Sunshine and waves were on tap at the concrete shores of The Wave, Bristol, yesterday at the 2021 dryrobe English Adaptive Surfing Open. An incredible day for all who joined us, the champions of the contest have been crowned, and we welcome 14 newly frothing adaptive surfers into our community after the launch of a Waikiki wave participation session. Our ambitions are to see adaptive surfing become a Paralympic sport and events such as this drive this movement one step closer. Here’s how the day unfolded…

The atmosphere was full of anticipation and excitement yesterday ahead of the start of the contest heats. The surfers came together, and friendly rivalries were reignited as the wave machine came to life and the first waves rolled through. Heats lasted for 6 sets of waves, all rides scored, and the top wave from the left and right side combined to give final positioning at the end of the contest.

Setting the day off, the Assisted Division sparked the interest of the crowds. Mark Hagger, competing with Surfing England for the first time excelled with a wave score of 7.17, and he took champion title. Battling for the other top spots and in very close scores were Jay Friedlander, Mark Bowra and Tash Davies.

In the standing crisp turns were completed, riding in the pocket, and many charging to get into those cheeky barrel sections that pop up on the advanced wave. Israeli surfers Nachman Balulu and Adi Klang added an international flavour to this division and put some impressive surfing and scores on the table, alongside our home English and Welsh surfers.

A standout moment, Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams set the sitting/kneel division off with a banging 360 on the wave. A regular at The Wave, Martin Pollock’s training clearly showed as he chased Sponge very closely on the heat on the left.

The Men’s and Women’s Open Divisions are a real highlight and unique aspect to our English event. These heats see competitors come together for an all-out battle to claim champion spots from cross divisions. These heats are always serious crowd pleasers and are epic to watch, whilst scores drop live as the judges decipher exactly what the board and riders are doing to maximise points.

It was great to see Go Pro supporting the contest with an award for the Hero Moment, awarded to David Lewis, a Visually Impaired athlete with a belter of a wave that he rode all the way to the bay.

A key part of driving forward adaptive surfing in England is opening up the participation pathways. We actively made a move to address this with the introduction of a Waikiki participation session and welcomed 14 surfers to The Wave, for many their first-time surfing. The progression from some of the new surfers within the hour session was phenomenal – riding waves all the way into the bay. Those with experience were straight too it cruising on the glassy lake waves – the pier and lake were alive with everyone hollering encouragement and the raw emotion as surfing yet again is in action transforming people’s lives.

Mark Bowra from The Bowra Foundation went above and beyond to support this Waikiki session with two awards for Most Determined Surfer (one on each side of the lake). Congratulations to Ayla Halewood and Danny Teare who won these and scored themselves a voucher for another surf at The Wave.

Catching up with Nick Hounsfield, Founder of The Wave and Chair of Surfing England, Nick says "Yesterday was the 'Day of Days'! After a rollercoaster year it was incredible to see friends, athletes, volunteers, partners and sponsors all come together to create an event that epitomises "why we do, what we do". Seeing the athletes step up another level from last year, combined with hosting the Waikiki taster session to help grow the sport, was the perfect combination of performance and purpose. The future for adaptive surfing as a sport is incredibly bright and there is a real groundswell of support behind building our healthy surfing community!"

During the event, Nick jumped in the water to support the delivery of the Waikiki session, alongside Ben Powis, CEO, of Surfing England who states “The English adaptive surfing movement is gaining real momentum. We have some of the best athletes in the world, amazing support crew and events like this to showcase the sport and to feed into the work happening internationally to see adaptive surfing recognised as Paralympic sport.”

An absolute standout mention to all the volunteers who attended and make events such as this possible. We are truly honoured to have this support in the wider surfing community. A massive thank you to all the crew who joined us and put in hours of lake time, lots of swimming, some epic bodysurfing, and to the land crew too.

Our further thanks to the team at Surfability UK CIC who have supported the event since its inauguration 5 years ago and bring a wealth of knowledge to the contest. Also, to The Wave Project, as many of their team of volunteers joined the day including Ian Bennett, Adaptive Lead at Wave Project.

A huge thank you to Matt Harwood, Team England Adaptive Coach, for many hours of support in the run up to the contest and who charged all Wednesday and Thursday to support the delivery of the contest.

This event was truly an exceptional event, as the contest continues to go from strength to strength. A resounding success and fantastic day that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The stoke levels were radiating at The Wave from everyone onsite, amplified by the presence of headline partners dryrobe. We cannot wait to see what the rest of 2021 brings for adaptive surfing, as we look to the Paralympics, to 2022, and beyond.

A huge thank you to Matt Harwood, Team England Adaptive Coach, for many hours of support in the run up to the contest and who charged all Wednesday and Thursday to support the delivery of the contest.

This event was truly an exceptional event, as the contest continues to go from strength to strength. A resounding success and fantastic day that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The stoke levels were radiating at The Wave from everyone onsite, amplified by the presence of headline partners dryrobe. We cannot wait to see what the rest of 2021 brings for adaptive surfing, as we look to the Paralympics, to 2022, and beyond.

