Oscar waving for help while holding on to the paralysed SUP’er. Photo Neil Phillips
A 14 year old surfer from Saunton has been praised for saving the life of a paralysed SUP’er.
Oscar who is also junior surf lifesaver at the Saunton SLSC, saw the casualty who had been hit tithe head by a board and lost feeling in arms and legs in trouble and paddle over to help.
“I saw someone had been injured on their board and just instinctively went over to them to see if they were OK, which they weren’t and then I helped them. I was quite scared at the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to lift him because he’s quite a big guy but I just had the determination to help him.”
“I knew he had a big board strapped to his leg and if I tried to go in and a wave came and he gets hit off, he’d get dragged in and I might lose sight of him – it could’ve just got so much worse.”
Oscar flipped the SUP over and got the man on the board.
The man, Mr Boden said “He was trying to hang on to me and trying to wave and I was saying ‘don’t leave me kid, don’t leave me’ and he was saying ‘I won’t leave you, I won’t leave you’.”
Oscar reassured him,
“I started to calm him down because he almost started panicking and he was worrying about what was going to happen next but I just tried to keep him calm whilst waving to my dad and Neil.”
Danny his dad said: “The first way we realised something was wrong was when we just saw two dots close together and a small arm waving frantically with the correct signals of a surfer in distress in the water.”
Coastguards and other surfers weren’t able to reach them so A RNLI inshore lifeboat was called.
Neil Phillips of Saunton SLSC said: “Oscar’s rescue was just textbook.
“I’m really proud of Oscar. He was just amazing, he saved a life.”
Roland Lefeuvre (FRA) progresses ahead of defending champion Kai Sallas (HAW) to win the heat of his life
Skindog through to round 5
Excellence from Japanese teammates Taka Inoue (JPN) and Natsumi Taoka (JPN) tops day’s heat totals
Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER) claims victory in stacked, medal-filled battle
The penultimate day of action in the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC) was greeted with yet another stunning El Sunzal lineup, with corduroy four-to-five-foot swell lining the right point. Men’s and women’s Main Round 4 was completed, along with Repechage Rounds 4 through 7 in both divisions.
The Philippines maintained an extremely narrow lead on the team rankings, sitting just 15 points ahead of France in second place. The team nearly managed to be the only nation to hang on to all four members heading into Finals Day, but lost Daisy Valdez (PHI) in the last heat of the day in a nail-biter. Similar to the Philippines and France, Japan is holding onto three surfers to remain a close third, while Brazil, Hawaii, USA, and Australia sit below in a tight pack, each carrying two surfers in the draw.
Surfing against three longboarders with extensive competitive history, relative newcomer Roland Lefeuvre (FRA) claimed a 7.83 within the final two minutes of the opening men’s Main Round 4 heat to jump from third to first and take a massive heat win over two-time ISA World Champion Kai Sallas (HAW), as well as Johnny Van Hohenstein (HAW) and Jeferson Silva (HAW), who were both sent to repechage, where they were eliminated in back-to-back heats.
Lefeuvre has only been competing for a few years in longboarding, and is appearing in his very first ISA event. The 36-year-old surf instructor from Biarritz couldn’t contain his excitement after the final scores were announced.
“It’s pretty amazing, maybe the best heat of my life,” Lefeuvre said. “I was not stressing. I was like, I have to surf on my best, and not make a mistake. Normally I watch, I know every surfer in front of me, so I know how they surf, and I try to do what they don’t do. I have no plan, just surf, enjoy. The waves are perfect again today. That was the perfect size, and yeah, the perfect weather.”
Lefeuvre will next face teammate Edouard Delpero (FRA), the multiple-time medalist, along with Taka Inoue (JPN), in Main Round 5. Inoue, the defending silver medalist, posted the highest single wave score of the day for the men for the second day in a row. The 24-year-old’s 17.34 heat total, which included the day-topping 9.17, stands second only to Delpero’s Round 1 total in Main Round scores.
Fellow medalists Ben Skinner (ENG) and Rogelio Esquievel Jr. (PHI) also progressed into Main Round 5, where they will meet Sallas, the defending gold medalist, in the second of the two heats in the round.
