Wednesday the 2nd of November a new swell hits Hossegor... as most of our best surfers were in Brazil. Competing in the Saquarema Pro the rest were scoring huge caves at home.
Not an easy task to find the right spot, a clean swell but not quite doing its thing until the end of the morning when the stars aligned. Witness a full on tube fest right till dark plus La Nord in its element.
The Alaïa Open Winter Cup, the final stage of the Edelweiss Surf Tour, will take place on November 5 and 6. For this 2nd edition of the competition, more than 80 surfers will compete in the only wave pool in continental Europe. The athletes will compete for CHF 4000 in prize money and the title of Swiss Wavepool Champion. The weekend promises a quality show in the water and out, with 2 massive parties lighting up Alaïa Bay.
More information about the event here.
The 2nd edition of the Alaïa Open Winter Cup will take place on the weekend of November 5th and 6th.
For the first time, the competition will also accommodate the final stage of the Edelweiss Surf Tour, a national surfing tour in collaboration with Swiss Surfing. After proving their talent on standing waves in Lucerne (Oana) and Zurich (Urbnsurf), as well as river waves on the river Aare in Thun, it is now time for the Swiss surfers to prove their talent in the Alaïa Bay wavepool.
The new Swiss wavepool champions will be announced at the end of the competition, and the Edelweiss Surf Tour champions will be crowned for the first time. For this final competition, announced as the coldest of the tour, 80 Swiss and international participants will be competing in four categories: Open Women and Men and Junior Girls and Junior Boys. Registration is now closed.
This year, the field of athletes consists of skilled and talented surfers. Among the competitors are the Swiss Durbi Castillo and Alena Gubler. After three contests, they are in first place in the Men and Women's categories and have a good chance of winning the tour.
In the Junior Girls and Boys category, the young Swiss Fabiana Klein and Rivan Rock Rosskopf have a good chance of winning the tour. Among the locals, Rachel Mead-Bonhôte, resident of Verbier (VS) and winner of the Swiss Surfing Championships in Spain, will be competing. Another top-rated surfer is Carlos Gerber, a resident of Ovronnaz who swapped his snowboard for a surfboard. However, the competition will be tough with the presence of many international athletes.
There is also a delegation of Basque surfers with Bitor Garitaonandia and Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri, both recent Junior European Champions in the Azores, and Yago Dominguez Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri.
The Germans Noah Klapp and Dylan Groen, the Israeli Anat Lelior, the Italian Francesco Lazzarini, the young Portuguese Maria Salgado, and the British powerhouse Lukas Skinner will also be competing for the win.
Top Class Surfing and other festivities at Alaïa Bay.
The Alaïa Open Winter Cup will begin on Saturday, November 5, with the qualification rounds. It will continue on Sunday, November 6, with the finals, and the winners will be crowned at the end of the weekend. Spectators are welcome to watch the show up close, and cheer on the athletes from the terrace of the Twin Fin restaurant.
There will also be plenty of entertainment outside the pool! The official AOWC party will take place on Saturday night at the Twin Fin restaurant with a DJ and a live band. Throughout the weekend, Twin Fin will also serve delicious food from around the world. Those who want to get in the water can book a surf session between rounds of competition. Despite the cool temperatures, the weekend promises to be hot, with spectacular surfing performances from national and international athletes.
Our first ever Junior Surf Series came to a celebratory conclusion last week at England’s only inland surf destination, the Wave in Bristol. We were stoked to welcome some of the best of English U12 and U14 girls and boys for the grand finale of the series, “The Day of Champions”, pushing the performance of our top junior surfers. This year’s brand-new series of grassroot contests, sponsored by Eola and Animal, had seen 3 stops throughout the year – Croyde in March, Praa Sands in September, and Widemouth Bay in October.
In the spirit of celebrating the surfing community, Surfing England reached out to their affiliated clubs to help run the events, one stop at the time. Surfing England have provided some financial and practical support to get the series off the ground, as part of our wider goals to see more contests running in 2023 and beyond.
‘’We wanted the junior surf series to give groms their first taste of competitive surfing in a really friendly and welcoming environment, and working alongside our surf clubs the series has done just that. To run the finals in a team format, bringing in some of our awesome pro’s as team captains and delivering a super fun day full of camaraderie was the perfect way to finish the series’’ Ben Powis, CEO of Surfing England
The idea to wrap the series up as a Grand Finale has always been there, and the final format of the day offered our surfers a less traditional day of competition, featuring a team element and coaching input from England’s finest. The day brought together 4 professional English surfers, 19 of the best young grommets, all invited to enjoy 4 hours of world class clean waves at The Wave, Bristol.
The aim of the day was set – to push the limits and come out from the pool performing the best manoeuvres to date. Our 19 surfers were divided between 4 team captains, Luke Dillon, Barnaby Cox, Lucy Campbell and Liam Murray-Strout. Teams were getting judged alternatively a set at the time, for commitment and effort dedicated to 1 critical manoeuvre per wave, accumulating points throughout the day.
At lunchtime, every team got an opportunity to review and analyse their waves from their first wave pool session with their captains and refuel from The Wave’s café.
In the second session teams, captains and competitors showed their true colours and gaps amongst the team’s performances started to show.
