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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
We held the postponed end-of-season finale last Saturday in pumping waves under a clear blue sky. We could not ask for better conditions, and a large turn-out was guaranteed to witness the competition to be club champion 2022, the post-season presentations and enjoy the promised ” sausage sizzle” afterwards.
There were regular group sessions for the juniors to enjoy, offering a last chance to impress the coaches and maybe claim ‘surfer of the summer’ in the group.
Over in the competition area some keenly fought heats saw a final four boys emerge to contest their final, after five girls had contested their own final.
Boys finalistsGirls finalistsThe judges hawk-like intensity!
And then it was up to the clubhouse to learn who the winners would be, and to honour all our young chargers for their efforts this summer. A packed room cheered the awards as our groups acknowledged winners in three categories: surfer of the summer, most committed surfer and most improved surfer. There were medals for all juniors to commemorate the season, and then the contest surfers received their medals in reverse order, leaving Leila and Teddy as our champions for 2022.
The Trophy TableChampions
And then it was back out onto the putting green for a “sausage sizzle” in the late-summer sunshine. What a day!
Well that was a most satisfactory way to complete our season. Nature’s elements combined to offer us a perfect day to say farewell to summer 2022.
Many thanks to Tesco St. Ives for their generous support to the BBQ. Thanks to St. Ives Brewery ( again!) for their support on every event day. Thanks also to the contest judges and thank you to the club committee for a fine day, and a fine season. Our gratitude to Porthmeor Beach management and to Porthmeor Beach RNLI lifeguards for their support and encouragement over the season. St. Ives Surf School is the rock on which our Kids Club is built and we owe Harris and his crew a debt we can never hope to repay for their unstinting efforts. And, finally, a word of praise for those Dolphin surfers who gave their Saturday mornings to helping the younger groups into waves: Kaz, Ollie, Marley, Kaitlyn and Bridget are names that readily spring to mind!
To all children and parents who participated over the summer – We have relished your company. ” Thank you ” and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!
