JJ Florence is back… whoop whoop
If the world of social media is to be beleived the two time world champion is well and truly o the mend, we look forward to seeing him back in a jersey soon.
Lee Bartlett and Paul Barrington do The Wave
The Two Ronnies, Little and Large, Morecombe and Wise, Ant and Dec, all fine duos in their time, but now we have Barracat and Bartlett. Here is their first show remarkable for Barracats fine North Devon tones and the fact he missed two waves one after another in a wavepool. Also Lee Bartletts admission that he likes to go right. Which to be honest is hard to believe.
THE QUIKSILVER PRO G-LAND IS BACK FOR 2020!
Quiksilver and the World Surf League have announced the return of the most anticipated and exciting surf event in twenty-five years, the Quiksilver Pro G-Land, which will hold a coveted spot on the 2020 WSL Championship Tour from 4th – 14th June 2020.
The Quiksilver Pro G-Land will offer surfers on the tour the ultimate challenge, taking them out of their comfort zones and into one of the most remote locations in competitive surfing history in Grajagan Bay, Indonesia. The competition will make its much-awaited return to the raw, remote location where the jungle meets the ocean and let the world’s most talented surfers take on the waves.
Today’s announcement has been pioneered by Quiksilver and confirms the whispers within the surfing community for a number of years. It was Quiksilver who brought the inaugural Quiksilver Pro G-Land to the tour in 1995 and challenged surfers to take on the isolated conditions, with Kelly Slater winning the first competition and inspiring the infamous ‘Dream Tour’. Twenty five years after the Asian Financial Crisis marked the end of the G-Land event, the brand is bringing it back to the tour for 2020, continuing to showcase Quiksilver’s commitment to surf travel and chasing the perfect waves.
Competing in the most exciting contest in surfing history will be the winners of this year’s world championship tour.
Garry Wall, General Manager of Quiksilver commented: “Bringing the Quiksilver Pro G-Land back to the surf calendar has long been an ambition of Quiksilver and 2020 is the perfect time for our surfers to get back out to Grajagan Bay and really return to raw. As a brand we want to challenge our athletes and inspire future generations, and this competition will do just that, it’s time for a little disruption.”
Kelly Slater, unprecedented Surf Champion and inaugural winner of the Quiksilver G-Land Pro, said:
“The greatest ever tour event is back! Great move. Might need to win that thing again…”
The Wave – An Update…
Still hard to believe this is rolling through a field in Bristol…
Catching up with The Waves Nick Hounsfield after a pretty eventful 12 days!
It’s hard to believe it is less than two weeks into the history of The Wave. The amount of hype, expectation and smiling faces must have exceeded all hope. Some whinging too, but we expect that will die out as the project grows. Having surfed it, and been in contact with many who have, I have to say it is fun, and you leave surfed out. Sure it’s not Pipe on the M3 setting but for most it is better than their average surf. A few ‘advanced surfers’ have complained they can’t surf the pro setting yet, but if you look to the long game and speak to those who’ve surfed it turned up to 11, you can understand why they haven’t unleashed the beast.
Nick and Craig.
How has the launch gone so far? Are you happy with response? Everyone is smiling…?
I can’t believe it’s less than two weeks since we officially opened out doors to the public – so much has happened! We knew our Warm-Up period would be all about getting feedback from people, learning what is and isn’t working, tweaking what we are doing – and potentially making major changes if needed. We knew we wouldn’t be perfect on day one and were prepared to react to feedback. We have had hundreds and hundreds of very happy people through the doors already and there have been a lot of smiles on faces. We have also learnt that certain things aren’t working as we would wish, but we can fix those issues with time.
The biggest development for us has to be the decision to suspend the intermediate surf sessions. The feedback from the first few days clearly showed that the wave we were pushing didn’t deliver a great intermediate experience, it was more of a step up from beginner experience. The last thing we want is for people to leave The Wave feeling disappointed and we do not want people to pay for an experience that doesn’t deliver, so we took the big decision to remove this wave from our line up. There is another wave setting that is a brilliant intermediate level wave and we are now looking at how we integrate this wave and run specific sessions purely for intermediates and beginners.
Pretty much everyone is leaving with smiles, particularly the adaptive surfers who got a sneaky preview…
Highlights of the first week for you personally…
There have been a lot…
Joining our First Riders for the first line up. They were such a brilliant mix of people of differing backgrounds and surfing ability, and they all came out beaming, despite it being a pretty wet, grey day!
