Finale

A day which began in the Autumnal chill of a dawn morning blossomed into a beautiful Porthmeor Saturday afternoon beach day to crown our season with a final session of tripping little waves by Mans Head for our juniors and some challenging surf by The Island for our Seniors competition. That early check-in for the comp and a ten o’clock start for the Nemos, Dorys and Swordfish brought us all to a climactic conclusion with a gathering by the surf school for the end of season celebration and awards followed by a sausage sizzle on the beach to cap a fine club day.

Super grom session below:

The competition attracted a healthy number of surfers including some plucky youngsters who fancied a chance to challenge the older cadets. It produced some memorable heats and a keenly contested final graced with the best rides of the day including a trophy winning ten point ride by our eventual champion.

And so to the summation of the summer’s efforts. We gathered our groups in turn for a photo and a commemorative medal before the coaches were given the unenviable task of choosing a surfer from their group in each of these categories: Most Improved, Most Committed and Surfer of the Summer.

If you hadn’t guessed, our banner picture today shows Bobby with Head Judge Jonny celebrating the ten point score which contributed to his championship-winning 18 point total in the final. It was a ride that deserved to belong in a final! Elyse was our Girls Champion and also ran a close second to Bobby in the final with a couple of scores that might well have won on another day.

It was fitting after such a celebratory awards session that the weather invited us to stay and enjoy our BBQ Sausage Sizzle on the beach picnic fashion and build those surf club memories to carry us through to next summer!

It only remains for me to thank our generous benefactors for another season of support of our young surfers. Principal among them is St. Ives Surf School and our magnificent coaches. Your enthusiasm fires those youngsters to meet challenges head-on and thrive in the water. Our many Saturday helpers, both in the water and around the check-in and administration are a boon, and we are always indebted to Porthmeor lifeguards and the management of Porthmeor Beach for their support. And finally, ‘Thank You’ to all our parents for your contribution and engagement with the Saturday morning surf club. See you all in 2025 to go again!

A Similar Story

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

Our previous session was ideal for our Nemos and Dorys, and they lucked-in again this week with another morning of perfect little runners to score some ace waves. There were a few green ones further out for the more intrepid surfers as well as those gentle inside waves that we are becoming accustomed to catching. As before, this presented fewer challenges for our senior groms at 10 o’clock, but there was a measure of blithe spirit and an end-of-term playfulness that translated into those goofy headstands, buddhas, reverse take-offs, nose-riding and other oddities to compensate for the lack of thrills that chest-high waves might have offered. So, once again ‘Satisfactory all round!’ September 24th will wrap up another season with our usual finale of a comp for the advanced surfers and a session plus group awards and BBQ conclusion. See you there!

September Smiles

by Nog General Club News

Conditions for our 9 o’clock group were the best we have seen all season and the delight on the faces of most of our surfers confirmed that assessment of the waves. It was a real pleasure to witness the enjoyment they were getting from showing their skill and competence on these small perfectly-formed runners and there were many long unbroken rides to the shore to be cheered and hallooed in this session. Sadly for the 10 o’clock surfers, the conditions didn’t hold over low tide and their enjoyment came principally from practising pop-ups and tricks to show the judges when the end-of-season session comes shortly. With only one more Saturday on 14th September before the grand finale on the 28th, we are beginning to ease into that late-season vibe now.

Autumn Hints

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

The banner picture shows the nine o’clock group ready to smash out another session on a day that hinted at Autumn. There were waves to suit all abilities, and Harris’ brief to the Sharks at 10 o’clock was to slow down, eradicate the jerky manoeuvres and allow the wave to develop the turn. We had two very useful sessions over the course of the morning with Porthmeor again serving up the goods!

Sweet Session

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

There was plenty to like about this week’s surf session. Porthmeor served up some sweet waves – little runners on the inside while the outside held challenging green waves that were hard to read and broke quickly. There were plenty of waves for our young surfers and lots of enthusiasm on show. As we pass the mid-season mark it is great to see the confidence with which the advanced groups are tackling their tasks. At the same time the nippers and their parents on the inside are developing teamwork skills that launch the children onto the best waves and give them a chance to demonstrate their new-found abilities. The next session on 17th August can’t come soon enough!