St. Ives Cup – Inaugural Edition!

Friday 19th October saw a new addition to the local surfing calendar, courtesy of St. Ives Surf School. An open competition for St. Ives surfers was held at Porthmeor Beach in front of a sizeable crowd of surfers and surf fans. It was heartening to see how many good surfers we have in the town – and there are quite a few more who were unable to make this comp at such short notice! Held under international judging rules, but with each surfer having been awarded a handicap according to their ability – the event was designed to give everyone an opportunity to advance through their heat, and thus encourage everyone to push his surfing to the limit.

: Settling down to enjoy the action

: A fine October afternoon at the beach

: And a fire to keep us warm!

: A familiar sight !

: Jacob pushing hard

: Melodie flowing

: Unexpected item in the surfing area

: Bryony en route to the semis

: Chaffers – half way there

: Pumps easing down the wave

: Christian finishing cleanly

: Jayce throwing buckets

: Deano laying into it

: Giacomo, top to bottom

: Nav adjusts his line

: Tony setting his line

: Simon eyeing a section

: Pete hunting the barrel

: Harry’s gouge

: Adam floating

It was a rapid-fire event as the 4pm start left little time to complete proceedings before dark. Six-man heats and not a moment lost between heats led us to a four man final as the light faded. The judges re-located to the waters edge to get a close-up on a thrillingly tight climax to the day.

Here are some of the faces on show- my apologies to those competitors my lens missed!

There was a nerve-wracking interlude as the judges checked and re-checked their scores from the final. The result was clearly a close-run affair!

: Pete and Mark – judges

: Charlie also in the chair

: Let’s get these scores right!

: What’s the score?

: Who’s won?

: Do we know yet?

: Right. Here we go!

And then we were ready. First trophy to be decided was Kook of the Day. Giacomo took the honours on this one for running over a grom during his heat. Here he is receiving his award from Teddy.

Next up was, perhaps a little more coveted – Move of the Day! Jayce took this for the most outrageous of the several airs that were landed during the contest. Here he is receiving his trophy from Caz!

And so to the winner and first holders of the St. Ives Cup. Harry De Roth claimed the prize, from Adam Bayfield in second, Jayce third and the evergreen veteran Tim Whitefield fourth.

Well done Harry!

Senara and Millie give the prize to Harry

Below are our finalists taking a bow. And before we go, we must thank Harris and St. Ives Surf School for another great occasion. This will, I’m sure, be the start of a new tradition in the town. The St. Ives Cup is here to stay. YAY!

Adam, Tim, Jayce and Harry. Our finalists.

Swellboard Shootout 2018 – Conclusion.

by Nog Competition news Fundraiser General Club News St. Ives Surf School events Surf Club Events

Once the judges had seen the teams in their finery, it was off round the town on the traditional parade. Through the Digey, along Fore Street, down Lifeboat Hill, along the harbour and back to Porthmeor for the surfing element to commence. With only ankle-biter waves, and few even of those, it didn’t present the spectacle that previous editions have offered, although the contestants gamely tried the reverse take-offs, switch foot manoeuvres and headstands which have become the currency of progressive teams in the Shootout story.

Here’s a gallery of the day as it developed:

Somewhere in the middle of proceedings we managed to take a break while England won a World Cup football game, before running the final in the smallest, glassiest wave of the day. And then it was all round to The Balcony to wrap up the day with the prizegiving and to get our rocks off to the sweet soul sounds of our favourites, The Sandy Acres Seven. Here’s the gallery that brings the day to a conclusion.

: The winners’ trophy

: Fancy Dress prize winners

: Flavio and Luciana awarded an honour for services to the surf club – A swellboard courtesy of Swell! l

: Sleazy Jet win the Swellboard Shootout

: Shootout finalists

: Shootout finalists

: Sandy Acres Seven rocking the joint

: Two more Matty Snellings!

Our thanks are due to Harris and the crew of St. Ives Surf School for another fabulous edition of the Swellboard Shootout. Thanks also to Porthmeor Beach for hosting the event and feeding the participants. Thanks to our volunteer lifeguards, our judges and Pete for bringing an element of order to the day. A big thank you to Maurice Symons of The Sloop Inn for the £200 prize for the Fancy Dress winners, and to Swell for the gift of a swellboard which was awarded to Luciana and Flavio for their selfless contribution to the running of saints boardriders. Thanks to Red Bull for their continuing support of our event, and thanks to the Sandy Acres Seven for bringing the whole day to a rocking finale! We love it!

