A Tesco Fundraiser

by Nog General Club News Surf Club Events

Emma Jarvis secured a fundraising spot in Tesco St. Ives entrance last Thursday, and our junior surf club stepped up to persuade the public to open their purses on behalf of saints boardriders. A good number of children and parents offered their time in one hour spells to bring the story of our clubhouse construction to the town, and they succeeded in raising several hundred pounds toward the project. Pictured below are just some of those campaigners – my apologies to those who aren’t featured here because everyone’s input was valuable on the day! Many thanks to those who helped, and to those who weren’t able to help on the day, keep an eye out for our next fundraiser and be prepared to offer your services there.

Our heartfelt thanks particularly to Tesco St. Ives for the opportunity to campaign and raise our profile with their customers!

Rainy Day Videos

by Nog General Club News Surf Video

Winter brings us a little more downtime as far as saints boardriders goes, so here are a couple of videos featuring our leading competitors on the British scene. Both were shot at the Thurso Surf Festival at the end of last season by Mr. B Productions. The first covers the whole event in all divisions and offers a measure of what it takes to surf at the highest level on the national scene. The second features our own Jayce Robinson finding some nuggets in his free-surfing sessions away from the comp site.

Fill your cup with your favourite hot drink, grab a packet of biscuits, click on the image and enjoy!

Our thanks to Mr. B Productions, the UK Pro Surf Tour and Vimeo for these gems.

Merry Christmas!

by Nog General Club News

Tradition demanded that there was a show of members turn out over Christmas to fly the flag at Porthmeor. Conditions on the day were most appealing, and over the course of the morning a fair few answered the call. Here are some of those – spines stiffened with a shot of Glayva – who represented this year!

We wish all our members and friends a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Saints Boardrider takes UK tour title again

by Nog General Club News

It’s been a fruitful late Autumn harvest for saints boardrider Harry de Roth as he won the last two events on the UK Pro Surfers Under-18 tour to take the 2016 title. He arrived at the penultimate event at Thurso in Scotland in second place on the rankings, and a handsome win there left him still 10 points behind Bude’s Kit Innes. The last event, Surfing Sumo’s Clash of the Groms at a stormy Fistral Beach Newquay, saw Harry win all his heats on his way to the final where he comboed the field, taking 1000 points for the win over Kit’s 730 for third place, to retain the tour title he won in 2015.

Harry now leaves his junior days behind him and takes to the adult ranks as a pro surfer. His winter schedule encompasses training in Australia before trips to Bali and Hawaii for video shoots. Good luck and ‘Bon Voyage” Harry.

And Harry’s latest film has just been released this week. Beautifully shot and edited by Greg Dennis, watch it here!

A Fundraiser at The Balcony

by Nog General Club News Surf Club Events

With the Saturday Kids Club wrapped up for the season, our attention now turns to the small matter of raising funds towards the building of the clubhouse. The first initiative of the winter was an End-Of-Season party at The Balcony on 12th November. We were honoured to have the Sandy Acre Seven deliver some spanking dance tunes which had the floor filled and the place rocking from their opening number to the very end of their set!

There was a great turnout from the Saturday morning kids and their parents, and fine support from the wider community, helping to fill the Balcony as well as filling our collection boxes and the raffle ticket sales.

Harris and some Nemos

Shark Alert!

After the band had finished and the kids ( and some of we older hands) had disappeared towards our beds, the fun continued long beyond midnight as the town’s regular Saturday night revellers came to join the party. A great night was had by all, and the club coffers were swelled by over £2000 in the process!

Thanks to The Sandy Acre Seven for bringing their special party vibe, thanks to The Balcony Bar and St Austell Brewery for the hospitality.

Further thanks are extended to to all the people who gave us raffle prizes; Porthminster Restaurant, The Fire House, Tregenna Castle, The Garrack, Howdens, R&J Supplies, Michelle Footman, Holly Kearey, Alder, Good Folks Barbers, and Burdett Wines.

Also thanks to our doormen Emma and Rebecca (no one would mess with them) and all the other guys and girls who helped on the night. And finally thanks to everyone who came and gave generously. We have a long way to go on the fundraising front, so please watch out for our next extravaganza and be ready to come and help us realise our dream!

British Nationals 2016

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms

Perranporth hosted the British National Surfing Championships last weekend and some very contestable surf enabled a high standard of surfing to be seen. There was a hectic schedule, with two peaks in operation all weekend to get through the programme and find champions in fifteen divisions.

All our St. Ives surfers were still in contention going into finals day. We lost our first competitor when Taylor Bairds was edged into third place in the Under-14 Boys quarter final.

Taylor bows out in the quarters.

And that was our only loss as we reached the finals! First up was Eleanor Hewlett in the Under-12 Girls. Finishing in fourth place in her first shot at the nationals, this was a very creditable performance!

Eleanor, first left on the podium

Our next finalist was a new recruit to saints boardriders, Luke Jannaway in the Mens Masters ( 35 and over). In a hotly contested heat, Luke earned fourth place, crowning a good weekend’s surfing.

Luke first left.

Next up among the saints boardriders team was Harry De Roth in the Under-18 Boys. Harry has won several National titles as he has moved up through the age groups, and this was his last shot as a junior before moving into the Mens Open bracket. This time he had to settle for second place as Croyde’s Will Bailey took the honours in a keenly anticipated final.

Harry, second left.

So there remained only Jayce Robinson in the Mens Open if there was to be a British title coming back to St. Ives this year. And it looked very much on as Jayce found the left-handers to his liking, showing his flowing backhand style and taking the fight to his fellow finalists. His efforts were thwarted at the very end of the contest as Bude’s Jobe Harris, home from his European QS campaign, found a buzzer-beater in the dying seconds to claim his first mens title. It was a great final to cap a great weekend of competition, and our banner picture shows Jayce, second left, within reach of the trophy which was so nearly his!

Well done to all our competitors – it’s been a fine show by everyone!

Trophies Are Earned ; Part 2

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

In this second part of the report we’ll see the roll call of those juniors who earned their trophy by their season’s effort. It is difficult to persuade the coaches to make these choices as many of their charges have brought dedication and determination to the sessions, but we hope that those who didn’t collect a prize this time will come back next season with renewed enthusiasm and feel that a prize is within reach this time!

Here are this season’s choices:

Nemos

Surfer of the summer, Amber Kearey

Most committed surfer, Blossom Burdett

Most improved surfer, Milo Kirk-Mackrell

Dorys

Surfer of the summer, Ravi Simmons

Most committed surfer, Sydney and Cody Warner

Most improved surfer, Benjamin Olney

Tunas

Surfer of the summer, Kaitlyn Borghi

Most committed surfer, Milly-Rose Nichols

Most improved surfer, Evie Stattkus

Sea Bass

Surfer of the summer, Alexander Hosking

Most committed surfer, Thai Merrill

Most improved surfer, Bradley Beach

Seals

Surfer of the summer, Chanaelle Aberos

Most committed surfer, Kieran Stattkus

Most improved surfer, Kaya Stattkus

Of course, there’s a real sense that every child who has enjoyed her surfing and is keenly anticipating the next session is a winner. Finding a passion for a sport is a great feeling, and I hope we are introducing more than a few of our juniors to a lifelong association with surfing.

I’ll conclude by thanking those whose help and support made the day go so smoothly: St. Ives Surf School, RNLI Lifeguards, Jabula Tents, Porthmeor Beach Services, Carl and the Take-away crew and our own members who judged, coached and marshalled the event. Jayce Robinson came down to present the trophies – and it’s always a great inspiration to the kids to spend time with our local pros!

More pics!

Trophies Are Earned : Part One

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Jabula came and pitched a fine big tent, St. Ives Surf School unpacked a box of shining trophies, and the new contest vests got their first airing as the final day of our 2016 season arrived.

Prizes all!

The running order was boys heats to the completion of their semis, then junior groups in the water with coaches and helpers for their last session and assessments, followed by girls final and then the boys final. The early rounds were keenly contested in chunky surf at the West end of the beach, watched by an enthusiastic crowd!

Judges and spectators find a good viewing spot.

: Luca in action

: Harry at speed

: Teddy trimming

: Matt heads back to the pocket

: Aiden’s cutback

: Taylor drops his wallet

Once the semis were completed the group sessions got underway and we saw some confident surfing from some very junior surfers. Their delight in showing their skills was great to see! As they got out of their wetsuits and dried off, we had a great display of fast food catering from Carl at Porthmeor Central takeaway as boxes of hot food and ice lollies arrived to tame any hunger pangs the surfing had prompted.

Mmmm! Just the job.

Meanwhile, the girls finalists battled it out, and then the boys had their shot at glory. The results were saved for the presentation and came in reverse order as follows:

Girls final

Fourth; Eleanor Hewlett

Third; Kaitlyn Borghi

Second; Tara Langley

And the winner was Bridgit Wells.

Well done to all our finalists and congratulations Bridgit!

Boys final

Fourth; Dev Parsons

Third; Bailey Rogers

Second; Matthew Burrell

And the winner was Taylor Bairds

A cracking final with Taylor finding the win this year after several second places in recent years!

Finalists; Taylor, Dev, Bailey, Matt, Kaitlyn, Eleanor, Tara and Bridget

Part Two of the contest day report to follow with a full round-up of prize winners and more pics as available. Meanwhile here’s a taster of the awards ceremony. Back soon!

Our youngest winners!

British Interclubs 2016

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

There were some notable absentees from our final Saturday session of the season. Saints boardriders decided to dip it’s toes in the waters of competitive surfing and entered a team into the 2016 edition of the Interclubs competition, held at Fistral Beach Newquay over the weekend.

Our Junior team was Joshua Martindale, Taylor Bairds, Dev Parsons and Harry de Roth.

Our Open team was Steve Hewlett, Simon Trebilcock, Harry de Roth, Joshua Martindale and Taylor Bairds.

We did not have a ladies team, something to aim for next year!

The junior team was a maximum of 4 surfers, with the mens open being a minimum of 4 and maximum of 6. Each surfer would surf 1 heat per day in each division entered.

The heats were in a 4 man format with first place scoring 10 points, second place scoring 8 points, 3rd place scoring 6 points and 4th place scoring 4 points. The total of all scores was then added up with the highest scoring team winning.

Day 1 saw a good size swell running with fairly strong NW Wind making tricky conditions. The Juniors took to the water first with Josh up in the first heat against some seasoned competitors to take 4th place, followed by Taylor for another 4th, then it was Harry to get our first 1st place of the day, Dev then surfed well to get a 3rd.

Taylor opened up for us in the mens to get a well earned 2nd, Steve Hewlett a 3rd, Josh a 4th, Simon a 3rd and Harry another 1st!

Day 2 was a lot smaller in the waist to chest high region with light onshores. Juniors were first in the water with what was probably the weakest conditions of the day on a dropping tide. Results were Taylor & Dev 4th, Josh a 3rd and Harry a 1st!

The mens open was on after lunch at low tide and a slightly increased swell. Harry and Simon were both up first and both got 1st’s, Steve got a 2nd, Josh 4th and Taylor 3rd.

Overall we came mid placed amongst the other clubs. Newquay A were the strongest and won the Open and the overall competition, made up of points in all divisions.

All the members of our team put in great performances and had a great weekend. It gave some of us our first ever taste of national competition surfing. We are looking forward to building on this and getting more members involved next year!

: Taylor Bairds

: Chairman Steve Hewlett

: Josh Martindale

: Harry De Roth

: Dev Parsons

A final Saturday for the season

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

There comes a time when you have to let go. Our young surfer in the header picture has reached that point, and, indeed, so have the rest of the 2016 cohort of saints boardriders. Saturday was our last session of the season with only the grand finale on Sunday 25th to come. There will be group sessions for junior surfers, and a comp under standard judging rules for the Dolphins and Sharks. Here’s hoping for a fine day and great surf as we say goodbye to our 2016 sessions!

In the meantime here’s a gallery of pictures from Saturday.