Sardinia isn’t just beaches. It’s one of those places where kids can try completely new outdoor activities. One of them is windsurfing for kids, which turned out to be much more accessible for ours than we’d assumed.
Sun, wind, a board, and a dozen or so kids who every day were discovering that sport isn’t just movement. It’s also fun, adventure, and building bonds. Kids Camp at the SkyHigh base on the south coast of Sardinia is a different kind of summer camp, without pressure, without grades, but with huge joy of trying new things. We checked it on our own skin (and wetsuits!) to see what happens when kids have space to explore the world of water sports in a safe, attentive and passionate way. Spoiler: wonders happen.
We discovered the SkyHigh water sports school basically by accident. We first saw a sticker with the SkyHigh name at Sirena Sardinia, where we’d been diving as a family on Sant’Antioco. Encouraged by stories from Dominika and Piotr, the owners of Sirena, about the SkyHigh school, we went over to check it out for ourselves. And… we were hooked! Well, actually our kids were.
The SkyHigh base is in Porto Botte, a small spot on the south of Sardinia with a view onto Sant’Antioco island. Apart from the kite, foil and windsurfing base, there’s also a restaurant, a big play area for kids with a trampoline, basketball court, skateboard ramp, a gym, ping pong table and a big chilling area. The bay where you can windsurf is 3 minutes on foot from the base. The kite spot is about 15 minutes away.
O tym przeczytasz
The SkyHigh base in Porto Botte, a proper surfer vibe
Before we signed our kids up for Kids Camp, for a few weeks of our camper van trip around Sardinia and Sant’Antioco, we’d drop by the base from time to time. Either for my kite lessons (a birthday gift from Mario), or just so the kids could play at the base while we got some quiet work done at the restaurant.
And you know what charmed us most? The atmosphere. That nice surfer-kite vibe where everyone is smiling and relaxed, you just feel at home. We knew one thing: if we signed the kids up for the windsurfing camp, our kids would spend a week in a place that wouldn’t just teach them to ride a windsurfer, but more importantly, let them feel what wind tastes like, what the sea smells like in the morning, and what it’s like to be really tired… with a smile on their face. Because Kids Camp SkyHigh in Porto Botte on Sardinia isn’t an ordinary summer camp. It’s a place where people have a huge heart and a real love for what they do. And most importantly, they pass that on to the kids!
This year Kids Camp, which (as the fantastic SkyHigh founder Marta Hlavaty-Orlowska, three-time windsurfing world champion, puts it) was born from a love of windsurfing and the need to share it with the youngest ones, is running for the tenth time. The sessions run all summer, week after week. And really: everything that happened over those intense six days was well thought through, and at the same time it didn’t lose that, you know, kind of childlike lightness and spontaneity.
Windsurfing for kids, fun instead of training
What particularly convinced us to take part in Kids Camp is the approach to sport based on joy, not results.
Following the principle that children up to age 12 shouldn’t train, they should explore.
With curiosity, without pressure, with attention to their own body and emotions. That’s exactly when a child’s psychomotor development reaches its greatest plasticity. The brain absorbs like a sponge, the body learns balance, strength, coordination and (most valuable of all) the courage to try new things.
This approach fits perfectly with what an active outdoor life with kids means to us.
Research from neurologists and developmental educators makes one thing clear.
Kids who have the chance to experience varied physical activities at a young age develop a better body schema, meaning a sense of their own body and what it can do. On top of that come neuroplasticity processes, that is, the brain’s capacity to adapt.
Exploring new skills, especially in natural settings like outdoor sport, supports the development of the prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, emotional control and decision-making. And all of this… happens while a child is “just” trying to stay balanced on a board!
What a day at SkyHigh Kids Camp looks like
Every day started with a shared morning warm-up at the base. Then breakfast and full mobilisation, first session on the water, then lunch, and after that another dose of activity. Sometimes windsurfing, sometimes art classes, sometimes the trampoline, mini ramp or games in the water. Everything organised so the kids were not only safe but constantly moving and away from screens.
Classes happened in two age groups (6 to 10 and 11 to 14), which let the instructors match the pace and difficulty to each group’s capabilities. I have to add that the instructors themselves (in our case Hania for the younger group and Slawek for the older one) did all the work: attentive, patient, with a sense of humour, and at the same time consistent and demanding. Because kids feel it when they’re being taken seriously.
Sport isn’t just physical effort
Kids Camp wasn’t just about sport in the traditional sense. As I wrote, alongside the water sessions the kids took part in integration activities so they could rest, be together, chat, express themselves in a different way. Because in the end physical development is only part of the whole puzzle. Movement is also building relationships, overcoming shyness, learning about each other, and about yourself.
As one of the experts cited in the WHO 2022 report puts it: “children’s physical activity has the greatest impact when it’s combined with play, social relationships, and an element of challenge”. And that’s exactly how it was on Sardinia.
The climax: regatta and gala!
On the last day the kids took part in a windsurfing regatta, and I’ll tell you, the emotions were really something. Regardless of result, every participant got a diploma, a small gift and… loud applause. For many of the kids (ours included) it was the first sporting event of their life, and on their own terms, in an atmosphere of joy and cooperation. No podium, no pressure. But with huge pride and a sense that they’d given everything.
Why it’s worth it
Because kids need space to try. To fail. To succeed. To fall over and swallow salt water. To finally catch the wind after a dozen failed attempts. Kids Camp SkyHigh gives them that space, in safe conditions, with professional support. It teaches independence, teamwork, courage. It gives them an experience that stays in the heart for a long time.
So if you’re wondering whether it’s worth sending your child to a sports camp, my answer is: yes, and these kinds of activities work best on a trip, when you pick a travel direction with the kids that gives space for movement and independence.
Not to raise a world champion, but to raise a child who knows what they like. Who knows their body. Who can enjoy movement and sunshine. And maybe even catches the bug for life? :)
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