Swellboard Shootout 2018 – part 1

by Nog Competition news Fundraiser General Club News St. Ives Surf School events Surf Club Events

An all-star super group of Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Iggy Pop and The Artist Formerly Known As Giacomo performed at Porthmeor Beach in the seventh edition of our annual Swellboard Shootout – but were they the stand-out act? There was glorious Sunday sunshine, but only the suggestion of a wave, as we gathered before the judges to parade the teams and process through St. Ives for the wider appreciation of the town before getting down to the semi-serious business of fancy-dress surfing. Have a look at our teams in the gallery below and choose your favourite fancy dress. You’ll learn of our judges’ decision later.

: Shawn the Sheep

: Pretty Polly’s

: SAS crew, as enigmatic as ever

: Barbie and Ken X 2

: Freerange

: 50 Shades of Grey

: Rock Idles

: Down Mexico Way

: Frogs

: I need some help with this caption

: British Airwaves

: Shrek

: Holy Surfers

: Yogi Maids

: Aliens

: Fringe Binge – The Matty Snellings

: Bandits?

: Sleazy Jet

: Boyband

: M’Luds and Mission Controller, Pete

Stay tuned for the next instalment of the 2018 Swellboard Shootout extravaganza!

Swellboard Shootout 2017

by Nog General Club News St. Ives Surf School events Surf Club Events

Last Sunday saw the seventh annual Swellboard Shootout surf competition organised by St. Ives Surf School on Porthmeor Beach. The event raises funds for Surfers Against Sewage, and this year saints boardriders were honoured to be co-beneficiaries with them of the funds raised over the weekend. Indeed, Sunday was only the culmination of a three day extravaganza which commenced at Porthmeor Beach West on Friday night with an evening of fish tacos, beer and music from Frankie Davies and Ben Warner. Saturday evening saw the open-air film show and curry night at Cohort Hostel, before the teams gathered on Porthmeor Beach on Sunday morning dressed to impress and ready to lay down some swelly-riding magic in the quest to lift the coveted trophy.

A single blog cannot do justice to such an epic day, so this is just the first instalment of a multi-part, cut out and keep pictorial memento of the day’s action. Our banner picture features our august panel of judges in their lofty, secluded majesty.And now we meet the teams:

: Bees!

: Shark attack

: Aliens

: Mime artists

: Ninjas

: The Men From The Council

: Frauleins

: The Simpsons

: Avatar

: Tourists

: Pesky seagulls!

: My Little Pony

: Cutlery

: ?

: Deep Search Ocean Voyagers

: Village People

: Gym Bunnies

: ?

: Cliff Rescue

: Fox and Hunters

: Seacocks

: Circus Folk

: Brazil V Argentina

: El Presidente and the First Lady take in the proceedings

Coming next : The parade.

British Interclubs 2016

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

There were some notable absentees from our final Saturday session of the season. Saints boardriders decided to dip it’s toes in the waters of competitive surfing and entered a team into the 2016 edition of the Interclubs competition, held at Fistral Beach Newquay over the weekend.

Our Junior team was Joshua Martindale, Taylor Bairds, Dev Parsons and Harry de Roth.

Our Open team was Steve Hewlett, Simon Trebilcock, Harry de Roth, Joshua Martindale and Taylor Bairds.

We did not have a ladies team, something to aim for next year!

The junior team was a maximum of 4 surfers, with the mens open being a minimum of 4 and maximum of 6. Each surfer would surf 1 heat per day in each division entered.

The heats were in a 4 man format with first place scoring 10 points, second place scoring 8 points, 3rd place scoring 6 points and 4th place scoring 4 points. The total of all scores was then added up with the highest scoring team winning.

Day 1 saw a good size swell running with fairly strong NW Wind making tricky conditions. The Juniors took to the water first with Josh up in the first heat against some seasoned competitors to take 4th place, followed by Taylor for another 4th, then it was Harry to get our first 1st place of the day, Dev then surfed well to get a 3rd.

Taylor opened up for us in the mens to get a well earned 2nd, Steve Hewlett a 3rd, Josh a 4th, Simon a 3rd and Harry another 1st!

