UK’s Juniors Clash Once More at the Schools Surfing Champs
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
With the UK still bathed in sunshine, and a solid 3 – 6ft swell breaking the drought, the eagerly awaited second stop on this year’s Nerf Clash of the Groms Series, The UK Schools Surfing Championships took place yesterday at Fistral Beach. The event provided a fantastic platform for the best Junior surfers in the UK to showcase their skills.
Alys Barton from Gower College stole the show winning three divisions, the Under 14, Under16 and Under 18 Girls. She accumulated 3000 points of the 3730 the college received to take the UK Schools title. Other surfers in the team included Patrick Langden-Dark who finished 3rd in the Under 18 Boys and Eli Perrin Davies who got 4th Under 12 Boys.
Stanley Norman also a stood out during the whole competition, putting in stellar performances in every round, winning the Under 18 boys and coming second in the Under 16 Boys. His surfing was truly world class and shows that the level of his surfing has risen dramatically this year, including a pretty impressive air game.
Noah Capps from Kingsbridge also had a great event, winning the Under 16 Boys and taking the runner up spot in the Under 18 Boys. Having two great results is a remarkable achievement against so much depth of talent in the Junior divisions.
Sam Hearns, now located in Portugal, won his second event in a row on the UKPSA Pro Surf Tour Under 14 Division, fighting off a strong challenge from 10 year old Lukas Skinner. Lukas, who is also showing immense promise (no surprise knowing who his dad is!), also finished runner up to Fynn Gillespie in the Under 12 Boys division.
Newquay’s Lauren Sandland won the Under 12 Girls title but also came second in Under 14 Girls and third in Under 16 Girls. This also is her second back to back title on the UK Pro Surf Tour establishing a good lead in the title race.
The UK Schools Surf Championships is now well established as the second stop on the Nerf Clash of The Groms Tour. Covering 5 exciting events on the UK Pro Surf circuit, this Junior Tour gives our new generation of surfing talent an important pathway to hone their competitive skills and promote fresh talent across the UK.