Having the UK adaptive team on site testing our processes and enjoying a sunny, surf session
Seeing some incredible pros ride out waves, including Kanoa Igarashi and Justine Dupont.
Watching my boys surfing The Wave for the first time, that was so special.
This moment pretty much broke everyone.
What are the wave settings and what is the commissioning process?
The Wavegarden Cove technology can create a wide range of waves at the push of a button, from the most gentle beginner waves, right up to some really hefty, barrelling waves. I’ve seen them all and they are truly amazing. We have the ability to push 19 different wave types, but to get these waves ready for the public we need to make sure each one has been properly tested and risk assessed. That is not as simple as it might sound – for example one of our findings is that the bigger waves create currents in other areas and we have to fully understand the impact of these before putting users in the water. We have a duty of care to all of the people in our lake – we have to be 100% happy that we fully understand each setting and we won’t hurry the process just to get more waves in place quickly.
What have people seen so far and how does that compare to every day sessions for everyone that has booked – which settings will they ride when and why…?
Most of the footage and photos out there are of people riding out regular advanced wave setting. These are the waves that have gone through our rigorous risk assessment process and they are the ones we are happy to open with during out Warm-Up phase.
Our current advanced setting delivers a friendly wave, much like a fun sandbar, that starts off shoulder high on take-off, with a gentle first section, which then winds up speed into a faster and small barrelling second section. This wave is so much fun and a great starting point for surfers who have never surfed a reef before. During the session the wave grows in height and becomes a little bigger and faster. We have had hundreds of people feedback that is is great fun and brilliant for improving fitness. A number of pros including the UK team have ridden these waves and they had a ball!
We have invited some expert riders in to help us test the next set of waves and we have shared some of these images. This is not us teasing the general public, but rather we wanted to show the exciting potential of the Wavegarden Cover technology and get everyone excited about what is coming. We will be introducing some of these next level waves to sessions over the coming weeks, once we are happy they are fully risk assessed.
Power, shape and very shallow…
If you are building in an introductory process for surfers then what is it…how will it work? Will surfers have to prove they are capable of riding the advanced settings? I guess there are real issues where surfers claiming they could ride ‘advanced waves’ could ruin sessions if they actually can’t surf the wave, which is a possibility… or worse hurt themselves…
It’s becoming very apparent that a lot of people overestimate their surfing ability! There’s been a lot of talk about the advanced waves not being big enough, but we have had a lot of surfers book into an advanced session who are clearly not ready for this wave yet. They are struggling consistently with the take off and consequently wiping out too much and not getting the most out of the session. They are still ‘Beginner/Intermediates’ rather than ‘Advanced’ surfers.
This makes a bit of a tricky situation for us. We are hampered by the need for a surfer to correctly judge their ability and select an area that’s right for them. If we simply push bigger and more difficult waves in the advanced area then the experience won’t be great for people that have over-egged their skills (or for those in the water with them) – and worse still, it could be dangerous. We are working through how best to handle this at the moment but there isn’t a simple answer!
It’s coming, but you are probably going to have to prove yourself first.
Anything else surprised you? Having surfed it I think it is better than I expected.
One thing that surprised us was the number of surfers out there that are so quick to judge and shoot us down. It’s such a strange mentality and surfers in my experience can be the worst for this sort of behaviour. However, people who have visited and had an incredible time are now swift to support us with positive feedback and good honest commentary. We have brought something totally new and totally positive to this world… either engage with it for what it is and what we stand for, or just ignore us.
I think the biggest surprise is the reaction to our building, staff, food and general vibe of the place. I thought this might take time to bed in but already it is the most incredible place to visit even if you don’t surf. Our staff and their passion for what we are doing is blowing people away. I’m most proud of the team, every one of the team goes over and above the normal service levels and the feedback is fantastic. On a rainy day it has an awesome ski chalet vibe and on a sunny day it’s like being in Southern California!
So we are learning, listening, responding and building solid foundations for the future, which is very bright for us all.
Ocean Activists Challenge Water Companies
Environmental campaigning charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) publishes new Water Quality Report exposing ongoing sewage pollution issues in our ocean and rivers. In 2019, SAS has tracked and reported on 1,784 sewage pollution events along the English coastline.
