper, swimwear, a towel, a warm dry layer, sunscreen, a packed lunch and a refillable bottle. Your own wetsuit and board are fine. We still have kit if you need it.

There are no changing rooms on the beaches, so a towel robe helps. Send your wetsuit size before you arrive so a suit is ready.

Pack a lunch. A kettle and a microwave are in the farm building, with tea, coffee and water. The nearest small shop is about a 15 minute drive.

Stay on site for lunch if the afternoon starts on the beach. Eating quickly and staying with the group beats losing an hour driving to town.

Create an account on the ISA Source platform before day one and complete the Introduction to Surf Instructing e-learning. Enrolment details come after you are on the course list.

There is no rush the night before, but the module needs to be finished before we start. Booklets and manuals come by email once that is underway.