English National Surfing Champions Crowned

English National Surfing Champions Crowned

We are absolutely frothing on an incredible weekend at the 2020 Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships. Chunky conditions and strong winds forecast led to a relocation to Great Western Beach; the venue’s amphitheatre set up provided a great location to absorb the action as we crowned more 2020 Champions – we are so proud to have so many incredibly talented English surfers who put on a spectacle to watch.

With the forecast showing increasing swell size throughout the weekend the Contest Director and Event Organiser set up a running order to ensure everyone stayed safe, and the event ran COVID secure. Saturday morning got underway with the U14 Boys, a strong round of 20 surfers who would have to show some serious stamina to make it to the final. Reen Bowden-Inoue was showcasing as usual, with consistently high scores throughout the event, the highest combined scoring waves in the Division, placing 3rd overall when it came to the crunch. Scores were close between Fynn Gillespie and Arthur Randell, who was also competing in the U18 Longboard, but Fynn took the Champion U14s 2020 title, Arthur just behind placing 2nd but going home stoked with 1st place finish in the U18s Boys Longboard, a very talented multi discipline surfer.

In the U14 Girls, Lauren Sandland was on fire claiming the 2020 Champion title and in the U16 Girls Alys Barton claimed champion – Alys the dual champion for the 2020 U18 and U16 Girls Divisions – definitely 2 titles to be proud of! There was fantastic surfing from the other girls who charged on in some testing conditions and will now be into Winter training ahead of the 2021 Event Season. Tegan Blackford was also showing her skills in shortboard and longboard, placing 3rd in the U18s Girls Longboard & 2nd in the U16 Girls.
In the U18s Girls Longboard, Izzy Henshall showed some dazzling style that earnt her the Champion title, Esmée Gregorius placing 2nd and also placing 4th in the Women’s Longboard. The Women’s Longboard was impressive to watch, Emily Currie taking the 2020 Champion title, the Bude Surfers coming out on top as Beth Leighfield placed 2nd, Tina Beresford coming in 3rd.
Day 2 of action saw the U16 Boys Shortboard and Men’s Longboard entering the water, alternate rounds running back to back as we charged through whilst the surf continued to ramp up. The boys were shredding, and the final was close, Kieron Smith coming out on top with the Champion title, with Beau Betteridge in 2nd, and Alex Townsend in 3rd. Louis Ingram who had high scores in the quarters and semis chased the boys tails coming in 4th when the hooter signalled the end of the heat.

In the Men’s Longboard, Adam Griffiths was on fire on Sunday, continuously scoring highly throughout the event earning him the 2020 Mens Longboard Champion title. Ben Skinner was on hand cruising through rounds, placing 2nd overall, Louis Thomas-Hudson who travelled down from Tynemouth to show us his skills placed 3rd and Jordan Zervas came in 4th.

Events Organiser Hannah Brand said “we’re totally stoked to end the 2020 season on a high – it’s been a year of challenges as we continue to negotiate a global pandemic and we are so proud of all the surfers and the whole English surfing community for pulling together at this time. The surfing was phenomenal to watch – huge congratulations to the Champions and we look forward to seeing you all in 2021 – keep charging!”

Surfing England wish to thank everyone for getting involved to make this Event a huge success, and our Event Partners who have continued to support us throughout 2020, Caravan and Motorhome Club, supporting partners Korev Lager and our other Event Partners; The Wave, dryrobe, Surfdome, PADSTOW ROCKS, Shower in a Can, Clarke Willmott, Panoptic Motion, and Ecoworks Marine.
A further thank you to Era Adventures for providing Lifeguard Cover for this event and keeping us safe all weekend, and a particular shout out to Llyr Faragher for a solid morning on the ski on Sunday!

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Josh Kerr – Kerzy Casual at Bankvaults

Josh Kerr – Kerzy Casual at Bankvaults

The second day of the swell bring epic clean conditions and still solid waves to Bankvaults. Basically everyone who stuck around the north, came to surf. Josh Kerr and his daughter Sierra, and a couple of little rippers took full advantage of this swell.

Riders:
Bettylou Sakura Johnson, Erin Brooks, Caity Simmers, Sierra + Josh Kerr, Brandon Harrison.

Fleetwood Mac Vibes At The Surf Ranch

Fleetwood Mac Vibes At The Surf Ranch

After the viral skate sensation by Nathan Apodaca that's seen cranberry juice sales rocket, Fleetwood Mac back in the charts, is was only a matter of time until someone jumped on it. Anyway, here’s Josh Billauer getting rinsed and jumping on the bandwagon at The Surf Ranch. Enjoy, or not, jury’s out on this one, bonus hair parting by the lip.