Despite recent fines, Southern Water was responsible for the highest number of sewage discharges in 2019, with 571 pollution events recorded. o In 2019, the charity estimates that up to 10% of days in the UK’s summer bathing season were ‘lost’ due to the impact of sewage pollution, based on the precautionary health advice. o Up to 80% of sewage pollution events take place outside of the official bathing season when many people still actively use the water, particularly those that require winter conditions, such as surfers.
31 October 2019, Brighton: Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) activists gathered on Brighton beach on Saturday 2nd November in a protest against water companies on the levels of sewage they continue to discharge into England’s rivers and ocean. The protest marked the release the SAS Water Quality Report, which evidences and illustrates the threat of sewage pollution at some beaches and rivers.
The issue of poor water quality is returning to public consciousness and has been highlighted nationally by reports issued by both environmental charities and regulators. These reports have shown that water companies are performing consistently badly, with pollution events increasing and causing damage to local environments, wildlife, and putting human health at risk. Our rivers and oceans are at now risk of being treated like ‘open sewers’ as underinvestment, population and climate pressures converge.
Surfers Against Sewage has tracked and reported on 1,784 sewage pollution events along the UK coastline in 2019. Based on precautionary health recommendations, which advise against bathing for up to 48 hours after a sewage pollution event, this equates to an estimated 10% of bathing days lost to sewage discharges.
This year, Southern Water received record fines of £126 million for serious failures in their sewage treatment works and for deliberately misreporting its water quality performance. Despite these record fines, Southern Water was still responsible for the most sewage pollution events in 2019, with over 571 reported sewage pollution events.
SAS believes that people should be always be adequately informed and protected when they are using the sea and rivers for recreation. People should not face elevated risks of illness because of poor water quality due to sewage pollution generated by water companies. Where there is an unavoidable risk due to unusually extreme weather conditions, people should always be made aware of sewage pollution in real-time.
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage says: “Damning evidence has emerged this year showing just how prevalent sewage pollution impacts are along our coastline and rivers. Surfers Against Sewage has been campaigning for almost thirty years on this issue, with some great successes and progress in that time. However, the spectre of sewage pollution seems to be returning and the time for more radical action to protect our ocean, waterways and water users has come. Water companies must put the health of planet and people before the interests of shareholders.”
Surfers Against Sewage has tracked and reported on 1,784 sewage pollution events along the UK coastline in 2019. Based on precautionary health recommendations, which advise against bathing for up to 48 hours after a sewage pollution event, this equates to an estimated 10% of bathing days lost to sewage discharges.
This year, Southern Water received record fines of £126 million for serious failures in their sewage treatment works and for deliberately misreporting its water quality performance. Despite these record fines, Southern Water was still responsible for the most sewage pollution events in 2019, with over 571 reported sewage pollution events.
SAS believes that people should be always be adequately informed and protected when they are using the sea and rivers for recreation. People should not face elevated risks of illness because of poor water quality due to sewage pollution generated by water companies. Where there is an unavoidable risk due to unusually extreme weather conditions, people should always be made aware of sewage pollution in real-time.
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage says: “Damning evidence has emerged this year showing just how prevalent sewage pollution impacts are along our coastline and rivers. Surfers Against Sewage has been campaigning for almost thirty years on this issue, with some great successes and progress in that time. However, the spectre of sewage pollution seems to be returning and the time for more radical action to protect our ocean, waterways and water users has come. Water companies must put the health of planet and people before the interests of shareholders.”
For more info visit sas.org.uk
USA Reclaims Team Gold
Huntington Beach, California, USA, November 3, 2019 - After eight days of world-class surfing from the top 342 U-18 surfers from 44 nations, Team USA earned the Team Gold Medal at the 2019 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship presented by Visit Huntington Beach.
Team USA was propelled by an impressive five individual medals, highlighted by a Gold in the Boys U-18 Division for Dimitri Poulos.
"The support of USA has been insane!" said Poulos. "Everyone is down on the beach screaming for me."
Team USA last won the Gold in 2017, nearly repeating as World Champions in 2018, but narrowly coming up short behind a first-time Gold Medal performance from Team Japan. Team USA's return to the top of global junior surfing in 2019 is their third Gold, first winning the Team Title in 2015.
Team Hawaii followed USA with the Silver Medal, riding a wave of momentum behind the individual Gold Medal performances of Jackson Bunch in Boys U-16 and Gabriela Bryan in Girls U-18.
