Gul Night Surf 2010

Yet again The Gul Night Surf was blessed with amazing sun & fun contestable waves at Fistral beach, Newquay. The event kicked off on Friday with the evening host to a pretty fierce SUP battle as the tide pushed up.

And the local Bournemouth surfers did us proud!

In near darkness Tim Mellors, Elliot Dudley, Alex Murray & Chris ‘Guts’ Griffiths battled it out, briefly appearing as they came within the floodlit inside section. It was that good looking welsh god Chris Griffiths who beat his fellow countryman Elliot along with Tim Mellors & Alex Murray into 1st place. The evening continued well into the wee hours with many continuing to discover what Newquay has to offer at night!

The Saturday saw similar conditions with an expected increase in swell size later in the day. The standard of the surfing internationally is mind blowing with groms mixing it up with experienced veterans of the contest scene. As the day progressed there were a few standouts, the SA boys were putting on a great show with Mike Young progressing into the quarters of the Mens open only to be taken down by Reubyn & Joss Ash & Toby Donachie from St Merryn. Newquays Mark ‘Egor’ Harris couldn’t quite find the waves to get past Johnny Fryer & Gordon Fontaine to reach the final. Gordon Fontaine went onto a convincing win over Reubyn Ash in second followed by Luis Eyre from Portugal with Johnny Fryer taking fourth.

Anne Cecille surfed her way to a convincing win again with Nicole Morgan in second, Gwen Spurlock third & Hannah Harding from Devon in fourth. It was a close womens final & so good to see the talent emerging in womens surfing.

Gul Night Surf at Newquay

The higher tide was a great arena for the longboard finals with Ben Skinner promoting his new tipple ‘Skindog’ & absolutely ripping… it wasnt going to be an easy ride though with Adam Griffiths, Elliot Dudley & Ben Haworth going just as hard. In the end it was Skindog fuelled on his new beer that took first followed by Adam in second, Ben Haworth in 3rd & Elliot in 4th.

The evening was well underway by that point & despite the screen being taken down everyone seemed to be intent on partying hard well into the wee hours.

Sunday morning saw an increase in swell & less winds at first, carfuls of groms were frothing to get at it & not even a carpark full of parents was going to stop them! In the under 12’s it was Liam Murray Strout pulling all the moves out of the bag beating Max Payne, Will Bailey & Harry de Roth to first place.

The under 16 girls saw the swell increasing & constant suprises as these girls paddle out into an ever improving Headland peak, congratulations to Laura Crane from Croyde who got first followed by Flora Lawton in second place, Jaide Lowe in third & Lucy Campbell in fourth.As the swell continued to build a few mini grom bombs were being ripped to pieces by the Under 16’s boys.

Miles Hargreaves takes the Under 16′s Title

Miles Hargreaves from Bournemouth silenced critics with a solid win beating Luke Dillon (2nd), Jobe Harris (3rd) & Will Davey (4th).The stage was well & truly set for a Pro Junior show down with still baking sun & good head high sets coming through at North Fistral, Lewis Linton was representing Newquay in a very red wetsuit, he got a few good waves early on but as the wind got stronger the peak was shifting making wave selection more & more difficult. In the end it was Stuart Campbell in first place, Aaron Evans in second followed by Luis Eyre from Portugal in third & Lewis in fourth.

The weekend ended with prizegiving for the groms up at the Fistral Blu with momentarily empty Fistral lineup as a background! It seems as Huey smiled on The Gul Night Surf again & it looks set to be bigger & even better next year!

Steph Gilmore

Three-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore is set to be inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame. Gilmore, the youngest-ever inductee at age 22, has already captured U.S. Open of Surfing and Vans Triple Crown titles in addition to three consecutive ASP women’s world titles. Earlier this year, she was awarded the prestigious Laureus World Sports award, elevating Gilmore to among the world’s elite athletes.

Stephanie will be inducted along with Ian Cairns and Randy Lewis on Friday, August 6 at 10:00 a.m. in front of Huntington Surf & Sport (corner of PCH and Main). More information is available at www.hsssurf.com.

2010 Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction

The 2010 Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors to Huntington Beach’s downtown area literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras including Laird Hamilton, Mike Doyle, Jack O’Neill, Robert August, Greg Noll, Jericho Poppler, Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Martin Potter, Al Merrick, Shaun Tomson and Rob Machado who are already immortalized in cement.

“At only 22 years-old, Stephanie is truly one of the greatest ambassadors our sport of surfing has ever seen,” said Kelly Gibson, Rip Curl USA President and CEO. “From winning three consecutive ASP World Titles to being the ultimate brand icon for Rip Curl, she continues to push the sport, influence surf fans globally, while remaining true to herself. Rip Curl couldn’t ask for a better face for our brand.”

Surfers Hall of Fame 2010

With her father’s encouragement, Gilmore’s life as a surfer began on Australia’s Gold Coast at age 10. A natural at the sport, Stephanie spent much of the next few years surfing some of Australia’s best waves. By age 17 she was entering world tour events as a wildcard, which paid off with a victory at the 2005 Roxy Pro Gold Coast. Soon thereafter Gilmore’s success on the WQS (World Qualifying Series) Tour qualified her for the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour and she did not disappoint, winning four events and claiming her maiden World Title.

Proving that first year was no fluke, the girl known as ‘Happy’ for her infectious smile, was back again in 2008, looking hungrier and stronger than ever, dominating the older and more seasoned tour veterans. She went on to secure five ASP Women’s World Tour victories en route to her second consecutive ASP Title, then capped the season off with her first Triple Crown of Surfing trophy. Consistency was the key in 2009, when Gilmore won the first and last World Tour events to claim a third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title.

