Lost Shore Surf Resort has received the Surf Park Community Impact Award at the 2026 Surf Park Summit in Virginia Beach. The award recognizes surf parks for community programs involving youth, regional partnerships, inclusive participation, workforce development and surf therapy.
Lost Shore works with The Wave Project and Inclusive Surfing Scotland on surfing programs for young people and people with disabilities. The Wave Project, a UK surf therapy charity, uses surfing and one-to-one volunteer mentoring to support children and young people experiencing mental health challenges.
In 2025, the organization delivered its six-week Surf Therapy program at Lost Shore to 62 people ages 8 to 18 from Fife, Edinburgh, Lanarkshire, the Lothians and Glasgow. Each participant received one-to-one support. Weekly Surf Club sessions provided more than 400 hours of continuing support.
Lost Shore’s inland location has allowed The Wave Project to accept referrals from Glasgow, Lanarkshire, West Lothian and parts of inner-city Edinburgh that it previously could not reach.
“Lost Shore has changed who we can reach,” said Ruaridh Farquharson of The Wave Project. “A young person in Glasgow, Lanarkshire or inner-city Edinburgh should not be excluded from the benefits of surf therapy simply because they live too far from the sea. At Lost Shore we have a safe, predictable environment and, crucially, the community of trained volunteers that makes surf therapy work. Our evaluation data consistently shows positive improvements in the wellbeing of the young people who take part, and research shows that every £1 invested to our Surf Therapy courses returns £2 in social value. We see these benefits every day in the water.”
Inclusive Surfing Scotland provides adaptive surfing for children and adults with disabilities. Lost Shore provides accessible changing facilities, adapted water access and customizable waves for its programs.
In 2025, Inclusive Surfing Scotland delivered 76 sessions for 79 surfers. According to the organization, all surveyed participants reported that surfing made them feel more confident and happier and improved their mental health.
“For many disabled people, the barriers to surfing start long before they ever reach the water,” said Iain Donaldson of Inclusive Surfing Scotland. “Having accessible changing facilities, smooth water access, and customisable waves at Lost Shore completely changes what’s possible. Supported by our specially trained coaches and volunteers, we’re seeing people who never imagined they could surf discover the total freedom and joy of riding a wave. Our impact evaluations have shown that surfing not only builds physical fitness, but positively impacts our surfers’ mental health and resilience. Recognition like this sends a vital message to the global surf industry: accessibility must be built into the future of the sport.”
Lost Shore also works with Surfwell Blue Light CIC on trauma-informed surf therapy for frontline emergency service workers. Other programs include a curriculum-linked Surf and STEM program for schools and The Surf Lab, a research partnership with Edinburgh Napier University focused on surfing, performance, health and wellbeing.
“This award means an enormous amount because community impact was never something we intended to bolt onto Lost Shore after we opened,” said Andy Hadden, founder of Lost Shore Surf Resort. “It was part of the reason for building it in the first place. What makes me proudest is seeing young people find confidence in the water, disabled surfers catch waves with Inclusive Surfing Scotland, and our facility used to support emergency service workers. To have that work recognised internationally is incredibly special. It shows that a surf park can be much more than somewhere to catch waves. Our ambition now is to keep widening access and show that commercial success and meaningful social impact can go hand in hand.”
Lost Shore received the Innovation Award at the 2025 Surf Park Awards.
