Reubin Pearce took home the Animal Newquay Open title, and with it cheque for £1000, in a tense final fought out between Spencer Hargreaves, Alan Stokes and Nathan Philips on Fistral Beach.

Reubin Pearce - Jason Feast photos

With high tide Fistral providing a chunky 6ft swell the solid conditions meant some high scoring waves from the competitors, keeping the judges on their toes, and the crowd on the edge of their seats to find out who would take home the Animal Newquay Open title.

Reubin made the comp his own with such a high score combination that his competitors couldn’t rival it with their top scoring rides. With the South African taking the top spot, second on the podium was Stokesy followed by Spencer Hargreaves and Welshman Nate Philips.

Spencer Hargreaves claimed the King of Watersports King of the Waves highest wave score of the event with a 9.5 to win a Sector 9 skateboard worth £200.  The Relentless Money Move went to Nate Phillips who gets to bank a sweet cheque for £250. This was also considered the Manoeuvre of the year by the panel of judges.

In the Women’s event the girls took on the 6ft swell and fought it out in the difficult conditions costing Nicole Morgan her board half way through the heat. Gabi Rowe took home first place with Zoe Sheath second, Sophie Helliyer third and Ireland’s Nicole Morgan in fourth.

The Pro Junior title was taken by Newquay’s Josh Piper, followed by George Picking in second, Jayce Robinson third and Toby Donachie fourth.

With the sun setting over Fistral beach the final event of the UK Pro Surf Tour ended another great year of competitive performances from the cream of the UK’s surfers.

Dave Reed of UK Surf Promotions said, “This has been an incredible finale to great year. We have seen good waves at all venues of the tour and the performance of the competitors has been outstanding. Of the back of this event I believe British surfing will take another step forward”.

Steve Kitchin, Animal Sponsorship manager said, ‘It was great to support the final leg of the tour and see so much British talent on form over the weekend.’

With high tide Fistral providing a chunky 6ft swell the solid conditions meant some high scoring waves from the competitors, keeping the judges on their toes, and the crowd on the edge of their seats to find out who would take home the Animal Newquay Open title.

Reubin made the comp his own with such a high score combination that his competitors couldn’t rival it with their top scoring rides. With the South African taking the top spot, second on the podium was Stokesy followed by Spencer Hargreaves and Welshman Nate Philips.

Spencer Hargreaves claimed the King of the Waves highest wave score of the event with a 9.5 to win a Sector 9 skateboard worth £200.  The Relentless Money Move went to Nate Phillips who gets to bank a sweet cheque for £250. This was also considered the Manoeuvre of the year by the panel of judges.

In the Women’s event the girls took on the 6ft swell and fought it out in the difficult conditions costing Nicole Morgan her board half way through the heat. Gabi Rowe took home first place with Zoe Sheath second, Sophie Helliyer third and Ireland’s Nicole Morgan in fourth.

The Pro Junior title was taken by Newquay’s Josh Piper, followed by George Picking in second, Jayce Robinson third and Toby Donachie fourth.

With the sun setting over Fistral beach the final event of the UK Pro Surf Tour ended another great year of competitive performances from the cream of the UK’s surfers.

Dave Reed of UK Surf Promotions said, “This has been an incredible finale to great year. We have seen good waves at all venues of the tour and the performance of the competitors has been outstanding. Of the back of this event I believe British surfing will take another step forward”.

Steve Kitchin, Animal Sponsorship manager said, ‘It was great to support the final leg of the tour and see so much British talent on form over the weekend.’

After the stormy conditions provided by Mother Nature on day one, meaning the event was moved to Towan beach, the competition returned to Fistral. Day two saw a challenging chunky 6ft swell and a strong cross-shore SSW wind testing the competitors. On the beach each heat of the day was watched closely by the onlookers to find out who would win overall.

Stokesy secured the UK Pro Surf Tour title defeating rivals Tom Butler and Reubyn Ash in the semi finals despite a strong performance from Tom Butler throughout each of the rounds. Alan kept on top with some solid scores getting a 7.5 and 8.33 in the semis to clinch the title and take the championship title home on solid form.

