Keshia is British National Champion

Another weekend, another title...well, in this case two titles as keshia won Under 16's and Open division.


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 :)

Luis wins Marley Mood Pro Junior

Sometimes when you dont prepare for things, its when they go best.

Luis got the confirmation for a Pro Junior event inEngland, around 5 days before. So flights booked, accommodation, airport pick up, new boards ordered and he was on his way.

Arriving in Bristol, after leaving Lisbon with around 35 degrees and being greeted with 17 degrees and rain was....well I would say expected for England.

The contests was held at Fistral beach and started on Friday afternoon. Waves we re not too great and it was windy which made thing hard for everyone to be in position.

It went well anyway and Luis finished the day with a pass to the semi finals.

Saturday was a different story as waves were much better and clean and a pretty nice size.

The semi final could have easily been a final but Luis made it through that one and claimed his spot in the final.

He was not happy with how he had been surfing the whole weekend, despite always winning his heats and getting good scores so, I think the anger paid off and he went out fighting with full gloves and punch bag in his final heat. Scores just over 16.00 points combined and leaving the rest in combination.

Sometimes, its good to be angry :)

Anyway the final result was great and Luis took the title !
Another great event, thanks to everyone that made it possible. A short trip for Luis but worth every minute he was there.

Luis is Pro Junior Champion

Last weekend was the final of a series of 8 events for the UK Pro Surf Tour.
Not only did Luis win the final event in Newquay but he also claimed the UK PRO JUNIOR CHAMPION title and was named  Most Promising Junior for 2011.

At the Gala dinner, Luis was called when they announced the Most Promising Junior title....he was speechless, totally took him by surprise. He is not one for big speeches so, having to do 2...was a major thing :)

A great way to finish the year for Luis and big congratulations to him.

Thank you to all the sponsors and organizes of the Tour for making it happen :)

The 8th annual UK Surf Awards in association with UK Pro Surf Tour took place last Sunday (13th November), at Esplanade Hotel, in Newquay. These awards celebrated British surfing in 2011, the winners following categories were:

1. Rookie of the Year 2011 – Winner Taz Knight (Croyde)
2. Wavelength Most Promising Junior 2011 – Winner Luis Eyre (Manchester)
3. Carve Aerialist 2010 Winner – Winner Reubyn Ash (Bude)
4. Surf Girl Most Up and Coming Female Surfer 2010 – Winner Lucy Campbell (Woolacombe)
5. Most Improved Surfer 2011 – Winner Stuart Campbell (Woolacombe)
6. Manoeuvre of the Year 2011 – Winner Micah Lester (Aus / Newquay)
7. English Surfing Federation Best Grommet Award: Winner Angus Scotney (Newquay)
8. Best UK Prospect Award 2011 – Winner Liam Murray Strout (Port Issac)
9. Skinners Surfers Choice Award 2011 – Winner Russell Winter (Newquay)
10.UKPSA Services to the Sport of Surfing 2011 – Winner Matt Knight (Croyde)
11.Ignite UKPSA Best Surf Judge 2011 – Winner Mike Durkin (Newquay)
12.Christian Surfers Sportsman Award 2011 – Winner Micah Lester (Aus)
13.Most Inspirational Surfer 2011 – Winner Russell Winter (Newquay)
14.British Championships Ambassador Award: Winner Ben Skinner (St Agnes)
15.Tiger 24 Brand Award – Winner (Commercial Brand supported surfing in the UK) Winner Relentless

UKPSA Trophies:

UK PST Under 12 Open Champion 2011 – Winner: Liam Murray Strout (Port Issac)

UK PST Marley Mellow Mood Trophy for Under 16 Girls Champion 2011 – Winner: Lucy Campbell (Woolacombe)

UK PST Marley Mellow Mood Trophy for Under 16 Boys Champion 2011 – Winner: Will Davey (Lanza)

UKPST Groundswell Trophy for Pro Junior Champion 2011 – Winner: Luis Eyre (Manchester)

UKPST Nalu Beads Trophy for Women’s Champion 2011– Winner: Hannah Harding (South Devon)

Relentless Super Series Champion 2011: Winner: Russell Winter (Newquay)

UK PST Open Champion 2011- Winner: Russell Winter (Newquay)

The event was a great success and rewarded surfers from across the UK for their achievements in 2011. It included images and videos highlighting the highs and lows of the year and culminated in the Marley Mellow Mood After Party.

2000 miles, 3 comps, 2 podiums and 1 cancelled event

For the past 10 days. Luis has been traveling around the UK to take part in the UK Pro Surf Tour.

The first event was due to take place in Scarborough but due to no swell, the event was cancelled and points had to be split.

From there, it was a long drive up to Scotland for the Thurso Open event, but after looking at the forecast, it all seems worth as the waves were going to be close to perfection.