Luke Dillon and his TEAM WHITE snapped up the champion titles, 4 points ahead of Barnaby Cox’s TEAM BLUE. TEAM RED lead by Lucy Campbell and TEAM YELLOW with their captain Liam Murray-Strout, were both hanging closely behind.
‘’Surfing England Junior surf series Co-ordinator Phil Williams said ‘ Working with the five surf clubs, sponsors and of course Surfing England and the Wave was a real privilege, and yesterdays finale was a reminder, of what the series was aimed at, investing in the next generation of competitive surfers without losing the fun of the sport we all love, excited to see how the tour develops in 2023, a huge thanks to all the competitors and support crew that were involved, and of course sponsors Eola & Animal UK ’’ Phil Williams, Junior Series Contest Director
“What a marvellous way to end this incredible series! 2022’s Day of Champions, the finale of the SE Junior Surf Series, was unforgettable. So much talent was on display on the waves. Everyone’s enthusiasm for the sport was inspiring and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be co-sponsoring the series this year with Animal. Seeing such successful pro surfers using their years of experience to share with the industry’s future stars has been wonderful. This series is an opportunity for young people to not only showcase their skills and compete, but to also immerse themselves in the world of surfing with fellow enthusiasts and have fun. We can’t wait to see how they continue to thrive as they keep learning and taking part.” Callum Hemsley CEO & Founder of EOLA
A huge thanks to series sponsors Animal UK and EOLA, and of course all the competitors and their support teams. A huge thank you to all the surf clubs and volunteers who have helped us deliver a fantastic series of events for the juniors.
What happens when the best surf trip of former world champ Joel Parkinson's life happens years after his retirement? He enjoys it even more.
Starring Joel Parkinson, Creed McTaggart, Eithan Osborne, Jai Glindeman, Dakoda Walters and Kian Martin, shot in the Mentawai Islands earlier this year and created by Mikey Mallalieu and Tom Jennings. Special thanks to Captain Ricky and the crew at Sibon Charters, best boats in the Ments.
Vans, the original action sports footwear and apparel brand, is proud to announce a new collection with surfing legend and Vans Surf team rider Nathan Florence this holiday season. Nathan Florence is immediately recognizable for his style and power in the water and is also just as well-known for his adventurous and fierce spirit. Nathan’s new collection with Vans represents the progression he brings both in and out of the water.
Nathan travels the world in search of the biggest and best waves, and his new collection with Vans is inspired by these global pursuits. Built with travel in mind, the collection leads with the UltraRange™ VR3, and is rounded out with the Slip-On TRK, Surf Boot 2 Mid, Nexpa Synthetic sandal, and an assortment of functional apparel pieces. This head-to-toe collection of true essentials includes all of Nathan’s favorite footwear and apparel, built around functionality and versatility, all in his signature red and black motif, and adorned with signature details that appear on all of his surfboards.
The hero style of the collection is undoubtedly the re-engineered and rebuilt UltraRange™ VR3, which features a knit upper textile crafted from 50 percent organic cotton, 34 percent recycled PET, 14 percent recycled nylon and two percent spandex. Built with environmentally conscious materials in mind, the UltraRange™ VR3 supports responsible manufacturing through the Leather Working Group certified tanneries. The brand-new EcoCush™ midsole is made using 50 percent biobased EVA foam, partially derived from plant-based sources. The VR3Waffle™ outsole compound is made with 60% regeneratively-grown, natural rubber sourced from farms utilizing agricultural practices that are intended to promote biodiversity, enhance water cycles, improve soil health, and/or sequester carbon—all while maintaining the grip and durability Vans has been known for since 1966.
The collection also includes Nathan Florence boardshort in black, jacket in black, cargo zip-off pant in asphalt, an OTW LS tee in black, and an OTW SS tee in chili pepper. The offering is rounded out with the Nathan Florence duffle in asphalt/black.
Not many surfers are as at home on the North Shore as Nathan Florence. Hailing from Haleiwa, he can be found charging waves on the biggest days, and his accomplishments in heavy surf over the years speak for themselves.Growing up in the fierce brotherly battle of who could pull into the biggest tube or launch the highest air, Nathan was shaped into the charger he is today by never backing down.
Vans’ Nathan Florence Collection is available globally beginning November 16, 2022, at select Vans Surf retailers and at Vans.eu/surf. For more information about Vans sustainability initiatives, visit vans.eu/sustainability.
Savage Waters, the British made surf exploration film, is rolling out the premiers and winning awards, yesterday winning Best feature, Best original soundtrack and a special mention for Cinematography going to Mikey Corker at The Richard Harris International Film Festival last weekend.
The film follows the adventures of a crew as they sail the Atlantic in search of uncharted islands that hold a mythical big wave as mentioned in a 19th century treasure hunters journal. North Devons Matt Knight sets sail with a changing crew of family and friends in search of the perfect wave but the ocean and life throws challenges at the crew turning what could have been a quick surf trip into years of challenges.
Filmed in Ireland, Portugal, Acores, Madeira and The Savage Islands over five years with surfers Matt, Peony, Taz Knight joined by Cotty, Ed Smith, Alex Bothelo it is well worth a watch!
The UK Premiere is tomorrow night in Liverpool at the Odeon Liverpool One
Then in Stirling, Scotland 6 November, Kendal 19 November, Lewes near Brighton 20 November, and rolling out across the globe. Dates here.
