Fun high-tide peaks

Date: 06 November 2011
Location: Les Laveurs
Conditions: Small fun waves with a brisk and chilly north-easterly blowing.
Riders: Stefano Ricci and Dan Garton
Details: Normally not even worth checking on such a small tide; however, this day a good shallow bank turned a dribbly 2ft swell into fun clean barrels.
Photos: Colin Crowther
     

The Bodyboard HQ British Nationals are scheduled for 8-9 October at Porthtowan; and with results at the Constantine competition ensuring that any one of the top 4 riders can still snag the title, it means its everything to play for.

With a mind-bending array of scenarios still possible due to the best-3-scores format; it’s possible that any one of Jack Johns, Damian Prisk, Alex Winkworth or Rob Barber can secure the Tour title of British Champion if they were to win the Nationals. Even more riders can sneak into second place if results go their way.

BBC Chairman Rich Hall said “It’s been a tough season, but it’s great to see that every event on the Tour has proved significant in deciding the final placings. To come into the final event with the title very much still in the mix is absolutely ideal”.

The Drop Knee and Women’s tour titles are still very much in the balance, with Olly Medland and Alex Winkworth neck and neck on 930 points in the DK, and the Women’s division wide open. The Nationals will also crown the champions in the U14, U16, U18, Seniors and Masters divisions. Each of these divisions has provided some superbly competitive surfing in recent years.

As usual there are cash prizes in every division, with more than £2,500 up for grabs. Alongside headline sponsor Portreath’s Bodyboard HQ, are returning divisional sponsors Alder, Collection House, CW Harwood and Auto-Sleepers. New sponsors include the Beach Cafe Porthtowan, Toys Bodyboards and the BBC itself. The Blue Bar continues to provide both logistics support and the Saturday evening party, with local artist Charlie Wingfield headlining.

The full prize/sponsor roster is:

Bodyboard HQ Open – 1st £500, 2nd £350, 3rd £250, 4th £150
Alder Wetsuits Drop Knee – 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25, 4th £25
CW Harwood Womens – 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25, 4th £25
Collection House Youth (U14) – 1st £60, 2nd £40, 3rd £25, 4th £25
Beach Cafe Porthtowan Cadet (U16) – 1st £60, 2nd £40, 3rd £25, 4th £25
Auto-Sleepers Junior (U18) – 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25, 4th £25
Toys Bodyboards Senior – 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25, 4th £25
BBC Masters – 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25, 4th £25

As with last year, the Open British Tour champion will also win an additional prize of £500 in sponsorship from the BBC towards attending an IBA event.

Postal entry forms for the Nationals are available at www.bodyboardhq.co.uk with online entry and payment forms at www.britishbodyboardclub.co.uk. Weekend accommodation in Porthtowan is available at the Beach Hotel, and great food is available from sponsors the Blue Bar and the Beach Cafe.

Stefano Ricci

Date: 26 September 2011
Location: La Pulente
Conditions:Very warm late September evening, with glassy 2-3ft surf
Riders: Stefano Ricci and Colin Crowther
Photos: Carol Hopkins

The boys

Date: 21 August 2011
Location: Petit Port
Conditions: 3-4ft with a light sea breeze
Riders: Steve Pinzari, Steve McPhee, Andy de la Mare, Seb Bonier and Colin Crowther
Photos: Carol Hopkins

British Senior Champion bodyboarder Rob Barber and Europe’s most successful surfer Russell Winter will be coaching in Jersey on the weekend of September 10/11 on tour with top bodyboarding magazine ThreeSixty.

Taking in many of Britain’s surf regions – including Ireland, Wales, Devon, Cornwall and Jersey – the 2011 tour aims to help budding bodyboarders and surfers improve their technique with expert water, beach and classroom coaching, and slow-motion video analysis from Rob, Russell and their team of top-level coaches.

The weekend comprises of four focused coaching sessions for both bodyboarders and surfers, and includes video analysis, manoeuvre, equipment and fitness advice, plus prize giveaways from event sponsors including a brand new bodyboard.

Rob Barber – who owns Britain’s premier bodyboarding school – is also editor of ThreeSixty bodyboarding magazine, the most respected bodyboarding magazine in Europe. He said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to take ThreeSixty on the road and visit those areas of the UK which deserve a light shone on them for having sick waves and a dedicated bodyboarding crew.