"It's pretty awesome to win gold," said Bunch. "I was reviewing the past champions of this event and I couldn't believe how many people on (the World Surf League Championship) tour had won this event.
"I am super psyched to win it and hopefully I can be like one of them."
Bryan said, "Two gold medals for Hawaii is super awesome. It's definitely one of the best days of my life. Seeing Jackson out there dropping nines motivated me to keep it going for Hawaii."
Noah Lia Klapp led Team Germany to eighth overall with two individual medals across both Girls Divisions. Klapp took the Gold Medal first in Girls U-16 and then followed up with the Bronze in Girls U-18 only minutes later.
"It feels great to see all the hard work pay off," said Klapp. "Team Germany is the best team that I could ask for. They're amazing."
The final day of competition kicked off on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier with a decrease in swell, but classic, clean conditions to determine the World Champions.
After a morning of all Main Event Finals and Repechage Finals, the competition arrived at the highly anticipated Grand Finals to write the next chapter of the history books and identify the future stars of the sport.
The Girls U-16 final was first to award medals featuring Germany's Klapp, USA's Zoe Benedetto and defending Gold Medalist Caitlin Simmers, and Hawaii's Betty Lou Sakura Johnson.
After Rachel Presti earned Germany's first-ever ISA Junior Surfing Gold Medal in the 2018 edition, Klapp continued the emergence of German surfing in the event and performed in the Final to take the Gold.
USA's Benedetto followed with the Silver and Hawaii's Sakura Johnson with the Bronze. Simmers' attempt to defend her Title came up short, as she was unable to find waves with high scoring potential during the heat, earning the Copper.
The Boys U-18 Final continued and Hawaii's Bunch put on a show of domination. In a heat where most competitors were struggling to find waves, Bunch was in tune with the ocean and matched the event-high heat total with 17 points, showing an array of rail and aerial maneuvers.
USA's Taj Lindblad trailed in a distant second place for the Silver Medal, with Portugal's Afonso Antunes just behind with the Bronze, and USA's Ryan Huckabee with the Copper.
Next up was the Girls U-18 Division where Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan got off to a slow start. Bryan found her rhythm later in the heat and her last two wave scores were her best, leading her to a Gold Medal.
Team Japan's Minami Nonaka took the Silver Medal, Germany's Klapp earned the Bronze for her second medal of the day, and Japan's Sara Wakita took the Copper.
The Boys U-18 Final capped off the day of competition and Team USA's Dimitri Poulos sealed USA's spot atop the team podium.
Poulos took the Gold in his first participation in the event as a last-minute replacement, finishing with a fairy-tale ending for USA.
Mexico's Alan Cleland followed with the Silver, a historic step for the development of Surfing in Mexico as the country's first-ever medal in the event.
USA's Tommy Coleman earned the Bronze and Joh Azuchi finished with the Copper -- an excellent three-year run of podium finishes for the Japanese star.
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:
"The future generation of surfers have once again risen to the occasion and performed on the greatest stage for U-18 surfers. These young World Champions are following the footsteps of many legends before them, paving their own pathway towards stardom, and for some towards the Olympic Games.
"Some of the surfers that competed this week have already placed a foot into the Tokyo 2020 Games with provisional qualification, showcasing the youthful demographic of our sport. If surfing is to be included in future editions of the Games, it is these surfers that we see today with medals that will likely be representing their nations in 2024, 2028, and beyond."
Results - Click here to view complete results.
Team ranking:
Gold - USA
Silver - Hawaii
Bronze - Japan
Copper - Spain
5 - France
6 - Australia
7 - Portugal
8 - Germany
9 - South Africa
10 - Canada
See full 44 team rankings through link above.
Girls U-16:
Gold - Noah Lia Klapp (GER)
Silver - Zoe Benedetto (USA)
Bronze - Betty Lou Sakura Johnson (HAW)
Copper - Caitlin Simmers (USA)
Boys U-16:
Gold - Jackson Bunch (HAW)
Silver - Taj Lindblad (USA)
Bronze - Afonso Antunes (POR)
Copper - Ryan Huckabee (USA)
Girls U-18:
Gold - Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
Silver - Minami Nonaka (JPN)
Bronze - Noah Lia Klapp (GER)
Copper - Sara Wakita (JPN)
Boys U-18:
Gold - Dimitri Poulos (USA)
Silver - Alan Cleland (MEX)
Bronze - Tommy Coleman (USA)
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