Keshia had the opportunity to go to Fristal and enter the British National Championships, organized by Surfinggb and UK Pro Surf Tour.
Forecast looked good although cold, so it was a task for Keshia that she was not used to. Full thick suit, booties, hood, gloves, local kids were all prepared for that kind of weather, we were not.......
As flights from Portugal are now only to London ( even airlines know its too cold to go surfing in Newquay in the winter :) we had to fly into London and drive down to Newquay.
Its a good 5 to 6 hours drive so Keshia only managed a quick surf on Friday afternoon, as it gets dark at 15:30...... seriously ?? another adjustment there !
Saturday morning and, of course, Keshia was in the first heat, 08:30 and it was off ! It was an eye opener to see all this kids stoked for the good waves and so happy to go surfing, in the mean time, Keshia was inside the car, trying to get changed, with a hot water bottle :)
She braved through the waves and weather and survived to tell the story another day :)
Sunday was the same with Keshia in the first heat.
The swell had picked up and Keshia was starting to adapt to conditions by putting in some great scores and winning all the heats.
Finals of Under 16's and Open were almost at the end of the day and conditions held until the end.
Keshia had excellent waves scoring 7's and 8's and leaving the girls, in the Open final, needing almost combination scores.
It was an amazing achievement for Keshia and shows you can go to a spot where you have never surfed before and still come out with a win. Cold weather is no excuse.....hahahah
This means that Keshia has ended the competition year with another National title, this time in the UK and becoming Under 16's and Open British National Champion.
Thanks everyone that made this possible, all staff, organizers, sponsors and of course parents, Surfing GB and UK Pro Surf Tour. We will see you again next year.
All photo credt to Surfing GB and Rob Tibbles :)