“The British Isles gets some world-class surf, and the whole idea of the ThreeSixty tour is to get out to the far corners of our islands, meet people, drum up stoke for the sport and help people progress in their riding.”

“Jersey is the hidden gem in the British Isles surf scene, capable of producing some excellent waves and top quality riders. I’ve been looking forward to getting over for a while now and meeting everyone who can make it, it should be a great weekend.”

The coaching weekend costs £119 with the option of receiving a DVD of riding footage for a small additional cost. The event is being held in conjunction with the Quiksilver Jersey Surf School and sponsored by ThreeSixty magazine, Rob Barber’s Bodyboarding School, the Bodyboard-Depot, Toys, Alder, Pride, Turbo and Mike Stewart Science bodyboards, and promises to be a weekend of top surf action! Spaces are limited to 20 and get snapped up quickly, so contact Rob Barber’s Bodyboard School on 01637 879571 to get your place on the weekend booked today.
Visit http://www.threesixtymag.co.uk/2011/05/threesixty-coaching-tour/

Dan Garton at Greve de Lecq

Date: 17 July 2011
Location: Milano Bars and Greve de Lecq
Conditions: Autumnal conditions in the middle of summer
Riders: Dan Garton, Dave Speller, Steve Pinzari, Andy de la Mare, Seb Bonnier and Gary Le Neveu
Photos: Colin Crowther
Details: With the summer contest postponed due to the awful morning conditions, the boys headed out for a couple of funlate morning sessions; one in driving rain and howling onshores, the other in semi-clean shorey waves as the sun finally broke through the gloom.

Click here for full event report

Drop-knee champion 2001 Andy de la Mare

Andy de la Mare beat off a strong challenge from Clint Loake to win the Jersey Bodyboarders Drop-Knee Open in excellent 3ft surf on the hottest day of the year at Petit Port reef, Corbière.

Stand-outs in the first round included de la Mare taking off deeper then anyone else on “the slab”, Loake who threw some powerful tail-whipped 360s, and Seb Bonnier who scored highly on one left-hander, however, he failed to find a good scoring second wave just missing out on a place in the final.

The final was surfed out between de la Mare, Loake, Steve Pinzari and Steve McPhee. Right from the beginning, de la Mare was on a mission finding a series of hollow lefts over the slab, whilst the other competitors opted to surf the main peak. Loake picked off a few good long rights, finishing one off with a close-out tube ride right right over the inside rocks. McPhee also stayed within contention, riding the bigger set waves and carving his way through to the inside. As the heat progressed de la Mare paddled over to the main peak and caught one of the bigger lefts, performing a big carving cut-back. This wave was backed up with a back-hand slash on a good sized right that sealed the victory, ahead of Loake in 2nd, McPhee 3rd and Pinzari 4th.

The Drop-Knee event was followed up by a Tag-Team event which began with an extremely testing 10 minute shoot out to decide the finalists, in which each member of the three man teams had to ride two waves before sprint paddling and swapping their contest jersey with their next team member. Each team captain also had an opportunity to claim one double whammy ride which was signalled to the judges at the end of what they judged could be a good scorer. The judges scored were doubled for these rides.

The final took place on the slab, and was extended to 30 minutes to enable the competitor’s time to seek out the better waves. Battling it out were team “Pink Snorkel” featuring de la Mare, Steve McPhee and Stefano Ricci, and team “Le Boogie” featuring Colin Crowther, Steve Pinzari and Seb Bonnier.

Up first Le Boogie’s captain Crowther started with a rollo and reverse spin which was claimed as double whammy wave. Pinzari then piled on the pressure with a spin in the tube over the slab. Ricci then put Pink Snorkel back into contention with a good left tube ride which he claimed as his double whammy. As the heat drew to a close Le Boogie’s Bonnier finished the heat by taking-off ridiculously late and somehow making it through the tube to give Le Boogie the win.

Results

Drop-Knee
1. Andy de la Mare
2. Clint Loake
3. Steve McPhee
4. Steve Pinzari

Tag-Team
1. Le Boogie
2. Pink Snorkel
3. SCS

Event Gallery

Stefano and Colin

Date: 04 June 2011
Location: La Saline
Conditions: 2ft offshores
Riders: Colin Crowther, Stefano Ricci and Darreth Morison
Photos: Carol Hopkins
Details: After a long run of swell, Colin, Stefano and Darreth made the most of the very last drop of swell before it finally fizzled out.

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