Tom Butler to take break from big wave surfing, and decline WSL Nazare invite.

Tom Butler to take break from big wave surfing, and decline WSL Nazare invite.

 

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Tom Butler, one of the outstanding British (very) big wave surfers has decided to to take break from chasing huge swells and is to decline his WSL Nazare invite the year.

Tom laid out his plans and reasoning behind them on his Insta in a typically honest heart on the sleeve post. In it he points out how tough it is to chase the big wave dream (which is constantly under estimated in terms of commitment and £ support needed to surf at this level, especially for surfers from the UK and Ireland). He also has a few words for the WSL leadership.

Read on…

And take a seat big fella. You done yourself proud.

“Big winter swells are here and I’m being asked what my plans are for the season ahead. Right now I’m not planning to chase any swells abroad and have decided to decline my invite for the Nazare event. I’m taking a needed break from chasing Europe’s biggest storms. Aged 31 I’m completely content with my achievements but kind of burnt out from trying to monetise my sport.

“Being a professional athlete can be a very selfish pursuit to reach to a high level. Big wave surfing is a contact sport with consequences, there is no getting around that. So pre season, life long preparation is essential to be comfortable in the mix and stand a chance on the biggest days. With a young son my energy and time has to go to my family right now. Stripping back the pressure of being ready to perform in big waves and simplifying my life, working on goals closer to home has made me really happy these last 6 months. Of course having Ziggy to squeeze on the regular makes me so happy it feels like I’ve dropped down a 60 ft wave most days.

“Fact is, not that many big wave surfers globally are getting close to the level of financial backing needed to keep our sport safe. For me more time has been spent behind a laptop screen than actually surfing. Commercialising myself as an athlete took all the fun out of what I was doing.

“When you commit to a sport like big wave surfing and make the sacrifices and investment that are needed, you hope you can win titles and receive the recognition your performance deserves, not speaking just for myself I feel a lot of the surfers who have entered the WSL awards and big wave comps feel the same. To make the sport even happen though some wild calls are made that probably are wrong decisions but probably the right decision in a business sense, most of the time at the expense of the athletes.

“Take last years Nazare challenge, event staff completely pulled the wool over the athletes eyes. They said, “This is year let’s work together and build this event into something huge and profitable for all involved,” then to have RedBull as a headline sponsor and to keep it quiet until the competition day. Collecting my rash vest from a Red Bull counter but not being paid an appearance fee that reflects Red Bull’s financial status doesn’t sit right with me when there is so much on the line. When you have the contest director apologise to all surfers after the event. Saying, “Sorry for the way the webcast and post event coverage came out” you know you’re in a shitty political event.

“When you look at all the injustice in the world it’s pathetic me even thinking like this, but hope some of my words get across to the people involved in running these events so the surfers involved and next generation have a more exciting equal platform.

“The visual content in this post is a tribute to some of the waves that really stood out and brought me to this content headspace. I’m frothing to watch the swells unfold over the next few days. All the big wave spots in Europe will be firing and I hope all the big wave community have a safe successful season and keep chasing your dreams and them moments that make you feel most alive.

“Thank you to everyone who helped me in some way over the last 10 years, I’ve gave you tag and no doubt missed a few of you out. I’m forever great full for the opportunities I’ve had and the memories and friendships I’ve made along the way, ending a chapter feels as exciting as starting a new one.”

Gabriel Medina – At Home in Brazil

Gabriel Medina – At Home in Brazil

What does the most competitive surfer on the WSL Championship Tour do when there’s no competition? He works from home. Warm water, cold water, overhead or in little runners - watch Medina hit Brazil’s best breaks.

LIVE TO SEA – The Full Movie Now Playing

LIVE TO SEA – The Full Movie Now Playing

Live to Sea - A saga that follows Freddie Meadows on his tireless quest along the rugged edges of Sweden, in search of the region’s greatest waves; one of the final frontiers within surfing.

"This journey has been long and beautiful. A journey that I feel in many ways has just begun; the majority of which remains undocumented due to the mystical nature and spontaneity of the Baltic Sea. It was early autumn of 2019, I was anchored behind an island when the name Live to Sea came to mind. It was the perfect description of what I do, of what all of us surfers do in some way. Live to Sea is for anyone and everyone who feels connected to the ocean, sea or any waters. For me this film is a tribute to the missions and moments that went unseen. Most importantly it is a tribute to the magic of nature and the sea. "

- Freddie Meadows

Today The Baltic Sea is in critical condition.
- it is considered one of the most polluted seas in the world.
It can still be saved but actions should be taken immediately.