Australia’s coastal towns and cities are renowned for their beach culture, which centres around surfing. Aussie kids learning the sport are affectionately known as Grommets, but in Newcastle, a small group of self-proclaimed ‘Grommit Granny’s’ are also giving it a go.
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00:00It's a frosty morning, and this small group of women are diving into the water with their
00:07boogie boards.
00:09We call ourselves the Newie Granny Grommets, based on the Western Australia Granny Grommet
00:13group that I saw and I thought it would be fun.
00:18Kate Lobb, 63, was inspired by another group of older women riding the waves in Western
00:23Australia, who have adopted the term grommets for themselves.
00:27We used to do it when we were teenagers, and then I hadn't done it until I started
00:32doing it with my granddaughter, and it was so much fun that I thought I should try and
00:36do it by myself.
00:37But I was never game really just to go out by myself, so I thought if we got a group
00:41together it would be fun, and that's what we did.
00:44Through a social media call out and word of mouth, the Newie Granny Grommets group was
00:49formed.
00:50It's a fantastic feeling.
00:51As I said we were discussing this morning that we should try and go sideways on the
00:54waves, but I said we're too busy laughing to actually do anything other than catch a
00:59wave and then try and get up afterwards.
01:02The retired teacher has been a Newcastle local for more than three decades, but her love
01:08for the ocean stems back to her childhood days.
01:12She thinks free social groups, like the grommets, can be beneficial for the people who might
01:17feel isolated, but who want to be more active.
01:21There's a lot of people who want to get out and do things, but might not have the money
01:26or something.
01:27This is easy.
01:28This is just fun.
01:29And I think it's really important to talk to other people in the community.
01:32The women meet every week, catch a few waves, before heading in to have a chat over coffee.
01:39Fiona Clark has lived in Newcastle for the last three years.
01:44She's one of the first Granny Grommet recruits.
01:47She said, would you like to come down and boogie board with some older ladies?
01:53And I said, sure.
01:55So I did.
01:56And that's how I kind of got inducted into the group.
01:59I'm not quite 100 yet, but you've got to watch out for the strength in your bones and this
02:06type of thing.
02:07It is a cardio workout.
02:10I'm now taking calcium talus, just in case I break anything.
02:15And I think as you get older, to do this type of stuff, not a lot of people do it.
02:22Although she grew up riding the waves of Sydney, Ms Clark believes anyone can pick up the sport.
02:28It's not all about skill.
02:31It's just kind of getting together with a nice group of ladies.
02:35It's not about ability.
02:37And it's just going out and having a bit of fun.
02:40Defying age stereotypes and keen to have a go.
02:43I told my 92-year-old mother and she said, darling, what's a grommet?
02:49And I went, well, a grommet is actually a young surfer.
02:54She went, oh!
02:57So, you know, people just going, oh, good on you.
03:02Retired hairdresser and grommet Libby Mouskey has strong roots in Newcastle's beach culture.
03:09Newcastle is beautiful.
03:10I've grown up in Meriwether all my life and the beach, we've got so much to give here.
03:17She doesn't get in the water with the granny grommets every week,
03:20but Libby Mouskey believes there are mental health benefits from just coming down to the beach.
03:25Just the fresh air, the out meeting people, getting, like, you wouldn't see this from your bedroom.
03:34You wouldn't see this from your kitchen.
03:36It's just amazing.
03:37You forget everything else.
03:39You just concentrate on looking at the scenery and it's just absorbing life.
03:44Late blooming grommets having a go and hoping for their group to grow.