December is the kickoff season for Lakey Peak, after several small, windy and rainy days in November, we got a full week of clean, off-cross off, light wind with a 15-16 second period west-south west swell and to top of the conditions, the neat tide made it possible to surf through all day long - all tides!
Vans is proud to announce the opening of Ghana’s first skatepark on December 15th, supporting The Surf Ghana Collective and the important work they’re doing for the local West African communities.
Photos:Heidi Fachtan
The Freedom Skatepark, located at East Legon, was brought to life in the span of 30 days thanks to the hands-on team of Wonders Around the World, with funding from Vans and support from the teams at Off-White, Daily Paper, SAF Ghana (STL-Amandi Foundation) and Ghanaian spatial design studio, Limbo Accra and Space Accra.
Vans and The Freedom Skatepark initiative intends to organize various art and sporting events, including workshops, mentoring programs, art exhibitions and other skate competitions for the African continent. Further plans include the development of a Wi-Fi Cafe and a skate shop, which is expected to be in full operation by the first quarter of 2022. The mission here is to create and sustain a sports infrastructure by involving the youth at every stage to provide job opportunities in various sectors such as sports and tourism for them to excel.
Freedom Skatepark is a beautiful park, spanning 500 m2 in the heart of Accra, located at Shiashie in the East Legon vicinity. The design of Freedom Skatepark, spearheaded by the incredible team at Wonders Around the World, is a truly unique space including the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol “Fawohodie”, which represents independence, freedom and emancipation. This skatepark intends to soon become a home for the youth to truly and freely express themselves.
Vans is working with The Surf Ghana Collective to ensure skateboarding and surfing are as accessible as possible for the local community. The first phase of the partnership kicks off with the build of The Freedom Skatepark and the next phase will be via the development of a surf community hub.
Future goals for the brand include support for the surf community in Busua with a similar program. This kicked off in 2021 for Vans Checkerboard Day in partnership with JUJU Surf Club and with co-founder and Vans team rider Mikey February, who provided surf lessons and inspiration to the local community. Vans continues to support youth culture by enabling creative self-expression through action sports and is helping lay the foundations for future generations in Africa.
To find out more information about Freedom Skatepark, please visit freedomskatepark.org.
Every surfer has a home break that has shaped their surfing. For Jordy Smith, without Durban, he wouldn't be the progressive surfer he is today. It is no doubt that Durban’s punchy beach breaks and rip bowls are responsible for the versatile and high-performance surfing Jordy has done throughout his surfing career. Not to mention, when Durban turns on and the sandbars make up the freight train running right-hand barrels, you know Jordy will be out there hunting down the wave of the day.
Unfortunately for Jordy, (what he thought was) the wave of the day ended up costing him a serious knee injury which would later force him to pull out from the Olympics and the 2021 World Title Race. Stay tuned for Episode 5 to follow along through Jordy's recovery. 'Silver Linings' is a series starring Jordy Smith. The episodic journey covers the incredible highs and devastating lows Jordy experienced in his life over the past 18 months. From entering fatherhood to scoring the best waves he's seen at home, to facing a near career-ending injury forcing him to pull out of the Olympics, this series documents the rollercoaster ride Jordy has been on and the 'Silver Linings' that he encounters within his journey.
The North Cornish town of Bude is a hot bed of talented surfers (check out our Bude feature in the latest issue, 210). One of those is Barnaby Cox, he’s come a long way since his first surf aged seven at Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall.
Filmed and edited by Adam Norris of Offshores Photo.
Effortless style as Mason Ho and Parker Coffin trade off some brown waves surfing on the North Shore Of Oahu. Click into the pits with the sons of fun...
The first finalists were decided in multiple divisions on the third full day of competition at the 2021 Pismo Beach ISA World Para Surfing Championship. Challenging onshore conditions and driving rain couldn’t stifle the excitement of the athletes as they prepared for action.
Second qualifying rounds in each Men’s Stand classification, along with Prone 1 and Kneel, brought clarity to the rankings. Certain divisions will next head into semi-finals, while others are prepared for their final.
The Pismo Beach pier sets the stage for the 2021 WPSC Photo: ISA / Sean Evans
Many standouts of the early days of competition solidified their leads, with Mike Richards (BRA), Pablo Aguilar (BRA) and Mark “Mono” Stewart(AUS) holding forth in Men’s Stand 1 and 2, and Men’s Kneel respectively.
In Men’s Prone 1 Bruno Hansen (DEN) reclaimed his place atop the rankings. The only surfer in history to have won the classification, Hansen is looking strong to take out an incredible sixth gold medal.
A single women’s classification was held to decide who would move on to the final of Women’s Stand 2. Costa Rica’s Jimena Ruiz made a solid charge up the leaderboard, but it was defending champion Malu Mendes of Brazil who retained first place.
After an anxious start Dariel Melendez takes the lead
It came right down to the wire in the second qualifying heat for Dariel Melendez as he sought to book himself a place in the final for Men’s Stand 3.
Catching just one low-scoring wave in the first half of the heat, Melendez was nervous till the very end. In the final few minutes, the Costa Rican managed to lock in two high scores and take the lead in the rankings.
“I’m really, really happy to be here,” he said. “This is my first Para Surfing championship and I’m so excited, the environment here is super cool. To see the adaptive surfing community all together is the best thing in the world.”
Dariel Melendez from Costa Rica on one of his high scored waves. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed
Surfing provided the confidence Charlotte Banfield needed to grow as an individual
Competing in her fourth ISA Para Surfing World Championship, England’s Charlotte Banfield is happy to be back amongst the international Para Surfing family.
“The other girls surf really well. There’s a lovely atmosphere between us all. We’re all really good friends so it’s really nice.”
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Banfield learned to surf at the age of 12 and it quickly became her favorite thing to do.
“I started surfing with a charity called Wave Project, which takes kids with disabilities out surfing to improve their confidence,” she said. “I was very shy and didn’t have many hobbies when I was younger and the project gave me the confidence I needed to succeed as a person and grow as an individual. Since then I’ve been surfing and I absolutely love it.”
Charlotte Banfield from England in action. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed
Nicolas Gallegos experiences the strength of the international community spirit within Para Surfing
Team England could be heard cheering loudly during the first heat of the morning. They rallied their support in the cold rain not for one of their own, but for Nicolas Gallegos. The sole Argentinian has been taken in by the English as an unofficial teammate.
“More than anything, I want to highlight something that happens in our community because it thrills me,” he shared. “Last night I was going to have dinner with the English team and in today's planning, they were already assigned as the people to assist me on my heat as if they were the Argentine team. That fills my soul.”
Nicolas Gallegos from Argentina gets close to the top 3. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:
“One of the most fulfilling elements of the World Para Surfing Championship is witnessing the unity it brings to the international surfing community. Not only does the ocean provide joy and healing to surfers, but it also bonds people of all nations together in peace.”
“I’m excited to see how this elite competition unfolds as we head into the finals weekend.”
