Mick receives some sage advice on his forehand cutty© 2010 - WPS
COOLANGATTA, Australia, Feb 27 - One hundred Gold Coast schoolkids yesterday amassed at Duranbah Beach for a clinic with World Champ Mick Fanning and 20 of the best surfers in the world.
It was a dream come true for nine-year-old Tweed Heads girl, Alyssa Lock: "What a day, are you kidding me? I've been waiting for this for ages. All the guys are so friendly, they paddled out with us and everyone caught some bombs."
The Surf With The Pros day was put on by the surfers themselves -- through their athletes' union, World Professional Surfers -- to give back to the community that welcomes them each year as they arrive for the first event of the World Tour season, the Quiksilver Pro.
Mick Fanning was beaming as much as the kids: "What a way to start the season! All the groms were going nuts out there.
"It's such a great reminder for us about why we surf, about just how much fun it is. The sheer stoke of it all."
The talented youngsters from schools all over the Gold and Tweed Coasts finished the afternoon with a barbecue on the beach with all their heroes.
Bede runs out of paper and autographs a stoked grom© 2010 - WPS
World #21 Michel Bourez from Tahiti was a huge fan of the BBQ: "We could all smell the sausages cooking on the beach while we were in the water, everyone came in like they were hypnotised and all the kids were running around, going mad."
A great day.
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