Full Results:

Men’s Open

1 Adi Klang
2 Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams
3 Pegleg Bennett
4 Martin Pollock

Women’s Open
1 Charlotte Banfield
2 Natasha Davies
3 Juliette Friedlander
4 Katie Richards

Assisted
1 Mark Hagger
2 Juliette Friedlander
3 Mark Bowra
4 Natasha Davies

Sitting/Kneeling
1 Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams
2 Martin Pollock
3 Isaac Heaher

Standing
1 Adi Klang
2 Nachman Yariv Balaulu
3 Pegleg Bennett
4 Louis Sutton

Safe to say that Hurricane Elsa brought some of the gnarliest and bombing surf I've ever seen in New Jersey! Who would have thought that we had firing outer reef breaks here. Thank the heavens that I purchased this jet ski for surfing conditions like these. Full blown dream come true!

Biarritz Surf Gang reveals the true story of six lunatic surfers who set fire to their surfboards at Biarritz' Grande Plage, in the 1980s. The local crew, inspired by the punk movement, had a thirst for trouble and breaking the law. This is their story, and how they achieved greatness, experienced decadence, and their eventual downfall.

From UNDER THE MILKY WAY: Biarritz Surf Gang - A revolutionary surf documentary co-directed by Nathan Curren and Pierre Denoyel. Featuring Laird Hamilton, Jeff Hackman, and Tom Curren. Released on July 27th in the US on all streaming platforms.

Aquatic Development Group (ADG) is proud to announce the launch of their new ‘EpicSurf’ stationary surf wave which was introduced to the market during a virtual Tradeshow Summit that took place on June 24, 2021 and was hosted by Surf Park Central. The event brought together leaders from around the world within the surf industry to discuss the latest developments in the market and introduce new and advancing technologies on all things surf.

EpicSurf, engineered and manufactured at ADG’s headquarters in Upstate New York, is a true deep-water stationary surf wave that is designed to appeal to both the expert and novice surfer alike.

Differentiating it from other stationary waves on the market, the EpicSurf produces a real wave of water with a depth that can be adjusted from between 3’ – 5’ for a more authentic surfing experience versus on a stationary ride that produces only a thin sheet of water that is pushed over a formed surface.

And with a compact footprint that works as well in a city setting as in a surf park, it is helping make the sport of surfing more accessible to everyone, everywhere.

“There are other manufacturers out there who are approaching stationary surf waves with thinner films of water but at ADG we wanted to go all in and create a wave that gives riders a truer surf experience,” says Jim Dunn, President of ADG. “EpicSurf is an opportunity for experienced surfers to get on and use real ocean boards and have lots of room to carve and perfect their skills, but at the same time it also offers a platform for beginners, giving them the chance to learn and advance, growing the sport for everyone.”

"This is the perfect wave for surf lessons,” notes Phil Jackson, Executive Director of Surf Dreams Foundation who brought a group of youth surfers with him to visit the EpicSurf and try out the ride. “The EpicSurf wave is a real game changer for the surf industry. The kids couldn’t get enough of it."

“The wave is amazing, we surfed every board under the sun and just had the best day of our lives,” said Ben Gravy, Professional Surfer, “This wave truly is what they call it... EPIC.”

ADG’s EpicSurf offers a unique Rapid Wave Adjustability system by means of a remote access control system that allows the operator to quickly and easily tune the wave, which means each and every rider, whether expert or beginner, can get an instantly customizable ride experience matched perfectly to their skill level. Dual training bar options are also available for beginners helping to ease them onto the wave and enhance learn-to-surf programming opportunities.

And the non-stop action of the EpicSurf wave means that the waves keep rolling so surfers never have to wait to catch that perfect swell.

“I caught about 150 waves in about 7 hours of surfing EpicSurf today, and I feel like I have progressed so much”, said Cooper Jewel, an ESA Junior Surfer who surfed EpicSurf earlier this month. “That’s more waves than I catch in a year of surfing in the ocean!”

The EpicSurf wave surface can be designed and built starting from a width of 30-feet and can expand up from there in increments of 8’ depending on your specific site plan or business model needs.

EpicSurf marks the latest development in wave design and engineering from ADG, a company long known for its innovation, creativity, and superior wave system products.

“EpicSurf is not the first deep-water surf ride to hit the market,” notes Dunn, “but it is the first to be designed and manufactured in North America and backed by a company that has been making, installing and servicing waves for more than 50 years.”

ADG is well known in the industry as North America’s most respected designer and builder of water parks, with more than 100 design-build projects to their credit. They are also the leading manufacturer when it comes to wave systems having been one of the first companies to produce successful hydraulic and pneumatic surfing waves back in the 1970’s and 80’s. Their WaveTek® branded waves have been installed in more than 500+ projects around the world including wave pools in resorts and water parks, as well as in aquariums, water rescue training facilities, fountains, and even motion pictures.

ADG is also the team responsible for the development, manufacturing, and installation of more than 125 FlowRiders across North America. ADG joined Surf Park Central in January of this year.

For more information on EpicSurf visit: epic.surf