Adios August

Adios August

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

Our last Junior Surf Club in August followed the same pattern as recent outings. Fine weather, tempting little waves and lots of smiling faces as we watched the tide drop off the bank as we prepared for another session. It also presented the best surfing conditions to the early session again, as those getting in at 10 o’clock found fewer opportunities to ride long waves compared to the nippers in the first hour. Nevertheless there was plenty of action and satisfaction to be had across the board. Porthmeor on a balmy summer day is a joy to experience!

Endless Summer

Endless Summer

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

We welcomed another fine day in this endless summer on Saturday morning and gathered on Porthmeor Beach for another Junior Surf Club. The surf conditions were as favourable as the weather and brought a big turn out of surfers for the day. Even our very youngest now know what is expected of them and it’s a treat to witness the confidence with which they tackle their rides now. Our fortunate run of friendly Saturday morning surf has really helped them to progress this season.

Porthmeor Delivering

Porthmeor Delivering

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

The 9 o’clock session served up some great waves for our three junior groups this week. There were smiles all round as our surfers were pushed into some chunky runners delivering long rides or wipeouts in equal measure. Both results delivered increased confidence in our yearlings and a determination to get back out for another wave as quickly as possible. The Swordfish group were showing an improved ability to catch green waves unaided and to trim and turn with more control. The second hour saw the Dolphin and Shark groups out back gaining valuable experience in choosing better waves – often by going over the falls on a poorly chosen one! All in all it was a very successful morning enjoying prime surf school conditions and some expert tuition from our coaches. Many thanks to them and to the parents and helpers in the water today.

Pushing On

Pushing On

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

Another fine morning and another session that would favour our younger groups as the ocean served up thigh-high runners for Junior Surf Club. Even as our regular crew are perfecting their pop-ups and polishing their stances, we are still welcoming new young surfers to the sessions. And with the school holidays just beginning, there will be ample opportunities to make good progress for our locals at Porthmeor in the coming weeks! Here are some pics from this latest session:

Into July

Into July

by Nog General Club News Groms Surf Club Events Wave Of The Day

Well the heatwave failed us just short of another Junior Surf Club Saturday and we experienced cold Westerly winds and showers of horizontal rain during our two hours down the beach today. Nevertheless, these conditions did bring challenging waves and lots of moving water to deal with. There was an encouraging number of surfers participating, including a few newbies who were thrown in to this unseasonal weather and came through smiling and full of anticipation for next week’s session. The banner shows Jude dropping into a green wave out back, going on to smash a couple of strong turns and a completion of the close-out. The best effort I saw all day! Here are some more pictures from the day – though fewer than I would like as the camera struggled in the rain and poor light!

Jeopardy

Jeopardy

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

Another Saturday morning – another eye on the weather. This time it was distant thunder and lightning threatening to visit us as we readied ourselves for another Junior Surf Club. Nevertheless, the largest attendance of the season to date made it’s way down the beach and we were soon into our routines and finding the waves very enjoyable. The Nemos and Dorys were perfectly matched to the swell size and were bagging loads of waves. Further along the beach the Swordfish group were tackling slightly bigger waves and racking up their wave-count. Of course, the second session for the seniors was more of a struggle in these small conditions, but with an impromptu raft-running session for the Dolphins and an intriguing tag team challenge for the Sharks the time passed in great high spirits and satisfactory time was had by all!

Fickle Weather Forecast

Fickle Weather Forecast

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

Going into the weekend we felt we had to send an advisory to our Junior Surf Club and it’s parents in view of a forecast of strong onshore winds and a prediction of some large unruly surf. It’s hard to gauge the tone of such an announcement and we tend to err on the side of caution. In the event we suggested that conditions would be too raw for the Nemos and that nervous kids or parents should give it a miss. Saturday morning was thankfully an improvement on the forecast and we got the session away with an enthusiastic team with a particularly large Dolphins group who thrived in the conditions. Some pictures below.

Meanwhile, over the border in Devon, Bobby Smith of our Sharks group was tackling the Rip Curl Grom Search at Croyde. This is an annual national event with the division winners earning a place in the Eurropean finals later in the season. While not taking the European ticket, Bobby had a fine weekend making the podium with a third place finish. We are so proud of you Bobby and encourage you to continue competing and pushing your surfing. Go Bobby!

Moving On!

Moving On!

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

Week two brought an increase in numbers of surfers with no lessening of enthusiasm. The waves for our Dolphins and Sharks session were more testing than the previous week and provided just the conditions that the coaches would require when they asked them to cut the bottom turn short in order to make a floater and hopefully a completion on the wave. The first hour had seen the Dory and Nemo groups catching loads of waves as parents and helpers coaxed them into some gentle runners by Mans Head. It has been a brilliant start to the season and promises much for the coming weeks and months. There’s some of the action from the day below.

And We’re Off!

And We’re Off!

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

An idyllic Saturday in late-Spring/early Summer provided the perfect introduction to our Junior Surf Club for 2025. I’m sure those new faces will be itching to get back to Porthmeor again next week after a morning of clean little rollers and the bluest of skies gave them a first coaching session which must have whetted their appetite for more. Our more advanced surfers in the dolphin and shark groups may have wished for bigger waves, but finding good rides in small conditions can bring great satisfaction and there were plenty of smiles in that second session suggesting they were taking on the challenge. Here are a few pictures of the day to set the scene for what we might expect this summer.

Finale

Finale

by Nog Competition news General Club News Groms Surf Club Events

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.

The Finalists

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!