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SURF RELIEF
FESTIVAL 2009
Surfers and Lifesavers battle the
elements at Surf Relief Festival
Two days of stormy weather couldn’t dent the
enthusiasm of over 1,000 schoolchildren,
surfers, lifesavers and beach-goers who took
part in the Surf Relief Festival last weekend
(17 & 18 July).
The two-day event, held at Cornwall’s Watergate
Bay, raised over £4,000 for the charity Surf
Relief UK to fund their ongoing ‘SurfAble’
project, which provides specialised surfing
lessons for disabled children all over the
country.
Organiser Dave Manley of Surf Relief UK said:
“We’d like to extend our thanks to everyone who
braved the showers to come and take part in the
Surf Relief Festival. Our SurfAble project is
made possible through public support and the
public awareness generated by events like the
Surf Relief Festival is so important.”
The event started with an ‘Ocean & Beach Day’
for over 100 Cornish schoolchildren on Friday
17th July. Despite strong winds and leaden skies
the children had a great day on the beach taking
part in rugby and surfing coaching sessions.
The event’s inclusive approach also saw the
participation of children from Doubletrees
School near St Austell. The pupils, whose
disabilities range from autism to physical
conditions, enjoyed surfing lessons run by
specially-trained instructors from the SurfAble
network of surf schools.
Also braving the stormy waves on the first day
of the event were surfers competing in the
opening rounds of the UK Pro Surf Tour. The
4-6ft surf was torn apart by strong onshore
winds, making stamina and persistence as much of
a factor in the heats as technical surfing
ability.
Thankfully by Saturday morning, for the main day
of the event, the surfing conditions had greatly
improved to allow junior surf lifesavers from
five South West clubs to take part in the
Nippers Carnival.
The Nippers, aged from 10 to 13, took part in a
series of short races and relays which tested
their running, swimming and board paddling
skills to earn points for their team.
“Our Nipper competition mirrors the format of
the elite Ironman competition, so the young kids
get inspired to be like the best in the
country,” said Mark Redrup, Events organiser
from Legacy Events.
“The Nippers are doing the same disciplines as
the Ironman but on a scaled down basis. They do
shorter courses, and team events more than
individual pursuits, but building up the same
skills. All of the teams taking part have done a
lot of training - they don’t win just by chance,
it’s because their coaches, their parents, their
volunteers put a lot of time and effort into
their training - in the pool in winter, and on
the beach from the end of April.”
Portreath SLSC were the strongest club on the
day, winning all but one age group to come first
with 203 points. The team from Hayle SLSC were
second on 267 points, and were the strongest in
the Under 11 girls. Perranporth SLSC came third
with 424 points.
Elsewhere on the beach, younger children enjoyed
face painting and dance workshops run by Busy
Bodies. The main stage saw entertainment from
pop act The Vanity Girls and a demonstration of
Thai boxing from Padstow Higher Level Thai
Boxing Gym. Blue Reef Aquarium’s Rockpool
Roadshow brought giant crabs and lobsters to a
crowd of enthralled youngsters.
The Legacy Elite Ironman and Diamond Lady
competitions both attracted very strong
competitors, including many current and former
members of the Great Britain lifesaving team.
Portreath SLSC had more to cheer about with club
members Dan Humble and Rachael Pascoe winning
the competitions, which saw the athletes
complete legs in paddle board, swim and surf ski
- with a 500m run in between each leg - in a
sprint format.
Humble led from start to finish, although 2008
British Iron man champion Robbie Sandbach gave
him a superb race. Australian Humble said:
“These guys here are amazing competitors so it’s
pretty tough to stay at the top when you do get
ahead. Credit to all of the guys here that are
based in the UK for 12 months of the year - I’ve
got it easy when I’m only here for six months of
the year and six months in Australia, the guys
here do an amazing job.
“Here in the UK the standard is increasing as
every day goes by, there’s a really good strong
bunch of competitors that are pushing each other
at every event and the sport’s going from
strength to strength. Hopefully next year at
Rescue 2010 the GB team can have a real go at it
and try and push the Australians.”
After Friday’s challenging conditions, surfers
in the UK Pro Surf Tour were pleased to see a
marked improvement in the waves, with the 2-3ft
swell given decent shape by a light
cross/offshore breeze.
Two St Ives surfers put in outstanding
performances: Harry De Roth winning the Under 12
Open division, and Tassy Swallow winning the
Under 16 Girls but just missing out to Swansea’s
Beth Mason in the Women’s competition.
Croyde’s Beau Bromham won
the Under 16 Boys division ahead of Leon
Mansfield (Newquay), but aerial specialist
Reubyn Ash stole the show in the surfing,
winning the Open division and picking up bonus
prizes for the
King of Watersports
highest wave score and the Relentless Money
Manoeuvre.
Open winner Reubyn Ash said: “Conditions were
really hard yesterday so there was a bit of luck
to get through that, but today it got a bit
better because it was more manageable. There was
more of a contest rather than just a paddle
battle. It was good to win the Money Manouevre -
I did a little frontside air reverse which I
managed to pull off in my final heat, so it was
all right.”
Organisers were
appreciative of the support for the event from
sponsors and local businesses, including White
Stuff, Sharps Brewery, Crantock Bakery,
Relentless and
King of Watersports.
Surf Relief UK’s Dave Manley said: “Huge thanks
must go the Hotel and Extreme Academy at
Watergate Bay for providing us with this
incredible venue and their staff and
infrastructure resources - without the support
and hard work from the team at Watergate Bay
this event would not have been possible.
“I’d also like to thank the UK Pro Surf Tour for
supporting us, and again they will be back with
us next year, as will Legacy Events who
organised the Nipper Carnival and the Ironman
and Diamond Lady events, and to Christian
Surfers and all the volunteers who gave their
time to help with the smooth running of the
event on the day.”
Competition Results from the Surf Relief
Festival, Watergate Bay:
Legacy Events Nippers Carnival
1 Portreath SLSC - 203 points
2 Hayle SLSC - 267 points
3 Perranporth SLSC - 424 points
Legacy Events Elite Ironman & Diamond Lady
Ironman
1 Dan Humble (Portreath SLSC)
2 Rob Sandbach (Woolacombe SLSC)
3 Lloyd Rosewell (Pen-Y-Bont SLSC)
Diamond Lady
1 Rachael Pascoe (Portreath SLSC)
2 Fay Mills (Woolacombe SLSC)
3 Eva Murphy (Woolacombe SLSC)
UK Pro Surf Tour 2009 - Round 3
Open
1 Reubyn Ash (Bude)
2 Mark Harris (Newquay)
3 Tom Butler (Newquay)
4 Reubin Pearch (South Africa)
Women
1 Beth Mason (Swansea)
2 Tassy Swallow (St Ives)
3 Gwen Spurlock (Swansea)
4 Jo Dennison (Pembroke)
Under 16 Boys
1 Beau Bromham (Croyde)
2 Leon Mansfield (Newquay)
3 Tom Good (Newquay)
4 Miles Lee-Hargreaves (Bournemouth)
Under 16 Girls
1 Tassy Swallow (St Ives)
2 Lucy Campbell (Woolacombe)
3 Gabi Rowe (Looe)
4 Jemima Knight (Chumleigh)
Under 12 Open
1 Harry De Roth (St Ives)
2 Liam Murray-Strout (Port Isaac)
3 Will Bailey (Woolacombe)
4 Max Payne (Wadebridge)
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