Inoue’s teammate Natsumi Taoka (JPN) claimed the highest heat total of the day for the women. Since collecting the best score of women’s Main Round 1, the two-time medalist has been building on her performances through the week, today posting her first excellent two-wave total, 16.10. Taoka progressed ahead of Mara Lopez (PHI), who was one of six women to advance into Main Round 5.
WSL Longboard Tour competitors Tully White (AUS) and Sophia Culhane (HAW) were also able to move through to Main Round 5. It was all style and grace for White, whose patient footwork and well-drawn rail carves earned her the heat win over Culhane, who claimed her biggest career victory at El Sunzal in 2023.
Four of the six women in Repechage Round 7 competed in four heats today; Daisy Valdez(PHI), Kaitlin Mikkelsen (USA), Liv Stokes (CAN), and Hiroka Yoshikawa (JPN). Half of the four, Mikkelsen and Yoshikawa, kept their hopes alive. Joining them in moving onto Finals Day was Clinton Guest (AUS), who surfed through another three men’s repechage heats today, the only surfer to survive the repechage draw all the way from Round 1.
Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER) claims victory in stacked, medal-filled battle
Women’s Main Round 4 opened with two-time ISA World Champion Alice Le Moigne(FRA), two-time WSL World Champion Rachael Tilly (USA), Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Gold Medalist Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER), and Brazil’s Kate Brandi (BRA) facing off. The tit-for-tat battle finished with Le Moigne, Tilly, and Fernanda Reyes all separated by just 0.56.
After a long lull to start, Fernanda Reyes claimed the early advantage, posting an opening 6.83, before Tilly and Le Moigne caught waves back-to-back. A shorter ride for Tilly garnered a 6.17, while Le Moigne capitalized on a long wall to earn an 8.33. Fernanda Reyes then upped the ante with an 8.73, before a final exchange saw Brandi, Le Moigne, and Tilly on subsequent set waves. An extended fade into a critical hang-ten from Tilly set up the best score of the event for the women, a 9.23, enough to move her into second behind Fernanda Reyes. Needing a 7.08, Le Moigne’s score landed as a 6.67, pushing her into repechage, along with Brandi.
“It was a heat that felt almost like a final,” Fernanda Reyes said. “Competing against Alice [Le Moigne], a two-time medalist, and also Rachael [Tilly], honestly it was incredible. I just went out there to have fun and catch some good waves at El Sunzal, and I think that’s what helped me advance. I’m grateful to God for allowing me to be here, in such a wonderful place, with people I care about deeply, doing something I love so much that I wouldn’t even call it work, because I truly enjoy competing.”
Two-time Silver Medalist Rachael Tilly (USA) earns event-high women’s numbers in quest for first gold
Led by 2010 World Champion Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA), Brazil holds strong in the Main Round to carry team advantage
Long, committed nose-rides deliver top men’s scores to former medalists Rogelio Esquievel Jr. (PHI) and Taka Inoue (JPN)
Skindog through to round 4
El Sunzal continued to deliver on day five of the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC). The long, right point was lit up with clean four-to-six-foot waves for men’s and women’s Main Round 3 to be completed, along with multiple repechage rounds.
Brazil remained the only nation with all four surfers in the Main Round, giving their team a strong advantage heading towards team medals, though five other teams remain at the top of the leaderboard with full teams intact; France, USA, Philippines, Peru, and Argentina.
Many surfers spoke of today’s conditions being amongst the best they’ve ever had in competition, including Rachael Tilly (USA), who earned both the highest heat total (16.33) and equal highest single wave score (8.50) of the event for the women. The two-time silver medalist and reigning WSL World Longboard Champion put on a masterclass in flow, drawing classic lines the entire way through the nearly minute-long waves as she connected stylish nose-rides with powerful carves.
“I’m just so stoked to have been able to surf in conditions like this, it’s so beautiful,” Tilly said. “I was just trying to stay really calm and really enjoy myself out there. It was my goal to get at least an 8, or just like, I wanted to get in the excellent range for this one, have one of my waves be that. So yeah, I’m really happy with that.”
Also earning an excellent 8.50 was Mara Lopez (PHI). The 14-year-old yet again showed confidence in defeating competitors with far more experience, holding poise through long nose-rides on the large outside sections. Lopez progressed ahead of Luana Soares (BRA), the pair sending Hiroka Yoshikawa (JPN) to the repechage.