In the Women’s event strong performances were put on by Zoe Sheath and Gabi Rowe but not enough to take the overall title from Gwen Spurlock who won the overall UK Pro Surf Tour Women’sevent thirty points ahead of the pack.
Tour Director Dave Reed said “A fantastic event and a great result for two of the best surfers in the UK, Alan Stokes and Gwen Sprulock. They have both achieved a great result from the last 12 months hard work”.
Stoksie and Gwen’s results overshadowed great performances by event winners Ruebin Pearce and Gabi Rowe who both became Animal Newquay Open Champions for 2009.

Newquay local Ben Skinner who produced the best result, despite the fact that he had flown straight in from Japan without his beloved boards. He made it, for the second time in his career, to the finals of the Longboard event. Congratulation to Ben!!

Throughout the week Ben produced some convincing wins, alongside fellow longboarder Elliott Dudley, including knocking out the previous world champion. Elliott eventually went on to earn a very respectable 7th place overall.

The Longboard final saw American Tony Silvagni, Frenchman Antoine Delpero, Australian Harley Ingleby and Ben produce an amazing show in the 4-5ft Costa Rican line up, blending old- world nose rides and iconic style with modern high speed turns and speed floats. It was Delpero who came out on top, with Ingleby in second and Ben in third.

In the Women’s open, Great Britain was represented by Beth Mason and Joanne Dennison. Both girls had some convincing waves and produced some good and powerful manoeuvres. Unfortunately both girls were knocked out in the round 2 repercharge due to lousy luck with waves – both girls struggling to find any kind of waves to show their talent on.

A special thank you to Chris & Andrea Wady (Team Mananger/ coach) for looking after the team whilst in Costa Rica.

The next ISA event will be the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship to be held in New Zealand in January. For more information log on www.isasurf.org or www.britsurf.co.uk

Stop No 3 of 9 on 2009 UK PST

17^th  July 09:00 – 17:30

18^th  July 09:00 – 20:00

Watergate Bay, Newquay Cornwall

www.ukprosurf.com

www.surfrelief.org.uk

The third event on the UK Pro Surf Tour will be the Surf Relief Contest to be held at Watergate Bay, Newquay. An event which has grown from strength to strength over the past five years and is now included as the third leg of the UK Pro Surf Tour.

The current leader of the UK Pro Surf Tour, Alan Stokes will be hoping to consolidate his position at the head of the pack, however with the amount of talented surfers in the draw it will be extremely difficult. An inform, Reubyn Ash from Bude will be hoping to improve his rankings, Reubyn has been pushing boundaries of contemporary surfing all year including pulling off a Rodeo Cowboy manoeuvre recently at Arugam Bay.

In the women’s event, Beth Mason and Gwen Spurlock from Swansea will be the two to watch, however 17 year old Zoe Sheath and 15 year old Tass Swallow are amoungst other talented girls who could take the title.

On the Grommets tour the title is wide open with good performances coming from many of the surfers. Possibly one’s to watch are Beau Bromham from Croyde in the Under 16 Boys, Lucy Campbell from Wooolacombe in the Under 16 Girls and Harry DeRoth from St Ives in the Under 12 Open.

Dave Reed, contest director for the surf contest and tour commented: “It is fantastic that the tour will be part the Surf Relief event again, many of the surfers will be pleased to compete at this event to not only improve their ratings on the UK Pro Surf Tour, but also support Surf Relief in their efforts to help disabled and disadvantaged children” adding “we are also please to be able to contribute all the entry fees from the event to the charity”.

Dave Manley, Chairman of Surf Relief commented: “Surfing is at the core of what Surf Relief is all about and having one of the of the UK Pro Tour competitions at our annual fund raising event adds further creditability to the charity.  The quality of surfing has always been high at our events with pro surfers supporting the charity from its inception 5 years ago; however with prize money and points for the tour champion at stake, this year the standard of surfing in all categories will be greater still. On the Saturday of the event disabled and disadvantaged children and young people will be receiving lessons alongside the best surfers in the country who will be competing in the same waves – showing that surfing is really a sport for all.  With lots of beach events and live music on the beach I’m sure the Surf Relief Festival 2009 will be one of the highlights on the 2009 UK Pro Tour”.

