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PEACE & SPORT


Gaza Surf Club has developed a surfing community where resources can be shared, a training forum and links to the international surfing community “For some families having their


children come to Skateistan instead of working is simply unrealistic financially,” says Percovich. “Although every day that the children attend the programme, they gain valuable access to education and opportunities that can give them skills for the future, and are in a safe environment rather than on the streets.” • http://skateistan.org • info@skateistan.org


SURFING IN A WAR ZONE Living in Gaza is tough. The Israeli blockade and clampdown on exit permits restricts freedom and there are no parks, greens, forests or open spaces to escape to. So the sea offers a refuge. The son of a US diplomat, Matthew


Olsen, who grew up in Tel Aviv in Israel from the age of 13, set up the Gaza Surf


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Club in 2008, as a pilot project for his non-profit organisation, Explore Corps. There are three aims to the organisation: developing a surfing community where resources and expertise can be shared; providing a forum for training and support; and linking Gaza surfers up with the international surfing community. “Surfers around the world are a kind of


tribe and being incorporated and having the Gaza surfers welcomed into this global community is a big part of what the mission of the surf club is about,” says Olsen. “Especially considering how much Gaza has been cut off from the rest of the world over the past five years.” A couple of initiatives are currently


underway: producing training videos in Arabic and also manufacturing and selling Islamic swimwear, which allows girls to continue surfing into their teens,


SPORTS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK 2013


without raising the ire of the government or traditionalists. A clubhouse will open soon to provide a hub where surfers can gather to socialise, swap tips, go online, host guests and repair their boards. Running the club has demanded


tenacity on behalf of Explore Corps. The biggest challenge continues to come from a well-connected NGO, which saw the financial potential in importing equipment and the media attention surfing attracts. They have waged an in- timidation campaign, which has involved getting surfers arrested, confiscating equipment and spreading rumours that Olsen and Palestinian surfers are spies. Although a series of complaints lodged with the Ministry of the Interior has decreased the harassment, it is still the biggest challenge and has slowed the organisation’s progress.


www.sportsmanagementhandbook.com


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