Report by Craig Butler. Photos Irish Surfing Association – Gerald Maher and Patrick Hartley.
Bundoran Co. Donegal over the weekend the inaugural Bundoran Junior surfing Championships was held in some big conditions. Tramore junior surfers showed up in force to claim their spot on the podium and they finished the contest by turning heads and amazement from other competitors and their clubs. See Tramore isn’t known for it’s world class surf or big waves compared to that of Bundoran or Lahinch in Co Clare. But every surfer from Waterford who entered the contest broke through the qualifying rounds, knocking out competitors from more well known surf towns and every single one of them made it to the final. Which is truly an achievement in itself and speaks volumes about the level of surfing that we have in Tramore and the extensive work of the personal trainers and coaches the local surf club in Tramore.
The day kicked off early with the first heats in the water at 8am with the U14 boys. Tramore’s Ben Maher and Jai Widger, despite the big surf on offer these two youngsters battled their way through the rounds and on to the finals where Ben finished in 2nd place and Jai in 4th.
Next up was the U14 girls. With a strong Tramore contingency 4/5 of the finalists where surfing for Tramore. The girls put on a great display of surfing and showed their capabilities and what to expect from them in the future. Jude Lee took the win for Tramore, followed closely by Alex Fanning in 2nd place, Heather Breen in 4th and despite being her first ever surf contest Tess Hartley took 5th spot and contributed to putting Tramore back on the map along with the 3 other Tramore locals
Whilst the U14 girls was leaving the water, the U12 girls was entering. Akiya Moore despite her young age and the big conditions on hand, gracefully surfed a great heat with a style matching her father’s and came away with the win for Tramore. Then followed by the U12 boys. Odhran Bolger representing Tramore walked away with a 2nd place finish, despite his incredible efforts he came up just that little bit short of making it to 1st place. You can expect to hear great things of Akiya and Odhran in the future as they will most definitely grow to become future standouts in the sport.
The bodyboarders entered the line up. They put on an incredible display of what can be done on a bodyboard, but despite being members of the irish junior surf team and representing Ireland at the European championships this coming July, the two young Tramore dudes unfortunately came up short. Even with a break through performance, Joe Breen took 3rd place and Ben Maher took 4th place respectively.
The longboard heats in my eyes is where Tramore really shined. They battled through the rounds in the large surf on their big boards and made it an all Tramore final. All 4 surfers in the final are local standouts. Their places in the final backs up that statement. Knocking out surfers from more well known regions in Ireland. Tom Breen took 1st place after putting on an amazing show for the spectators. Tom is also a member of the Irish junior surf team and will be competing for Ireland at the European championships this July. Second place went to Tramore Surf Shop worker and all round dude Callum Condon, despite being one of his first times riding a longboard he put on a performance that left every body proud to say that he is representing our town. Joe Breen battled against his brother Tom in the final, but unfortunately for Joe he came up short and took 3rd place and again put on a proud display of what can be done on a longboard. Despite the invaluable coaching from his father who is a legendary Tramore surfer ‘Brent’, who moved here from the sunny shores of Sydney 18 years ago, Luke Ennis took 4th position. But after his stand out performance and win whilst surfing at the Tramore junior championships last month, Luke has earned his spot on the Irish junior surf team and rightly so as he is already putting some of the old guys to shame with his smooth style.
Unfortunately for the other Tramore surfers who surfed through the rounds in the open event the only surfer who made it into the final of the open was Kilian Maher. But what an incredible display of surfing Kilian put on. With his family and friends making noise for him on the beach of Bundoran, Kilian put on a display of surfing that even the veteran surfer would be delighted with. Though only 14 years old, Kilian surfed to standards of surfers twice his age and put on another break through performance for Tramore and to the cheers of his peers he managed to come away with the win in the open surf.
The U16 girls, the daughter of local hero Henry Moore, Sarah was a finalist. But despite her efforts and excellent abilities whilst surfing on a surfboard that her father had shaped for her, she came up just that little bit short of a 1st place finish. When I say a little bit short, I mean 0.5 of a point short. But still happy to of done well in the event. she was delighted to take 2nd place.
Another incredible final was the U16 boys. 3/4 of the finalists where local Tramore surfers. They went round for round, knocking out surfers from all over the country. Tom Breen still on form after the Longboard final took the win. Followed closely by his close friend James Power who despite putting on a great display, just came up a little bit short and walked away with a medal for second place. Then we had Kilian Maher who despite putting on an incredible performance in the surf open, Kilian finished in 3rd spot. But with a gold medal already around his neck, he walked away absolutely stoked.
Last but not least was the U18 boys. Scott Widger was the last man standing through the qualifying rounds. He faced some stiff competition in earlier heats, but his excellent knowledge and ability to read the waves secured him a spot in the final. He put on an incredible performance in the final and showed his excellent capability of wave riding. But unfortunately his amazing efforts just wasn’t enough and unfortunately he wasn’t on full form this day. But nevertheless Scott walked away with a 4th place finish and helped put the final touches to an incredible day for surfing in the south east. The U18 girls final was followed quickly after where Sasha Moore put on another incredible display of surfing for Tramore. Her great efforts in the water secured Sasha with a 2nd place finish. Once again Tramore has shown it’s worth on a national level for surfing and proved that we grow some of the best surfers in Ireland. I am excited to see what the Tramore contingency will achieve this July when they compete at the European Junior Championships in Portugal. It would not surprise me to see these kids making the finals on the global stage with their amazing talent.
Article credits:
Craig Butler at Humans of Surfing
U12 Girls
1. Akiya Moore, Tbay
2. Ellie Hoey, BBR
U12 Boys
1. James Cloney, WCSC
2. Odhran Bolger, Tbay
3. Henry Ferguson, Killiney
U14 Girls
1. Jude Lee, Tbay
2. Alex Fanning, Tbay
3. Phoebe Howarth , RSC
4. Heather Breen, Tbay
5. Tess Hartley, Tbay
U14 Boys
1. Finn Richardson, WCSC
2. Ben Maher, Tbay
3. Ross Coyne, WCSC
4. Jai Widger, Tbay
U16 Girls
1. Bea Greenberg, RSC
2. Sarah Moore, Tbay
3. Sarah Paran, WCSC
Longboard
1 Tom Breen, Tbay
2. Callum Condon, Tbay
3. Joe Breen, Tbay
4. Luke Ennis, Tbay
Open
1. Kilan Maher, Tbay
2. Danny Hedley, Mayo
3. Ross Coyne, WCSC
4. James Cloney, WCSC
Bodyboard
1. Finn Richardson, WCSC
2. Neil McCarthy, BBR
3. Joe Breen, Tbay
4. Ben Maher, Tbay
U18 Girls
1. Una Britton, RSC
2. Sasha Moore, Tbay
3. Helena Paran, WCSC
U16 Boys
1. Tom Breen, Tbay
2. James Power, Tbay
3. Kilan Maher, Tbay
4. Eoin Lally, BBR
U18 Boys
1. Jack Scott, RSC
2. Fionn Robinson, BBR
3. Jack Richards, BBR
4. Scott Widger, Tbay
