Summer Sign-Off

Summer Sign-Off

Competition news General Club News Surf Club Events

A Sunday afternoon surf is one of life’s enduring pleasures and our young chargers had the chance to experience it for themselves at our final Kids Club session of the 2023 season. The weather was kind and the waves were friendly – the water as warm as we are likely to find at Porthmeor. Our banner picture shows most of those who came to make this a fitting send-off and was taken as a prelude to the afternoon activities. Our youngest crew had a session with their coaches while the Sharks and Dolphins held a competition further down the beach.

Those coloured rash vests certainly brought out the competitive element in our advanced surfers. We witnessed a couple of interference calls which scotched hopes of winning a heat and the judges followed the full rules protocol to guarantee fairness and to educated these newbies in the game.

And then it was back under the awning for the distribution of prizes and compliments to our high achievers. There were commemorative medals for all participants in Kids Club 2023, and then came the group awards in three categories: Most improved surfer, Most committed surfer and Surfer of the summer. Our coaches found these selections as difficult as always, all youngsters showing distinct improvement over the course of the summer. We then came to the results of the main competition and the time-honoured tease of announcing the result in reverse order. Bobby Smith triumphed in the boys event, while in the girls section Leila retained the crown she won last year. Congratulation to both of them, and to all our competitors for their participation.

The conclusion of the awards was the signal for the committee members to demonstrate their skills at twizzling, balancing and splashing the sauce as we fired up the barbie to share a Sunday Sausage Sizzle among family and friends to toast another fine season of surfing for Saints Boardriders Kids Club ( Super sibilant sentence structure seen there! ). We acknowledge the great support of Tregenna Castle in providing both the food and the beer, while also thanking Porthmeor Beach for chips and hot drinks for all the kids. We feel a depth of love and gratitude to Harris and the surf instructors for their unstinting support, to the check-in crew and administration for another summer of supervision, and Porthmeor lifeguards for another safe season. Our judges this afternoon were Tassie Swallow, Jayce Robinson and Josh Martindale, with Johnny Fryer co-ordinating. Thanks to you all, and to our parents and helpers who made our Saturday mornings tick like clockwork despite the usual car park congestion. We finish with a picture of Jack in a pinny. We haven’t seen enough of him this summer but the day will shortly come when his girls will want to join surf club! NB: Ben on quality control – We never let our standards slip!

Saturday Farewell!

Saturday Farewell!

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Our last Saturday session of the season was an Autumnal sort of affair. Back at school and with days becoming shorter, we find ourselves measuring what we have achieved in our surfing summer this year. Increased confidence in the water and better board-handling techniques are evident in this session. There’s the final session at 3pm on Sunday 1st October to display all the skills we have learnt before we celebrate the season with prize-giving, our thank yous to the coaches, admin crew, lifeguards and Porthmeor Beach and maybe see-off the summer with a ‘Sausage Sizzle’ to cap the day and the summer!

Most Satisfactory!

Most Satisfactory!

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

September’s bounty continued to deliver as we experienced another perfect Saturday morning for Kids Club, albeit that the waves were a tad smaller than last week! A well-attended session enjoyed an hour of peelers that were easy to stroke in to with time to trim and fashion turns to impress the coaches. Most satisfactory! There is one more session due next Saturday before the Grande Finale, which has been moved from the announced date of 9am on Saturday 30th September to the following day, Sunday 1st of October at the later time of 3pm to incorporate a regular session for the youngest surfers, a contest for the more competent older surfers, then end-of-season prize-giving and a club BBQ to complete the day and the season. Something to look forward to – but don’t forget that we meet for a 9am session next Saturday to polish those moves in readiness for that final exam! See you there.

Taking Advantage

Taking Advantage

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Last Saturday’s session offered the best conditions we have had all summer and our young chargers pulled out their best surfing to take advantage of the bounty. Our assisted nippers had some creamy white insider waves to play on, while all the older surfers capable of paddling into waves for themselves were out back catching green waves and enjoying the thrills that the sport offers. The smiles and the non-stop action were a joy to behold. A morning well spent!

Best Foot Forward

Best Foot Forward

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

The car park was full by first light as Mother Meor turned on and local surfers got a welcome weekend chance to tackle some decent waves. And while our Dolphins and Sharks would have to contest the line up out back with those experienced wave riders, there were plenty of little inside runners for our more novice juniors to take on. It was an exhilarating hour for those out in the growing green waves, and I think some will have met new challenges out there on the day. There were good long rides available to our intermediates on the white water, and the novices also had time to find their feet as the helpers boosted them onto those inside runners before they were spent on the shore. A good progressive day for all concerned!

Moving On

Moving On

General Club News Groms

As we hit our mid-season stride we are seeing encouraging signs of improvement in our young surfers. Saturday saw plenty of water moving in the middle of the beach, but offered more favourable conditions towards Mans’ Head. I was surprised and greatly pleased to see the Swordfish group joining the most advanced surfers out back and catching some meaty green waves unaided. It was also of interest to watch how a couple of the surfers who excel on right-handers coped with what were predominantly left-handers out there! A surfer needs a good all-round game.

Win Some, Lose Some

Win Some, Lose Some

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Strong winds and a deluge during check-in hinted that things might not be so cosy this morning. However, once in the water our various groups found conditions to be very helpful and we saw some good surfing progress right across the beach. All in all it was a successful call to run this morning, though the proposed “Sausage Sizzle” at Porthminster in the evening was postponed in view of the afternoon weather forecast. We’ll save that for another day! Win some, lose some.

A Challenge

A Challenge

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Our third session of the season presented us with a very different scenario to the first two. With a forecast of strong onshore winds and a lively swell, we had issued early advice that conditions would be challenging. Nevertheless, a determined group of surfers lined up at 9 o’clock to battle it out. Jonny took the Dolphins and Sharks over to Porthgwidden to tackle the peeling left-handers that were on offer over there while the more junior groups smashed into the white water at Meor. Among the Dory and Nemo groups a bodyboard proved a more manageable craft than the swellboard, but the Tuna and Swordfish contingents tackled the surf with their shortboards or swellboards as usual. Our pictures below exclude the Porthgwidden surfers, but they do give a flavour of what we encountered at Mother Meor! We might wish for more settled conditions for the next session on 15th July. And note that we are holding a ‘sausage sizzle’ and putting competition at Porthminster Beach at 5pm later that day. Double bubble! See you at both I hope.

Second Sight

Second Sight

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

We got a second look at our new season’s chargers last Saturday. There was a friendly wave which could suit all abilities and an early summer warmth to the morning which offered the prospect of a long family day at the beach. The new recruits to the Dolphins were having to sharpen their game in the company of more experienced surfers, and similarly the new arrivals in the Nemos were facing a brand-new learning challenge in moving from prone to a standing position on a surf board. We have a whole summer ahead of us to work things out. Bring it on!

Next session is at 9am on July 1st.

And We’re Off!

And We’re Off!

General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Sunny skies and a friendly waist-high wave greeted us at Porthmeor for the first Kids Club session of 2023. Surf coaches and helpers were keen to get their chargers into the water and wash away any rust from the winter, and in quite a few cases to appreciate the improvement made over the winter by those brave juniors who surfed throughout the year. It is so heartening and encouraging for the coaches to pick up from last season with young surfers who have progressed their skills and can show new levels of competence coming into the new season. There are a few pictures below from the session and a promise of a fun summer of surfing to come for Saints Boardriders!