Luis made the semis, knocking out the leader of the ranking at that point, Russell Winter. He also got to try some of Scotland finest foods, without knowing...or actually liking but guess that..when in Rome.....haha
Anyway, don't think that Haggis will be on his top food list when traveling again.

Leaving the cold in Scotland, it was time for more cold and this time in Porthcawl, Wales. The waves were not great but for sure contestable.

The event went really well for Luis finishing 2nd in the Open and 3rd in the Pro Junior.

Next and , at the moment, final stop, will be Newcastle, on the 22nd and 23rd of October. Exciting times and more news to come soon.

UPDATE

Sorry for not updating the blog for a while but so many things have been happening and everyone is so busy in the summer that, days are just not long enough.

So here is a quick update on all 3 airs, contests, results etc.

Luis and Keshia have now both finished the ASP European Pro Junior and QS season. Good results along the way for them and a pretty decent final qualification overall.
Luis finished 49th in the QS events and 28th in the PJ's
Keshia qualified in the top 14th for the QS and 21st for the Juniors.
Meaning that both will be top seeds for next year :)

Closer to home, things have been going great as well.

Keshia has had one more National event, in Sines , Portugal, which she won, that means that she now has 3 wins with the big final taking place on November 5th and 6th, watch this place as, we hopefully have a big announcement to make after that day :)
She also entered the grom search events and, by winning two, she has qualified for the European final that will take place in Peniche on October 13th. Winner of the event, gets to go to Australia for the World Finals..... we have everything crossed for Keshia for that day :)

Klaus is top 10 in the Under 14th which is a great way to get in the seeding for next year.

Luis now just has the UK Pro Tour left to do and with 4 possible events left on the calendar, both Open and Pro Junior, there are still points up for grabs but, as he won the Night surf and it was the highest event of the season, he is a good position for the final end of the year in the Pro Juniors.

Coverage wise, Luis just got a double page in the latest ONFIRE magazine so, stoked for that!

So here you have it, a brief summary of whats been happening and a few photos to go with it.

Promisse to update the blog more often from now one, specially as we can have some very exciting news and results soon.

Keep supporting them as always, we all appreciate it !

Have a great week and thanks for being here.

Luis wins Nike 6.0 Night Surf

Night Surf ? What is that ? Only the best event on the UK PRo Tour.
Held at Fistral beach over a couple of days, the organizers out on an amazing show. Flood lit beach, BBQ, concert and of course, all the best surfers competing for the biggest prize money on Tour this year, at night :)

Luis had also been invited to enter into the prestigious and now world famous NIKE 6.0 CASH FOR TRICKS event. An aerial specialist event where, through a series of heats, tricks and trials, the surfers compete for, well.... cash for tricks :)

The weekend started with wind and rain, not making it perfect for airs but, the work had to be done. There were many heats for Luis to get through, for him to make it to the finals as he was competing not only in the Cash for Tricks and the Pro Junior event but also the Open.

Sailing through his heats and surfing at night, finishing at 01:00 and dealing with the " beautiful " English summer, made it all more interesting ( you have to have a positive outlook in events like this )

The only 4* event on tour, meant that the winner of the Pro Junior would get an easier passage to gain nr one in the rankings as they would bag 3000 points, instead of the usual 1000.

So Luis was not going to let that opportunity pass by and did just that. 1st place in the Nike 6.0 night surf, 3000 point and a massive cheque :)

The open also gave him something to smile about as he finished 5th overall.

Cash for tricks gave him, well just that, cash for his tricks :)

Amazing result for Luis and well on his way to claiming that much wished title for 2010.
Lets see what the next contests bring.
Looks like the next one will be in Scarborough in October. Will keep you informed as usual.

Thanks to everyone that took part in this event, organizers and sponsors.

Saltrock UK Pro Junior

Last weekend was the UK Saltrock Pro Junior.
Always a fun event but, not always fun waves.

The first day was not too bad with some small but consistent waves. Luis had entered the Pro Junior event and he had a couple of pretty good heats scoring some of the highest wave combinations of the event.

But the last day failed to deliver and the surfers even had a meeting to try and call off the contest and split the points. Well, somehow that did not happen and they had to surf the heats....well, wait and try !

Luis did not manage to get anything that you could call a wave and it was the two local guys that, used to those conditions, took 1st and 2nd. Luis took home 3rd spot.

It was all not too bad as, because of the final qualification, he has now guaranteed his spot in the Nike 6.0 night surf event which will take place on the 08th and 09th of July. Also the Cash for tricks will be on at the same time for which Luis has already got his invite :)

Lets hope for better waves for then.

A bit thank you to Phil Williams and everyone involved in the Christian Surfers organization :)