Scottish Surfing Federation
There is something special happening in junior surfing in Scotland. Whether you check the scene out in the The Islands, the busy breaks of The Lowlands, the world-famous North Coast or the fun North-East breaks, you will find that participation is rapidly on the increase and as a result, so is the quality of the shredding.
The scene is blossoming, with a line of fine young girls and boys beginning to shine and get noticed further a-field: examples of this being Scottish Series champion Craig Maclachlan winning the British National title in Wales and two of our youngsters placing highly in the Rip Curl Grom Search in Newquay earlier in the year.
The SSF Junior Series brings the best of this talent from across the country together to compete on a range of different beach breaks. It concluded on the penultimate weekend in October, with the category champions being crowned on the beach at Sandend after the final event.
The Final Series Results are as follows:
Under 18 Boys
1st – Craig Maclachlan – North Shore Surf Club
2nd - Finn Clark – Edinburgh and Border Surf Club
3rd – Ebon Parkin – Belhaven Surf Club
Under 18 Girls
1st - Robyn Larg – Tiree Surf Club
2nd – Lola Mitchell – Broch Surf Club
3rd – Olivia Mackay – North Shore Surf Club
Under 16 Boys
1st – Ansel Parkin – Belhaven Surf Club
2nd – Finn Clark – Edinburgh and Borders Surf Club
3rd – Tam Hood - Belhaven Surf Club
Under 16 Girls
1st – Lola Mitchell – Broch Surf Club
2nd – Callie Cruickshank – Broch Surf Club
3rd – Olivia Mackay – North Shore Surf Club
Under 14 (Mixed)
1st – Ansel Parkin – Belhaven Surf Club
2nd – Tam Hood – Belhaven Surf Club
3rd – William Whyte – Broch Surf Club
Under 12 (Mixed)
1st – Rudi Forrest – Belhaven Surf Club
2nd – Kai Cruickshank – Broch Surf Club
3rd – Gabriel Noble – Broch Surf Club
The series consisted of 5 stops: visiting Tiree, Thurso, Pease Bay, Fraserburgh and Sandend with some excellent and challenging surfing conditions allowing the best in Scotland to compete for the coveted titles.
Series Sponsorship was kindly provided by C-Skins, allowing the winners of each title to walk away with a WetSuit fit for the conditions in which they surf.
Tiree – June – Hosted by Tiree Surf Club
This event went ahead in extremely challenging conditions, with the forecasted huge swells and high winds becoming a reality. Crossapol and Balephuil beaches delivered lovely waves for the kids to showcase their skills on, with sunset surfs and Jet-Ski assisted free surfing, along with a wonderful evening social, allowing everyone to really immerse themselves in the amazing environment and jaw dropping scenery.
Dunnet Bay (Thurso) – August – hosted by North Shore Surf Club
This event produced some outstanding surfing with scores of the day in the 9’s. A decreasing swell on the Saturday meant that the event was run off in one day and kids were judged by an international judging panel hailing from Australia, Indonesia, Scotland, England and Guadeloupe!
Pease Bay – September – Hosted by Belhaven Surf Club and Edinburgh and Border Surf Club
Pease Bay “turned on” with overhead to well overhead surf on the first day coupled with the lowest tides of the year forecast for both days. The competition started at Little Pease and moved over to Big Pease as the conditions changed, allowing for the u16 and u18’s put on a great showpiece of Scottish junior surfing. As the tide pushed in over the main reef it became clear the conditions were challenging and all competitors were running back up the beach between long rides to use the rip to get back out. The Rights were offering up some of the best waves and some great displays of speed, power and flow were on show as a result. What a display they all put on! There was Slashing, Wrapping and even boosting above the lip going on, with some great committed first turns, vertical attacks and re-entries on show.
Fraserburgh – October – Hosted by The Broch Surf Club
This event doubled as the Scottish Junior Nationals, with Fraserburgh (aka The Broch) welcoming surfers to compete for National titles, points in the SSF junior series and potential selection for the Scottish National team for future international events.
The sun was out and the promenade was buzzing with energetic competitors, parents and spectators supporting the event, there was a real feel good vibe and atmosphere.
The long day and monumental effort by all involved lead to the comp being successfully delivered in a single day. Conditions on the Peaks, especially around the middle of the day, were epic, and produced some amazing surfing.
Following the event prizegiving, an added bonus was the floodlit skate session on the brand new Skatepark, with the kids showing just how able they are on dry land.
Sandend – October – Hosted by Moray Firth Surf Riders
The final event saw a big entry compete to close off some of the closest fought Series titles, with a number going down to the wire. Immense conditions lead to an amazing competition run over the Saturday and Sunday. All categories produced outstanding surfing, not least the Under 10 expression session that although not in the Junior Series (yet) made for a fun interlude and allowed for the next generation to get a taste for competition.
Lola Mitchell (BSC, above) took the double in the U16 & U18 Girls at Sandend
In summary, The Scottish Junior scene is an exciting place to be. Talent is emerging at all levels in both the boys and girls divisions and with the commitment of the SSF, the affiliated clubs and various surf schools, the future looks very bright…
head over to thessf.com for more info.
