Counting Our Blessings

Counting Our Blessings

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

As we come to the end of our rash of postponements due to Saturday morning high tides, we are now anticipating another threat to our weekend session in the form of a predicted huge swell for the weekend! While we see how that plays out let us count our blessings that the sessions we have been able to run so far have all offered pretty decent conditions. Last Saturday was just such a case, and while the National Nippers Surf Lifesaving competition in Exmouth cost us a great numbers of absences, there were still 75 surfers took to the water.

I felt I detected some surfers’ attentions were beginning to focus on the end-of-season competition as there were several examples of trick rides on display as well as some traditional polished surfing to admire. The gallery below shows some of the action. Let’s see how that weekend forecast pans out!

 

The Early Bird

The Early Bird

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

It’s the early bird that catches the worm, so the saying goes. Well, we could have caught dolphins, jellyfish and even sand eels at Saturday Club this week. All were on show, but it was waves that we were after. 132 kids took to the water this week in search of that particular thrill we find in waveriding, and there were waves for everyone.

Simon and Josh put the advanced surfers to the test with some video analysis.

The gallery of pictures below gives a flavour of how the morning went – it’s not a non-stop surf fest! And the warm weather encouraged quite a number of families to make it a beach day -some even enjoying a late surf in the early evening glass-off. Ah those summer days!!

Who’s in for 2016?

Who’s in for 2016?

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Having grown the membership to over 150 last season, the sign-up for 2016 Kids Club was looking a challenging prospect for our admin crew! Fortunately we had an ace in Flavio who organised an online membership form to be followed by a supplementary visit to The Balcony for the parental consent signatures and payment, enabling us to smoothly process over a hundred renewals on the morning of Saturday 16th April. The next Saturday morning was open to new members until we reached what may be our capacity for this summer. Our apologies to the dozen or so attendees who only made the reserve list – if any vacancies arise then we’ll get back to you!

Proposed clubhouse plans onscreen

Proposed clubhouse plans onscreen

We were also able to announce our aim of building a home for the club, and were delighted to show the plans on the big screen and have the committee members explain the detail of how we might go about it. Our heartfelt thanks go to Christian Simmons for this original design!

One late arrival on sign-up day was Grace Harry, who had just completed the Lelant to St. Ives Fun Run with her mum. Their effort earned them £50 from their sponsors and we were delighted to learn that Saints Boardriders Club would be the beneficiary! Many thanks, and perhaps they have shown us one fund-raising route we could follow to get that clubhouse built!

Grace and mum fresh from the Fun Run

Grace and mum fresh from the Fun Run

The next date for the diary is 7.30 on the evening of 10th of May when the AGM will be held at Tregenna Castle. Anyone interested in Saints Boardriders is welcome to attend, though only paid-up members can vote. See you there.

 

UK Pro Tour Review 2015: St. Ives Surfers

UK Pro Tour Review 2015: St. Ives Surfers

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms

There were more St. Ives surfers than usual tilting at UK Tour glory in 2015 with several youngsters having their first taste of the national scene. Here’s how everyone got on, beginning with our most successful competitor of recent times, Jayce Robinson. Well, he had finished 2014 as the UK Tour champion and also took out the prestigious Wavebreaker Series. Could he repeat the feat in 2015? In the last event of the season, and the final event of the Wavebreaker Series, Jayce found his score tied for first place in that contest at Lynmouth. Competition rules state that in the event of a tie, the surfer with the highest single wave score wins. In this instance, that gave Jayce second place – enough to take the three-event Wavebreaker Series, but leaving him as runner-up on the UK Tour. First place would have seen him retain both titles! So close! Both Jayce and Harry De Roth also made the semi-finals of the Mens Open at the Boardmasters against some strong international opposition in August.

At the Pro Junior division ( 20 years and under), Harry stormed to the UK title with two first places and a second in the three events of the tour. He showed a similar dominance in the Under-18 boys division with four wins and a joint first in his five counting scores. He’s gearing up for a European campaign in 2016 as well as bidding to represent TeamGB at the World Juniors, and England in the European championships!

Harry De Roth

In her first full season campaigning on the UK Tour, Melodie Shakespear earned 10th place on the Womens’ tour, and fourth in the Under-18 girls. Both credible finishes against some seasoned competitors.

Melodie on Surf Club duty

Melodie on Surf Club duty

Charley Fox ( Main picture) dipped her toes into the competitive scene in the Under-16 girls division, earning a tenth place on the tour from her only event of the two available. Similarly, in the Under-14 Girls, Charley won the one event she contested, giving her second place in that division. A great debut season!

Taylor Bairds

Taylor Bairds

Taylor Bairds made his debut in the Under-14 Boys with a sixth place tour finish, and also earned fourth place on the Under-12 Open tour – his highlights being a semi-final place in the Boardmasters Under-12’s, and a second place in the English Schools. Dylan Cole Nell also had a go in the Under-14 Boys division, finishing 15th on the tour. He too could have finished in the top ten had he contested more events!

Dylan Cole Nell

Dylan Cole Nell

 

 

Here’s wishing “Good Luck” to all St. Ives surfers who compete in 2016.