Already 3-0 in World Tour campaigns, Stephanie won the opening two events of 2010 and currently leads the title race…again! Taking the reigns from seven time world champ and Surfers’ Hall of Fame inductee Layne Beachley, Gilmore is poised to rewrite the record books and may create yet another Aussie surfing dynasty. One thing is for certain, on Friday, August 6, Gilmore’s foot and handprints will be forever encased in concrete alongside the sport’s pioneers and heroes.

“Steph Gilmore is an amazing athlete, 2009 Surfer Poll winner and today is considered the most popular female surfer on earth,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai! “We are very honored that she will be inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame this coming August!

Styled after the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, which Aaron Pai visited as a youngster, the Surfers’ Hall of Fame is intended to “connect the generations of surfers with a lasting tribute and permanent public showcase for the achievements of those who have shaped and revolutionized the sport,” said Pai.

The standing room only crowd on induction day is testament to the landmark’s popularity and the surfing community’s acknowledgment of their heroes.

Billabong Pro J-Bay 2010 Event Website

The Billabong Pro – one of Africa’s most prestigious surfing contest is due to take place next month – 15th – 25th July – and to get us all in the mood – Billabong have launched the official event website at www.billabongpro.com.

This comprehensive website features a host of content such as background information, news, photos and videos including a brand new webisode on the highlights from 2009 Billabong Pro J-Bay won by Australian Joel Parkinson in epic surf at Supertubes.

As soon as the action is underway for the Billabong Pro the website will host LIVE coverage of the all the action, with multiple camera angles, slow motion replays, up to the second scoring, commentary in English and Portuguese, email messages to the commentators, interactive competitions and video-on-demand highlights of previous heats.

Billabong Pro J-Bay – 15th – 25th July 2010

The Billabong Pro J-Bay is scheduled for 15-25 July 2010 at the world famous Supertubes surf break in Jeffreys Bay. It is stop No. 4 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the series of events that determines the annual ASP World Surfing Champion, and the field comprises the world’s top 45 ranked professional surfers along with three wildcards.

The 2010 Billabong Pro J-Bay is supported by Eastern Cape Tourism, Virgin Atlantic, Monster Energy, Vida e Caffe, Corona and Tavcor

Billabong Pro – J-Bay 2010 Video Teaser

www.billabong.com

Fistral event sees 14 year old deliver stellar performance

Congratulations to Fourteen year old Jobe Harriss from Bude whos is just crowned Quiksilver UK King of the Groms.

Our very own local boy Miles Lee Hargreaves took third place which is a fantastic result!

Quiksilver UK King of the Groms

The two day event at Fistral Beach in Newquay saw Jobe excel with his consistent solid surfing that earned him a place in the European final in Zarautz on the 30th & 31st July. Jobe will be joined by Harry Timson who took second place in the man on man final.

Fistral Grom Action

Contest director Joanne Hillman of the British Surfing Association said

“This year we thought we would run a different contest format. For the under 12’s and the girls we set up a repercharge round which gave the competitors 2 chances to progress as well as giving the competitors extra contest experience. In the under 16’s we went to man-on-man from the semi finals”

She continued “This is the first time this format has been used in a UK junior event; we wanted to prepare the under 16’s for the KOTG European finals where this format is used and give the juniors some valuable learning experience. The BSA was also testing out a new computerized judging system RideScoreSystem, which proved to be very successful over the weekend, so scores and positions were constantly relayed to the competitors”

Girls Quiksilver King of the Groms

Because there is an ever growing pool of female talent in Britain, the BSA also included an Under 16s girls division for the third year running and Jaide Lowe , Laura Crane, Tassy Swallow, and Lucy Campbell fought hard for the honour of becoming the British ‘Queen’ with Lucy Campbell gaining the first position and the title.  The judges were also impressed by Peony Knight from Newquay, surfing in the solid conditions and she won best female up and coming surfer.

The crowds look on at Fistral Beach

Under 12′s go off

The under 12’s division was a close fought final with new comer Liam Murray Strout beating Harry de Roth for the under 12’s title, with Alex Gibson and Angus Scotney coming third and fourth respectively. Oli Davies from Newquay won the best up and coming surfer for his determination and skill in the solid 3-4 foot surf, easily overhead conditions for many of the younger small surfers.

Encouraging Futures Surfing Stars

The Quiksilver King of the Groms is where the stars of the future are born. Originally known as the Pro Junior (won by Miky Picon in his early days) when it was first created some 20 years ago, the competition changed names and became the Grommets Trophy (won by Jérémy Florès), before changing again in 2006, since when it has been called the Quiksilver King of the Groms.

Spencer Hargraves of Quiksilver UK said,

“The weather and surf were very good this weekend for the contest the standard of surfing from the groms was consistently high over the two days especially from the under 12’s.  We have some really strong talent here in Britain and there’s every chance that either Jobe or Harry could go all the way.  We wish them all the very best of luck for their heats in Spain later this year and I just want to say a big thanks to the BSA for all their support this weekend.”

UK Quiksilver King of the Groms Results:

Girls U16
1. Lucy Campbell (Woolacombe)
2. Tassy Swallow (St Ives)
3. Laura Crane (Croyde)
4. Jaide Lowe (Newquay)

Under 12
1. Liam Murrey Strout (Port Isaac)
2. Harry de Roth (St Ives)
3. Alex Gibson (Ilfracombe)
4. Angus Scotney (Newquay)

Under 16′s
1.Jobe Harriss (Bude)
2.Harry Timson (Newquay)
3.Miles Lee Hargraves (Bournemouth)
4.Luke Dillon (Newquay)