:: EVENTS 2003 ::
>> England bring home Euro
Junior surf Champ From France
Newquay
After ten days of small surf in
Mimizan, south west France, Bude’s Reubyn Ash was
crowned under 14 European Champion, with the English
team finishing a respectable third place.
France made the most of their home turf advantage
to retain the team title for the third consecutive
time. Portugal narrowly took second place. There were
90 young surfers in the event from 9 different nations.
Great individual performances came from St Agnes’s
Josh Ward who suffered due to the small waves in the
final, placing fourth. Bude’s Tazmin Sheppard also
made the grand final of the ladies bodyboard and the
Isle of Wights Jonny Friar made the final of the under
18’s surf before the event had to be cancelled due
to a lack of waves.
The cancellation of the event cost the English team
a second place finish as strong results were expected
from the seven surfers and bodyboarders that were
still in the event.
Team manager Rob Barber commented “The team made the
most out of the conditions and genuinely worried the
top opposition. We were tactically sound with some
great individual performances. The competition’s given
us a great building block for the future. We’re very
grateful to our sponsors Rip Curl clothing and Dirty
Dog sunglasses who supported the team”.
>> The British Bodyboard
Club Annual Airshow in Newquay
Newquay
The ThreeSixty/Manta Air Show Invitational
bodyboard contest is all systems go for this weekend
(5/6 October). The event which has been postponed
due to a lack of surf on two occasions through out
the summer is all set to go ahead at Newquays Tolcarne
beach at 2pm this Saturday. The event is open to anybody
on Saturday, with the winners qualifying for the big
cash prize invitational event on Sunday.
The event is employing a revolutionary format that
rewards big moves — making for a very spectator friendly
event.
For
further information, call Rick Wilson of the British
Bodyboarding Club on 0797 4688459 or please visit
the website at www.brit-bc.co.uk
>> Newquay Youngsters
Win Quiksilver Grommets at Watergate Bay
Newquay
Watergate Bay provided home victories
for Newquay surfers Tom Butler and
Leon Mansfield in the finals of the UK Quiksilver
Grommets Series event
today.
Tom and Leon both won a trip to
south-west France to compete against Europe's best
young surfers in the Quiksilver Grommets Trophy, to
be held in Capbreton, near Biarritz, in August.
Tom, 13, beat Bude's Reubyn Ash,
Jayce Robinson, and Sam Burkett to win the final of
the Under 14 division. In difficult onshore conditions,
Tom found the best of the one foot waves on offer
for the final, putting in some smooth, powerful turns.
Tom and Reubyn Ash went wave for
wave on consecutive lefthanders, Tom taking
a steady approach while Reubyn went all out for big
moves. But with the
waves lacking in power Reubyn struggled to complete
his manoeuvres, whereas
Tom was able to link three or four turns on several
waves.
Jayce Robinson picked off a few
good waves to claim third place, while Swansea's Sam
Burkett who won every heat he surfed on his way to
the final - was disappointed to finish fourth.
In the Under 10 division, Leon Mansfield
was victorious against Oliver Routledge, George Picking
and Tim Robey. Leon's father, Roger, was British Champion,
proving surfing talent runs in the family.
For event organisers, the Watergate
Bay contest was a great success.
'Quiksilver have a global commitment
to developing grommet surfing,' said Quiksilver's
Phil Jarratt. 'We started the Grommet Trophy in Capbreton
about seven years ago and from that the idea evolved
to do a qualifying series all around Europe.'
'To have a qualifier for the Trophy
here in the heartland of UK surfing in Newquay is
the best thing you can do. We've had a great response
with over 40 kids entering, and the quality of surfing
is fantastic. I'm really happy, and I'm sure we'll
be running this every year in the future.'
Reigning World Masters Champion
Gary Elkerton, and two-time European
Champion Spencer Hargraves were on hand to give the
kids some encouragement
For
further information please contact:
The Extreme Academy, On The Beach, Watergate Bay, Cornwall,
TR8 4AA. Tel: 01637 860840; Fax: 01637 860041; Email:
xa@watergatebay.co.uk. www.watergatebay.co.uk
>> Mark Harris Wins
first event on the Headworx BPSA UK Tour 2002
Newquay
Mark Harris wins the Headworx BPSA Newquay Open, the first event of eight on the Headworx BPSA UK Tour, in two foot challenging surf conditions.
In a very close final Mark Harris defeats Gareth Llewellyn and Corne Nel (S Africa) by 0.8 points. Fourth was Ben Baird who failed to get in rhythm with the set waves during the heat. The final was changing hands all through the heat, 30 seconds before the end, Mark managed to pick a left hander which held up all the way to the beach allowing him to pack in several high scoring manoeuvres. Mark said “I’m stoked and looking forward to the next event and being successful on the tour”.
The upset of the day was when Lee Bartlett was defeated in the quarterfinals by the eventual winner and runner up. Lee lost his position in the line-up and got out of sequence with the sets. He was however rewarded when he won the ‘Fosters Night Club Expression Session’ by performing a radical backhand vertical re-entry.
The tour now moves onto the Fat Face Night Surfing Event @ Lusty Glaze on June 15th –16th. The number 1 seed Lee Bartlett will be hoping to retain his top position.
For
further information please contact:
Dave Reed, Event Director, 01637 879412 / 01736 360250
:: EVENTS 2003 :: 