Soares is competing as a part of Team Brazil for the second consecutive year, alongside Kate Brandi (BRA), who joins the team for the first time, and competitive longboarding veterans Jefson Silva (BRA) and Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA). Sphaier is competing in his fourth ISA event and has a team medal from each of his previous appearances; silver from 2023 and copper from 2010 and 2024. The 2010 World Champion is as determined as ever to back-up his gold medal, both for himself and for his nation.
“It’s been 15 years since my first gold,” Sphaier said. “I’ve been working very hard and I’m very focused on bringing the next gold to Brazil. I’m going to be strategic and stay focused and be ready for whatever comes to me.”
Defending Gold Medalist Kai Sallas (HAW) barely needed half of his 20-minute heat to catch two waves that he was happy with, before coming in and watching the remainder from the comfort of a chair in the shade. Having posted an early 7.00, the two-time ISA World Champion and 2023 WSL World Longboard Champion had enough confidence in his second scoring wave that despite Matías Maturano (ARG) and Rafael Cortez (CHI) posting rides higher in the 7-point range, the Hawaiian returned to shore with a full eight minutes left on the clock to await the number that landed as an 8.40, securing the heat win.
“I’m just here to have fun, go do some good hang-tens in the next couple days, and just surf the way I want to surf,” Sallas said. “So if I don’t feel like paddling back out, I’m going to come in. My second wave just felt good, and it’s hot, and the paddles are really long. Not that I thought that I had the heat or anything, I just thought that I probably couldn’t have bettered those two waves.”
Maturano progressed behind Sallas, with Cortez and teammate José Manuel Boza (CHI) both relegated to the repechage. Two South American teammates also met in the following heat, when Ignacio Pignataro (URU) and Julian Schweizer (URU) faced Ben Skinner(ENG) and Johnny Van Hohenstain (HAW). In a hotly contested heat, the two Uruguayans were also sent to repechage together. In the final heats of the day, Pignataro and Manuel Boza were eliminated, while Schweizer and Cortez powered on.
2023 Copper Medalist Rogelio Esquievel Jr. (PHI) repeated his day-topping performance from the previous round, collecting two solid 8-point rides for an excellent 17.20 heat total. The 28-year-old’s critical backhand nose-rides continued to set the standard, his single wave scores topped only by Taka Inoue (JPN). Inoue, the 2024 Silver Medalist, earned a 9.33 for an exceptionally long nose-ride, backed up by multiple sweeping turns through the inside.
Equievel’s teammate Crisanto Villanueva (PHI) snuck through a stacked heat in the last second. Surfing against not one, but two World Champions, Rodridgo Sphaier (BRA) and Benoit ‘Piccolo’ Clemente (PER), Villanueva took off on a wave with less than 15 seconds on the clock, needing a 4.18 to advance and send Clemente to the repechage. After an extended wait on the beach, the score landed as a 4.50, igniting an explosion of joy from the Philippines team. Now, Villanueva and Esquievel will face each other in Main Round 4, along with Jon Garmendia (ESP) and multiple-time medalist Edouard Delpero (FRA).
Six surfers were eliminated in Women’s Repechage Round 3 today, including both women representing Puerto Rico and South Korea. Sive Jarrard (ASA), Liv Stokes (CAN) and Margarita Conde (COL) earned the best numbers of the round, with the majority of heats going down the wire.
The same was true for men’s repechage, which completed rounds 2 and 3, along with the first four heats of Round 4, cutting their numbers by 34. Two surfers, Tom Breen (IRL) and Clinton Guest (AUS), managed to progress through all three rounds today to keep their campaigns alive heading into Repechage Round 5. Steven Newton (USA) and Surfiel Gil(ARG) also progressed from Round 2 through Round 5, having surfed their Round 2 heats yesterday afternoon, while an additional three surfers from Round 2, Nicolas Garcia(ESP), Agustin Cedeño (PAN), Yonatan Amir (ISR), and Francisco Freitas (POR) will appear in the first two heats tomorrow, hoping to do the same.
Billabong Bloodlines youth development program has groomed the next generation of surfing talent around the world – in and out of the water – guided by our elite coaching staff and legends of the sport. Earlier this year, 23 athletes from our young European crew head over to Peniche, Portugal to learn from some of the best on a weekend-long training camp. Our legend coach team, Didier Piter, Dani Garcia and Tomas Fernandes guided our young team through a two-day surf training. Progression, power turns, heat drills. All of it.
