About the research
Tirion is a PhD researcher at Cardiff University in the school of Social and Cultural Geography. Her research is fully funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Her research interests are around surfing, health geographies, non-representational theory and therapeutic landscapes. For her PhD research, she will spend three years investigating cold-water surfing and its potential to build mental health resilience, through its immersive and mindful experience. Her research will be focused on the case study of winter surfers in Wales.
Most recently, she has been invited to speak at the ‘Blue Mind’ symposium at The Wave in Bristol on the 9th of November 2022. The purpose of this event is to facilitate knowledge exchange between research and practice around the topics of blue health, surf therapy and surfing to promote health.
The next 6 months will be spent gathering perspectives and experiences of winter surfing in Wales. Participants are now wanted to join initial focus groups during the month of October. Discussions will take place at a coastal location pre or post-surf for the duration of 1hr. Please get in contact via jenkinste@cardiff.ac.uk to express your interest in taking part in this research and for more information.
Research timeline
Stage One (October & November ‘22)
Initial focus groups and semi-structured interviews looking ahead to winter
Stage Two (December ‘22 - March ‘23)
In-water surf photography sessions accompanied by photo-elicitation interviews
Stage Three (April ‘23)
Focus groups and semi-structured interviews reflecting on the winter months