How to Onboard Seasonal Surf Instructors in 48 Hours

Before They Arrive: The Pre-Arrival Checklist

Don't wait until day one. Before the instructor arrives, have these ready:

• [ ] Contract signed — working hours, pay rate, expectations
• [ ] Certifications verified — ISA, BSA, or equivalent; first aid; insurance
• [ ] System access created — login to your booking/scheduling platform, instructor dashboard access
• [ ] Equipment allocated — their wetsuit, rash vest, and instructor board assigned
• [ ] Beach guide prepared — a one-page overview of each beach: entry points, hazards, rip locations, ideal conditions
• [ ] Emergency contacts — local coastguard, hospital, your phone number

Send the beach guide and login credentials by email 3 days before arrival. They can familiarise themselves before day one.

Day 1: Morning — The Beach Tour

Skip the classroom. Take them to every beach you use.

At each beach, walk through:

• Where you set up (meeting point, flags, equipment drop)
• Where beginners surf vs intermediates
• Rip current locations (mark them; they shift, but common spots are consistent)
• Emergency exit routes
• Where the van parks and how equipment gets to the sand

This takes 2-3 hours. It's the most important part of onboarding. An instructor who doesn't know the beaches is a safety risk.

Afternoon — Shadow a lesson. The new instructor joins a senior instructor for a full lesson cycle: van loading, beach setup, lesson delivery, pack-down. They observe and ask questions. They don't teach yet.

Day 1: Evening — Systems and Protocols

A 90-minute session covering:

1. The booking system (30 min)

• How to view their schedule
• How to check participant details and skill levels
• How to mark attendance
• How to log notes after a lesson

2. Safety protocols (30 min)

• Condition check process: who checks, when, how
• Beach change procedure: who decides, how participants are notified
• Emergency protocol: injury, lost swimmer, severe weather
• Instructor-to-student ratios by level

3. Communication (30 min)

• How schedule changes are communicated (app/SMS/group chat)
• Who to contact for equipment issues, student problems, or condition concerns
• End-of-day reporting: what to log, where

Give them a one-page cheat sheet they can keep in their pocket for the first week.

Day 2: Supervised Teaching

The new instructor leads a lesson with a senior instructor observing.

Morning: They teach a beginner group. Senior observes, offers feedback after.

Afternoon: If morning went well, they teach solo. Senior instructor is on the beach (not in the water) as backup.

Evening debrief (30 min):

• What went well?
• What felt uncertain?
• Any safety concerns?
• Any system/equipment issues?

After a successful day 2, the instructor is cleared for independent teaching. Most experienced instructors are fully operational by Wednesday morning.

Common Onboarding Mistakes

1. No system training — the instructor can teach but can't check their schedule, view bookings, or mark attendance. They rely on you for everything.

2. No beach familiarisation — "you'll figure it out" is not a safety strategy. Every beach has hazards that aren't obvious to newcomers.

3. No safety protocol review — assuming all schools run the same protocols. They don't. Your emergency procedure must be explicit.

4. Solo teaching on day one — even experienced instructors need a day to learn your specific setup, beaches, and expectations.

5. No feedback loop — onboarding doesn't end on day 2. Check in after their first week. Ask what's unclear. Fix it.

SurfSlot gives each instructor their own dashboard with schedules, participant details, lesson notes, and condition alerts — reducing onboarding time from days to hours. Book a demo →