Each month Sayulita Life gives back to our community by donating to a local cause or charity in need. This month, Sayulita Life has chosen Sayulita’s JR Sup Team as our donation recipient. The Sayulita JR Sup Team is one of Sayulita’s original and longest lasting youth programs in our community. The team is comprised of over 50 local Sayulita children who participate and train year-round, and is an organization run entirely as a community and donation-based program, meaning they are in constant need of funding and support in order to operate. Sayulita Life’s donation to the team will help cover the costs of some much needed new equipment, including new team uniforms, paddles, and life preservers.
The Junior SUP Team program, led by coach Raffa Apodaca, is a youth stand-up-paddleboard program with over 50 local children ranging from 7-17 years old. All of the members of the team are Sayulita children who train year-round at our home break. The program is focused on ocean mastery and knowledge, while coaching beginners as well as those pursuing international competitive careers.
Coach Apodaca says his goal for the team is “to be able to serve and give better support to both local people from the area and internationally; our goal is to be an Academy not just a local team.”
The Sayulita JR SUP Team is the largest youth paddleboard program in the entire world, and the only paddle sport program in all of Mexico. It is only through community work, volunteerism, and donations or sponsors that the program has the capacity to be able to accept all local children who wish to participate.
Coach Apodaca says “we need new SUP boards. The ones we have now have been in use for more than six years, and the repair seems more expensive and not functional for the needs of the practitioners, since it becomes very heavy or the measures no longer go with the rules of the competition.”
Thus, Sayulita Life’s donation will be used to help cover the costs of some much needed equipment like the SUP boards, along with paddles, new uniforms, and life preservers, to ensure the safety needs of the team.
To learn more about the Sayulita JR SUP Team or how you can support them, please visit their website, or send them an email.
*Since its founding in 2004, SayulitaLife.com has been dedicated to giving back to the community of Sayulita. In our 15th year as a company, Sayulita Life has created the “Giving Fund”, where we have pledged to donate $5,000 pesos EVERY MONTH to a local charity or cause. Read more at https://www.sayulitalife.com/giving-back.
Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri