British Nationals 2016

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

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.

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.

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!

 

British Interclubs 2016

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!

St. Ives School takes National title

St. Ives School takes National title

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms

These three Saints Boardriders members were missing from last Saturday’s Kids Club as they competed at the UK Schools Pro-Am Surf competition at Fistral Beach, Newquay. On a day of fierce competition among surfers from throughout the UK, they all made their respective finals, and in doing so made St. Ives School the highest scoring school in the country. Pictured are Harry De Roth, who won the Boys Under-18’s, Taylor Bairds, Runner-Up in the Boys Under-12’s, and Charley Fox who won the Girls Under-14’s. Thats a great result for St. Ives School, and maybe a small pat on the back for Saints Boardriders and it’s coaches! Well done everyone.

By the way, Harry’s latest video, as seen at our beach cinema screening last month, is now available for viewing here. Enjoy!

 

British Juniors 2014

British Juniors 2014

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms

Saints Boardriders’ most active competitor, Harry De Roth, has had a busy September, culminating last weekend in him retaining his British Boys Under-16’s title at the National Championships at Fistral. The first half of the month was spent in The Azores, where Harry represented England in the Under-16 boys against the cream of European juniors. Although it was a double elimination format, Harry progressed smoothly to the Grand Final without needing the safety net of a second life! He finished fourth in the final, cementing his arrival at the upper echelon of the European scene. With many highly-rated international juniors below him it was a ground-breaking result, though Harry’s disappointment at not winning the event spoke volumes about his competitive drive!

Back home last weekend, the British juniors enjoyed some contestable waves and produced some fine surfing under blue skies at Fistral. Dan Harmon made a couple of heats in the Under-18’s, and Charley Fox had a bold go at the Under-14 Girls, being squeezed narrowly  into third place by the end of the heat. So by the middle of Sunday afternoon Harry was the sole remaining Saints Boardrider in competition. He won every heat en route to the Under-16 final, and quickly established control there. A late slashing ride by Angus Scotney then seemed to take the crown from Harry, but with admirable cool he took a long lefthander at the buzzer, bashing out a series of vertical turns for an excellent score of 8 which clinched the win.

He was soon returning to the water for the Under-18’s final, where he again held the lead throughout, but this time the twist in the tail worked against Harry as Newquay’s Dale Foster found the score in the dying seconds to deny Harry a notable double.

Nevertheless, it has been a good month for Harry, and his confidence is high as he goes into his winter training schedule.