Day 2 was a lot smaller in the waist to chest high region with light onshores. Juniors were first in the water with what was probably the weakest conditions of the day on a dropping tide. Results were Taylor & Dev 4th, Josh a 3rd and Harry a 1st!

The mens open was on after lunch at low tide and a slightly increased swell. Harry and Simon were both up first and both got 1st’s, Steve got a 2nd, Josh 4th and Taylor 3rd.

Overall we came mid placed amongst the other clubs. Newquay A were the strongest and won the Open and the overall competition, made up of points in all divisions.

All the members of our team put in great performances and had a great weekend. It gave some of us our first ever taste of national competition surfing. We are looking forward to building on this and getting more members involved next year!

: Taylor Bairds

: Chairman Steve Hewlett

: Josh Martindale

: Harry De Roth

: Dev Parsons

St. Ives School takes National title

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms

These three Saints Boardriders members were missing from last Saturday’s Kids Club as they competed at the UK Schools Pro-Am Surf competition at Fistral Beach, Newquay. On a day of fierce competition among surfers from throughout the UK, they all made their respective finals, and in doing so made St. Ives School the highest scoring school in the country. Pictured are Harry De Roth, who won the Boys Under-18’s, Taylor Bairds, Runner-Up in the Boys Under-12’s, and Charley Fox who won the Girls Under-14’s. Thats a great result for St. Ives School, and maybe a small pat on the back for Saints Boardriders and it’s coaches! Well done everyone.

By the way, Harry’s latest video, as seen at our beach cinema screening last month, is now available for viewing here. Enjoy!

How Was Your Weekend?

by Nog Competition news General Club News St. Ives Surf School events Surf Club Events

OK. So the morning high tide caused the cancellation of Saturday Kids Club,much to the disappointment of kids, parents and instructors alike! So how did you get your weekend surf thrill?

Well – as it happened – there was lots of surf action to be caught at Porthmeor Beach over the weekend, courtesy of St. Ives Surf School. On Friday night Porthmeor West Beach Bakery hosted the Red Bull Surf Cinema, showing a series of Jamie O’Brien films interspersed with locally made surf films, including the premiere of Harry De Roth’s latest. It’s the best evening of the year for gathering local surfers together, catching up with friends, and for club members young and old to hang out!

DJ Justo kept us royally entertained with some soulful sounds until the evening sun dropped behind Man’s Head and the screenings began. And he was on duty again on Sunday morning aboard the Red Bull truck as the 5th edition of the famous Fancy Dress Swellboard Shootout commenced at Porthmeor.

Twenty eight teams reported for battle sporting some amazingly inventive fancy dress ideas, and after displaying for the judges, the whole competition paraded through St. Ives to remind the town that International Surfing Day was being celebrated at Porthmeor.

I’ll leave the details of the format and regulations as they have been well explained in blogs from recent years – and proceed to the results as announced at the after-party at the Balcony once the beach festivities had ended:

Best fancy dress earned Kiss a £200 prize donated by Maurice Symons of The Sloop Inn

Kiss headline at Fancy Dress comp.

Jamaican Bob – winners in the water.

The Jamaican Bobsleigh Team won the Shootout in the water – boosted enormously by a stonking ride by Adam Bayfield which received two 9’s and a 10 from the judges and earned him a goody bag of Rhythm clothing, and helped earn his team a first prize of a trip to surf the Severn Bore courtesy of Red Bull.

And to demonstrate that the day wasn’t all about surfing prowess – Eggselence were awarded the wooden spoon for the lowest score of the day – along with some cool clothing!

Takedowns and drop-ins are encouraged!

Grateful thanks Mi Luds!

We are delighted to once again help Surfers Against Sewage in their great work in campaigning for clean oceans, and heartfelt thanks go out to the sponsors who supported the weekend’s events : Red Bull, Rhythm Clothing, Korev Lager, Robies Robes, and Porthmeor Beach. Thanks also to Barnie and Joel, RNLI lifeguards who volunteered to provide water cover for the event, and to our distinguished judges – you know who you are!

Watch Luke Pilbeam’s video edit here!

Nick Pumphrey’s photo gallery of the Swellboard Shootout is here

And Harry De Roth’s latest video is here

But enough about our weekend – How was yours?

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Tagged: Surf comp