Swellboard Shootout 2017

Swellboard Shootout 2017

General Club News St. Ives Surf School events Surf Club Events

Last Sunday saw the seventh annual Swellboard Shootout surf competition organised by St. Ives Surf School on Porthmeor Beach. The event raises funds for Surfers Against Sewage, and this year saints boardriders were honoured to be co-beneficiaries with them of the funds raised over the weekend. Indeed, Sunday was only the culmination of a three day extravaganza which commenced at Porthmeor Beach West on Friday night with an evening of fish tacos, beer and music from Frankie Davies and Ben Warner. Saturday evening saw the open-air film show and curry night at Cohort Hostel, before the teams gathered on Porthmeor Beach on Sunday morning dressed to impress and ready to lay down some swelly-riding magic in the quest to lift the coveted trophy.

A single blog cannot do justice to such an epic day, so this is just the first instalment of a multi-part, cut out and keep pictorial memento of the day’s action. Our banner picture features our august panel of judges in their lofty, secluded majesty.And now we meet the teams:

Coming next : The parade.

 

Poor weather, good attitude

Poor weather, good attitude

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

A foul mizzle and a strong west wind could have put a dampener on proceedings on Saturday, but our young attendees at Kids Club were undeterred! Some tricky rips in the shallows also challenged our groups, but the consensus among the coaches afterwards was that there had been some good progress, and Subo in particular was pleased to have made a promising start with the Sharks first video analysis session of the season. Some pics below:

 

Kids Club Returns!

Kids Club Returns!

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Saturday 3rd of June saw saints boardriders first Kids Club of the season. There were lots of new faces among the eager youngsters as well as the hundred or so existing members who turned out on the day. Surf conditions were an ideal 1 to 2 foot with a mild, almost windless day. There was also a throng of volunteers to help coach, marshal and administer the session, and what could have been a hectic induction to the season went very smoothly and the lessons were soon in their stride. First impression from our new members was that they can’t wait for next Saturday! Yippeee! Here’s a flavour of the day:

Mosquitoes@ The Balcony

Mosquitoes@ The Balcony

Fundraiser General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Friday 26th May saw our latest fundraising effort as The Balcony hosted a gig by The Mosquitoes in aid of saints boardriders bid to build a clubhouse. Our heartfelt thanks go the band and our hosts for a great night. Below is a photo gallery of some of those who came out to support the event. Thank you one and all!

Can I also ask all our well wishers to go to the site here: www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk/  and vote for saints boardriders bid for support from Jewsons community fund.

 

Eggstravaganza!

Eggstravaganza!

Fundraiser General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Sorry for the punnish headline! Easter Sunday’s jolly little fundraiser on behalf of The Wave Project and saints boardriders deserved better! Young minds turned to thoughts of eggs on the day, and not just the chocolate variety. First up was the contest to present the best-decorated egg and there were some imaginative offerings on show. Hard-boiled, glazed, glittered, face-painted – the choice of designs was broad. After some agonised deliberation, judge Abbie McCartney awarded the prize to a topical surfing egg.

    The Judging.

Contestants were then led to the start line for the great egg race down the slipway. The benefit of having the hard-boiled egg becoming abundantly clear! The competitors chased behind their free-rolling eggs as they careered down to the beach giving a nudge and a poke to keep the egg on track.

Ready – Get Set!

Go!                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

                            And then came the third element of the day – The Egg Hunt. Buried in the sand were twenty four plastic eggs, each containing prize sweets for the finder. Into the compound went our keen egg hunters and the search was on.

This is what you are looking for!

It proved to be quite a task to recover all the eggs as each unsuccessful scrape possibly buried the hidden treasure just that little bit deeper! Of course, children don’t easily tire when the prize is free sweets so the hunt was pretty intense until everyone had had a fair few mini-eggs. Then, as on beaches everywhere, when the child’s interest waned the parents were only too willing to get digging!

Eager beavers!

I’ve got one Katy! 

 

 

 

 

Bring grown-ups to the beach and they dig!

It was a really fun morning for children and adults alike. Many thanks to Katy Spencer of The Wave Project for some cracking entertainment ( Oooh! There it goes again!).

Anything You Want

Anything You Want

General Club News Groms Surf Profiles

‘Anything You Want” is the title of Harry De Roth’s latest video offering shot and edited by Greg Dennis in 4K and showcasing the best in British surfing and videography. It’s a companion piece to the two videos highlighted in our previous blog, https://www.saintsboardriders.co.uk/rainy-day-videos/ having been shot at the same Thurso Surf Festival in 2016. Taken all together they give a compelling picture of a surfer’s life on the road at a tour competition. Maintaining form over the duration of the event, coping with different waves and sea conditions, getting in some free-surfing and practice between heats, all these elements combined with a nerve for competition are what brings success. Enjoy Harry’s newest vid Anything You Want here! 

Matty Behind The Lens

Matty Behind The Lens

General Club News Surf Club Events

Matty Snelling, ace surf coach and Saturday Surf Club star has launched his new website featuring his photographic work. There’s lots to admire including landscapes, seascapes, surf photography and weddings. Check it out here .

And as a bonus, here are some of his shots from the end-of-season comp last year to remind us what our club is about.Enjoy!

 

A Tesco Fundraiser

A Tesco Fundraiser

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

Rainy Day Videos

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.