14-year-old Mara Lopez (PHI) earns highest women’s numbers in event debut, Philippines teammate Rogelio Esquievel Jr. (PHI) tops men’s scores
Brazil, France, Japan, Philippines, and Uruguay retain full teams intact in Main Round
Englands Ben Skinner is through to round three.
Surf City El Salvador – April 27th, 2025
Solid four-to-six-foot waves, with marching eight-foot sets, poured into El Sunzal for day three of the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC). The morning began with powerful, long-period swell providing large open faces for the world’s best longboarders to draw clean lines in showcasing their skills on the nose and rail. The final four heats of women’s Main Round 1 were completed, along with men’s and women’s Main Round 2.
Team Philippines had a great day of competition, kicked off by Mara Lopez (PHI) with a 15.43 two-wave total, the highest of the day for the women, collected in the very first heat. In her WLC debut, the 14-year-old committed to long, critical nose-rides on waves at least three-times over her head. Lopez’s style and poise in the powerful swell was notable and was rewarded accordingly.
Meanwhile, a hyper-critical, extended hang-ten from Rogelio Esquievel Jr (PHI) received one of the highest scores of the event, an 8.83. Combined with a 7.50, the 2023 Copper Medalist posted an excellent 16.33 heat total, the highest of the day for the men.
“I already had two 7’s, so I decided to push more and to try to get some excellent,” Esquievel Jr. said. “It came out an 8.83, so I’m so happy. [I’m going to] stay focused, watch some heats, and learn about the scoring, and watch the waves, where the sets [come] and which one is the best. And yeah, just have fun with the team and support the next few heats.”
Daisy Valdez (PHI) and Crisanto Villanueva (PHI) also progressed in their heats, to keep the entire four-person Philippines team intact in the Main Round. France, Brazil, Japan, and Uruguay remain the only other nations to move forward with full teams, giving all five nations a distinct advantage in the hunt for the team gold medal.
Many of the top numbers for women’s Main Round 2 went to the four former medalists in the draw, Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER), Alice Le Moigne (FRA), Natsumi Taoka (JPN), and Rachael Tilly (USA). Taoka claimed the highest heat total, 14.16, Le Moigne the highest single wave score, 7.83.
A handful of surfers breached their dominance, including Tully White (AUS), Hiroka Yoshikawa (JPN), Luana Soares (BRA) and Lia Diaz (CRC). Diaz was having fun in the chaotic afternoon conditions, finding opportunities for clean footwork and committed nose-rides on her way to collecting a 13.00 heat total.
“The waves are really fun, so I just had a blast,” Diaz said. “I was just going out there and trying to have fun and be relaxed. It looks so tricky, but if you actually time it right you can have a blast.”
Multiple hang-tens tight in the pocket provided Jefson Silva (BRA) with a 15.66 heat total that included the day’s first excellent score, an 8.33. Silva took the win in a hotly contested heat that saw Lucas Garrido Lecca (PER) also progress ahead of Dongkyun Kim (KOR) and David Schiaffino (CAN).
“I’m very happy and so stoked to be in the next round and to make a good score in my heat,” Silva said. “When I listened to the first score, 8.33, I thought to myself, ‘Okay, let’s go, now I have to get another one.’ When the waves come, I just want to improve myself and do something good, make some turns and fives and tens. I’m here to help my country, to represent my country, all the team, we are together and super strong.”
Silva and Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA) were teammates in 2010, when Sphaier claimed the gold medal. Sphaier also advanced today, but in second place behind Edouard Delpero (FRA), who earned the highest single wave score for the second day in a row, a 9.00. The pair defeated local Salvadoran Amado Alvarado (ESA) and Francisco Freitas (POR), who were relegated to the repechage.
Rafael Cortez (CHI), Dorian Torres (CRC), Johnny Van Hohenstein (HAW), and Roland Lefeuvre (FRA) also mastered the conditions to earn heat wins with solid scores.
Will Bailey, Joss Ash, Malakai Hagley, Jobe Harriss and Liam Murray-Strout thread there way through what has been an epic Spring so far. Hit play to watch North Cornwall on fire with some of its finest sliders.
