Liberia: Surf Circle & Buddy Board Session

Surf Circle & Buddy Board Session, Liberia

Context

At Robertsport, long Atlantic point breaks can offer beginner‑friendly sections under the guidance of local coaches. In the evenings, families gather at hand pumps and elders recall how local youth and visiting surfers helped grow the scene during Liberia’s recovery, with Robertsport residents leading the community’s surf culture. Two decades on, Robertsport has become a hub for Liberia’s nascent surf scene with warm water and uncrowded point breaks, and a laid‑back lineup culture locals call “sliding,” for which a brief glossary with pronunciations can aid respectful use of terms. National tourism sites now pitch the town as “the surfing crown” of Liberia, noting that the Robertsport Surf Club offers rentals and lessons for all levels. * *

That scene is more than sport; it is community, and visiting teams should include two or three short quotations from Robertsport coaches, surfers, and a community representative with consent in program materials. CNN has chronicled a post‑war surfing renaissance here, reporting more than 60 local surfers and a multi‑generational lineup at Fisherman’s Point, Cotton Trees, and Cassava Point, and teams should follow Robertsport Surf Club usage for local spellings and place names. The same story highlights how a homegrown surf club and local NGOs built events and coaching that stitched the town’s youth together around the ocean. * Front‑Page Africa and national outlets now cover Robertsport’s surf exhibitions and Africa‑tour contests, which draw crowds, raise the town’s profile, and inject business into beachside guesthouses. * *

For Liberian teams, the timing is promising for those who can travel to the coast. Staff retreats are routine, from ministries to NGOs to international agencies, often held at beach resorts or hotels within a few hours of Monrovia. The result is a ready‑made platform to plug in a Robertsport‑specific, non‑classroom ritual that bonds people through shared challenge, while recognizing that surfing remains a small but growing community with access differences across Liberia. * * *

Meet the Company/Cultural Tradition

At the center sits the Robertsport Surf Club, a community outfit offering paid beginner‑friendly lessons, soft‑top boards, and guided sessions that help fund local programs. Prices are posted openly, for example US$20 per hour including board, and organizers should model an all‑in per‑participant cost that includes travel time, loaded hourly rates, vendor fees, and contingency, and consider a lowest‑cost version near Monrovia with shoreline drills and boogie‑boarding. The club also arranges camping platforms and simple meals, and organizers should provide shaded seating, modest swimwear guidance and private changing options, accessible beach access where possible, land‑based roles of equal value, and flexible scheduling or caregiver support. *

The ritual’s name borrows from a local word that helped christen Liberia’s most famous surf retreat. As reported by BBC Travel, early visitors heard a Vai phrase, “Kwe‑pu‑na!” (“big sea wave, come!”), and adopted it as the rallying cry for their project, Kwepunha, but visitors should confirm spelling, pronunciation, and appropriateness with a Vai speaker and Robertsport coaches before using it. The phrase is distinct from the brand name Kwepunha and is used locally as shorthand for summoning a set and courage, and any visitor use should follow local guidance. It gives Liberia’s surf culture a distinctly local voice, and groups should only echo it when invited and led by local coaches, otherwise using a neutral cue developed with the hosts. *

Logistics must include a documented emergency action plan, a certified lifeguard with rescue equipment on site, a maximum 1:5 coach‑to‑participant ratio, weather and swell stop rules, and signed waivers and insurance as legally appropriate. Monrovia‑based operators and resorts already market group retreats and off‑sites; Nana’s Lodge in Robertsport lists itself as “perfect for…group retreats,” while capital‑area resorts like RLJ Kendeja host meetings and events, which are useful staging points before teams drive three to five hours up the coast depending on road and seasonal weather conditions. Once there, the Surf Club or partner guesthouses coordinate lessons, safety briefings, and beach bases, and the organizer confirms swim capability checks, first‑aid and evacuation plans, and HR guidance on travel time and pay compliance. * * *

The Ritual

Minute	Scene	Purpose
0–10	Arrive at Fisherman’s Point; local instructors lead a shoreline safety talk (currents, flags, buddy system)	Psychological safety; shared rules of care
10–25	Land lesson: stance, pop‑up drills on soft‑top boards; pair up as “spotter–surfer” buddies	Low‑stakes practice; instant peer support
25–30	Kwepunha Call: circle boards at the waterline; one instructor teaches the Vai cue “Kwe‑pu‑na!” and the group calls it once together	Local flavor; synchronized start without speeches
30–70	First water set: waist‑to‑chest‑deep whitewater for beginners; coaches give one‑to‑one pushes; confident swimmers try green waves farther out	Shared challenge; micro‑wins create confidence
70–80	Beach cool‑down; swap “spotter–surfer” roles; water and fruit break	Recovery; inclusion for non‑swimmers
80–110	Second water set: rotate trios so everyone both surfs and supports	Mutual accountability; trust in action
110–120	Sand‑side debrief: quick “one thing I learned / one thing I’ll try next sprint”; group photo with boards	Closure; translate learning back to work

(Adaptations: non‑swimmers boogie‑board in knee‑deep water or serve as spotters; all hydration is water or electrolyte drinks.)