In addition to all the prizes given Relentless Energy Drink will be awarding £250 to the surfer who performs the most progressive manoeuvre in the event, which could come from the Open, Women’s or Grommet divisions. King of the Wave Award will be going to the highest scoring waves for both men and women, donated by kingofwatersports.com

Also taking place during the weekend will be: Live music, a surf lifesaving tournament,  games and activities to make the White Stuff Surf Relief Festival a great day out.

Britain’s prospects at next month’s (Aug) ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica have been boosted by an 11th hour sponsorship deal with Truro-based Skinners Brewery.

The recession has struck a double whammy, with surfers struggling to meet travel and accommodation costs and the British Surfing Association (BSA) finding it harder than ever to attract sponsorship.

To date only four British surfers, out of a potential eight, have confirmed their attendance at the Costa Rica event, which runs from August 1 to 8.

Now it is hoped to be able to send out a full team after all with the Skinners deal, which involves financial support and presentation of new kit.

“Attracting sponsorship has always been a struggle and it is more than ever difficult in the present climate with big cutbacks in company budgets, so we are immensely grateful to Skinners for stepping in in this way,” said Jo Hillman, Newquay-based BSA operations director.

“Without the sponsorship, the surfers would basically have to pay the entire cost of their travel and accommodation in order to take part in the world games and a lot of our top surfers just can’t afford that kind of outlay.”

She is now inviting surfers who had previously declined the opportunity to compete in Costa Rica to reconsider.

Brewery chief executive Steve Skinner commented:  “Costa Rica will be the stage for the world’s top surfers – from America, Australia, Spain – and it would be unthinkable not to have Britain fully represented there.

“Hopefully, our support can make the difference.  Not to send a full team would impact on Britain’s seedings and have unwelcome implications for our younger up-and-coming surfers.

“As a company and personally, we are delighted to sponsor sport in many ways and we are passionate about surfing in particular.”

Steve’s son Ben, who took silver in the 2006 World Games in California, is being lined up to coach the British team, whose other confirmed members are fellow longboarder Elliot Dudley and girls open surfers Beth Mason and Joanne Dennison, all from Wales.

FURTHER INFORMATION:
Skinners Brewery:   Steve Skinner,  tel  01872 271885
British Surfing Association:  Jo Hillman,  tel  01637 876474

Richie Sills Presentation

Richie Sills

Day 3

Arugam Bay was firing for the final day of the UKPSA Sri Lankan Surf Championships.

An increase in swell overnight provided 4-6ft barrelling right hander’s for the remaining competitors.

In heat one of the quarter finals Micah Lester took full advantage of the conditions scoring the highest wave of the event (9.4) earning him the return ticket from London to Sri Lanka donated by Sri Lankan Airlines.

The remaining quarter final heats saw outstanding performances from Richie Sills (South Africa) and Newquay surfers Alan Stokes, Mitch Corbett and Tom Butler.

In the first semi final Richie Sills and Sam Lamroy (Newcastle) surfed consistently to edge out Lee Bartlet and Micah Lester.

Four Newquay surfers made up semi final two. Alan Stokes dominated from the beginning with two high scoring rides. Mark Harris scraped ahead of Mitch Corbett to take second with Tom Butler fourth.

The final got underway in front of a packed crowd including the President of Sri Lanka’s son and the Minister for tourism.

In a tactical heat the four surfers struggled to find waves in the early stages.

Richie Sills found his rhythm and picked off two high scoring rides leaving the other three scratching to catch up. Alan Stokes was close behind in second and a final wave with two huge turns left the crowd guessing if he had done enough.

In the end Richie and Alan were tied for first place. A count back (best one wave scored) saw Richie take the title with Alan Stokes following in second, Mark Harris third and Sam Lamroy fourth.

Richie Sills;

“I love Arugam Bay. The waves have been incredible and the local people have been so hospitable. The event would have been nothing without them. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make this competition possible”

The Sri Lankan local’s final was also completed today. Local Arugam Bay surfer W.l Asanka led the final from the start with some impressive surfing including a 9 point ride which earned him the title.

Event organisers would like to thank SriLanka Airlines, Sri Lanka Tourism and Crystal Holidays for making the event such a great success.

For further information check out website www.ukprosurf.com.

Arugam Bay was firing for the final day of the UKPSA Sri Lankan Surf Championships.

An increase in swell overnight provided 4-6ft barrelling right hander’s for the remaining competitors.

