Groups, Ratios, and How Kids Are Grouped

During registration, you'll select a specific Group for your child (for example, "SURF Program // Group A"). Groups are how we assign participants to coaches before the first day, so your child knows exactly who they'll be with all week.

What are Groups?

Groups are pre-assigned teams of kids who stay together with the same coaches Monday through Friday. Every Group within a program follows the same curriculum — SURF Program // Group A is the same experience as SURF Program // Group B. The only difference is the coach leading the group and the kids in it.

We assign groups in advance rather than on the beach the first morning because it saves valuable program time and lets families coordinate ahead of time.

Our goal is to keep the same coaches with each group all week. In rare cases, a substitute coach may fill in due to illness or scheduling conflicts.

Enrolling with friends or siblings

If you want your child grouped with friends or siblings, simply enroll them in the same Group during registration. Coordinate with the other families on which program and Group letter to select (for example, "BEACH Program Mini Groms // Group C"), then each family completes their own registration.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Children must fall within the same age group to be placed together. We aren't able to place siblings or friends in different age groups together, unless an older child is willing to join the younger group (though this isn't recommended).
• Groups can fill up quickly, so register early if you're coordinating with other families.
• If a group is full and you can't register together, let us know — we strive to honor grouping requests and make sure every child is placed with at least one friend. You can also speak with your Location Director on-site and we'll do our best to accommodate.

Do kids interact outside their Group?

Yes! While groups stay together for morning check-in, roll call, sunscreen breaks, and picking up snacks or lunch, participants spend plenty of time with other groups during games and water time. Once they've grabbed their snack or lunch, they're welcome to hang out with friends from other groups. So don't worry if your child isn't in the exact same group as all their friends — they'll still get lots of time together.

Group sizes and instructor ratios

We keep groups small to ensure a safe, focused experience. The ratios below represent the high end — actual ratios are almost always lower thanks to our Coaches-in-Training (CITs) and on-site Directors, who are not included in these numbers.

CITs are Coaches-in-Training, ages 14–15, who complete our training program and earn CPR & First Aid certification.