Why It Works

A shared physical challenge in an outdoor setting may support well‑being and connection more effectively than classroom presentations for some participants. Exercise boosts mood, reduces anxiety, and elevates energy; large reviews find physical activity meaningfully improves symptoms of mild to moderate depression and distress, which helps explain why participants emerge from the water looser, lighter, and more open. Surfing in particular blends moderate exertion with an absorbing “flow” task: just enough difficulty to demand focus without overloading the mind. * * *

Surf lesson plus buddy spotting and a shared cue can create synchrony, social identity, and small competence wins that may increase belonging and trust. Research on “blue spaces” and surf therapy points to mental‑health gains—from reduced rumination to higher subjective well‑being—while the beginner arc of standing up for the first time delivers a small but potent mastery experience. Teams also benefit from enforced interdependence: you can’t push your colleague onto a wave without watching their timing and giving clear, kind cues. Those micro‑behaviors map to work by improving clarity at handoffs and feedback, which you can track as fewer handoff defects per sprint or more cross‑team tickets resolved per week from a documented baseline. * *

Outcomes & Impact

At the community level, Robertsport’s surf culture has reported benefits and should prioritize transparent pricing, local hiring, fisher access etiquette, and benefit‑sharing with youth programs. National and local media credit surf events with unifying residents and boosting beach‑town commerce: guesthouses fill, food vendors sell out, and the town’s reputation as a peaceful, outdoorsy destination grows. That community benefit matters for employers too when sessions are booked as paid, guided lessons led by the Robertsport Surf Club with clear credit and benefit‑sharing to local programs. * *

Inside organizations, the ritual slots into an established retreat pattern. Agencies in Liberia regularly convene off‑sites “to promote unity and team building,” and coastal resorts advertise group‑friendly facilities. Folding in a coached surf circle led by Robertsport Surf Club may support well‑being and coordination, replacing passive panels with a tangible shared activity, and any local phrase should be used only when invited and led by local coaches. Participants typically return to the circle on land grinning, swapping wipeout stories, and, crucially, offering each other specific, appreciative feedback they can replicate on projects. * * *

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Local lens first	Authentic rituals stick; Liberia’s surf is a national calling card	Identify your city’s “only‑here” outdoors skill and partner with local clubs
Micro‑wins, macro‑trust	Standing up once builds confidence that spills into sprints	Choose activities with visible, attainable progress for all
Buddy systems beat icebreakers	Paired spotting creates care and feedback in real time	Build one‑to‑one roles into any team ritual
Safety equals inclusion	Clear guardrails invite non‑swimmers and cautious joiners	Post limits, brief currents, and offer shoreline roles
Ritualize a cue	A short, respectful local phrase synchronizes action	Teach one local word or gesture to mark the start

Implementation Playbook

Pick a venue and partner. Contact Robertsport Surf Club for lesson blocks and boards, confirm beginner‑friendly tide and season windows, and plan a 6–8 week pilot across 2–4 teams with 2–3 sessions per team, clear success thresholds, and stop rules. *
Stage from a group‑friendly base. Book Nana’s Lodge (Robertsport) for retreats or use Monrovia‑area resorts for the night before and drive up early, or pilot a lower‑cost version near Monrovia with shoreline drills and boogie‑boarding to reduce travel time. * *
Publish safety guidelines. Share a one‑pager stating voluntary opt‑in and a socially safe opt‑out with equal‑value alternatives and no performance implications; include a manager script prohibiting pressure or shaming; include medical screening notes and pregnancy/injury clearance guidance; require a certified lifeguard on duty with rescue boards or tubes and a maximum 1:5 coach ratio; document an emergency and evacuation plan; set heat index and lightning stop rules and a jellyfish or sting protocol; provide sunscreen, shade, and hydration; define a photo and filming consent protocol that avoids photographing minors without guardian consent and sets caption standards; and confirm vetted transport with seatbelts and driver hours limits, with HR and Legal review for travel time, pay, union and insurance compliance, and data privacy. *
Time‑box the session. Keep total time to about two hours with 60–90 minutes in the water, cap the group at 12 participants per hour with a maximum 1:5 coach ratio, and set heat index and swell cutoffs to manage sun and ocean risk.
Publish a one‑page communications brief. State the purpose and strategic link, explicit voluntary and opt‑out language with equivalent alternatives, norms and safety expectations, how anonymous feedback is used and retained with a ≤90‑day deletion window and named data owner, cultural credit to the Vai language and the Robertsport Surf Club partnership, guidelines to yield to fishers and local surfers, cap group size, schedule around youth sessions, and tip coaches, and use any local phrase only when invited and led by local coaches. *
Close with translation. After the beach debrief, ask each pair to name one behavior they’ll replicate at work (e.g., “clear cues before handoffs”).
Measure what matters. Use a minimal anonymous pulse (3‑item psychological safety, 3‑item belonging, 1‑item stress) at T‑1 and 48 hours with a waitlist team as comparison, set success as a ≥0.3/5 lift, delete data within 60–90 days, and log qualitative stories alongside costs to show ROI after Legal and HR review.

Common Pitfalls

Treating it as a thrill ride rather than a ritual: skip bravado; center safety, local respect, and pairing.
Excluding non‑swimmers: always offer shoreline spotting, boogie‑boarding in knee‑deep water, and land‑based roles.
Over‑scheduling: leave unscripted time after the session; that’s when the best conversations happen.

Reflection & Call to Action

Liberia’s coast offers more than weekend scenery; it offers a way to feel like a team again. A simple shared arc—learn together, catch a wave, and cheer a colleague—can compress trust building into two hours when hosted locally in Robertsport, and any cue should be locally appropriate and developed with the host coaches. If your off‑sites have grown stale, trade the conference ballroom for a foam board and a buddy. Skilled local coaches and thoughtful planning do the rest, one small stand‑up at a time.