In heat one of the quarter finals Micah Lester took full advantage of the conditions scoring the highest wave of the event (9.4) earning him the return ticket from London to Sri Lanka donated by Sri Lankan Airlines.

The remaining quarter final heats saw outstanding performances from Richie Sills (South Africa) and Newquay surfers Alan Stokes, Mitch Corbett and Tom Butler.

In the first semi final Richie Sills and Sam Lamroy (Newcastle) surfed consistently to edge out Lee Bartlet and Micah Lester.

Four Newquay surfers made up semi final two. Alan Stokes dominated from the beginning with two high scoring rides. Mark Harris scraped ahead of Mitch Corbett to take second with Tom Butler fourth.

The final got underway in front of a packed crowd including the President of Sri Lanka’s son and the Minister for tourism.

In a tactical heat the four surfers struggled to find waves in the early stages.

Richie Sills found his rhythm and picked off two high scoring rides leaving the other three scratching to catch up. Alan Stokes was close behind in second and a final wave with two huge turns left the crowd guessing if he had done enough.

In the end Richie and Alan were tied for first place. A count back (best one wave scored) saw Richie take the title with Alan Stokes following in second, Mark Harris third and Sam Lamroy fourth.

Richie Sills;

“I love Arugam Bay. The waves have been incredible and the local people have been so hospitable. The event would have been nothing without them. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make this competition possible”

The Sri Lankan local’s final was also completed today. Local Arugam Bay surfer W.l Asanka led the final from the start with some impressive surfing including a 9 point ride which earned him the title.

Event organisers would like to thank SriLanka Airlines, Sri Lanka Tourism and Crystal Holidays for making the event such a great success.

For further information check out website www.ukprosurf.com

For the second day of the event competitors were greeted with perfect 4-6ft pumping waves at Arugam Bay.
Round 2 started off this morning with some exciting action from all the top surfers. Of the Sri Lankan surfers K Dulip performed the best advancing into round three.

Round three was set for a great start with the swell continuing to increase and a feel good atmosphere at the contest site.
From heat one the standard of surfing was some of the best seen for a British event.

Highlights included stand out performances from Lee Bartlett Newquay in heat one

Lee Bartlett;

“ The best thing about this event is being able to surf Arugam Bay with just three other guys. I hope to keep going and surf as many heats as possible!”

Lee Bartlett

Micah Lester Australia, Sam Lamroy Newcastle and Mark Harris Newquay also progressed with some exceptional surfing. But the surprise of the round was Lewis Clinton defeating Alan Stokes. (who both progressed to the quarter finals)

Lewis commented on his heat;

“The waves were really fun, some super good ones. I was struggling to find a good wave but managed to get a rhythm going and picked off a good wave to get an 8.33”

The biggest upset of the contest came in heat seven with Mitch Corbett and Andrew griffin putting in solid performances to knock out hot favourite Reubyn Ash.

.Sri Lankan Airlines are contributing a free return ticket for the surfer with the highest wave score, currently held by Johnny Fryer.

The solid swell is forecast to continue through into the final day of the event tomorrow.

Johnny Fryer

After a four year absence the UK PRO SURF TOUR returns to Arugam Bay.
The tour was the first to return after the Tsunami, and now is returning after the civil conflict has ended.

For the first day of the event the surfers were treated to 3-4ft excellent surf.
The stand performances came from all the top surfers, with Johnny Fryer scoring the highest points in the second heat of the day.
The locals were not to be outdone with Asanka creating the upset of the round. Defeating an on form Toby Donachie and Danny Wells to progress to the third round of the event.

Asanka said;
“ It’s great to welcome back the UK Pro surf tour to Arugam Bay. I love to watch the UK surfers and hopefully try to learn from them. It’s also great for the local economy and promotes tourism”

Johnny Fryer who had the highest scoring wave of the day (9.33 out of a possible 10)
also commented;

“ I’ve always loved this wave and stoked to be back here this year. The heat was so much fun, felt really relaxed.  I feel confident I’ll do well.”

Tomorrow the swell forecast is to get even bigger which will provide an opportunity for another fantastic day of surfing.

Event organisers would like to thank SriLanka Airlines, Sri Lanka Tourism and Crystal Holidays for making the event happen.

UK Sri Lanka Surf