JAYCE ROBINSON AND GWEN SPURLOCK ARE 2007 BILLABONG BRITISH JUNIOR CHAMPIONS AFTER BIGGEST EVER CONTEST

Gwen Spurlock - Photo: Ralph Rutter / Event Media

Seventeen year old Jayce Robinson from St Ives and sixteen year old Gwen Spurlock from Swansea are riding high after they took the top spots on the podium at this weekend’s Billabong British Junior Surf Championships.

This year’s major contest proved to be a good weekend for surfing’s regional outposts, with surfers from St Ives, Cheshire, Jersey, Newquay, Swansea and North Devon emerging from some 200 competitors to take out the four boys and two girls categories. St Ives’ assault was particularly fruitful, with surfers from the West Cornwall town taking the top three spots in the main event. Organised by the British Surfing Association (BSA), the event witnessed surfers traveling from all over the country to compete at Widemouth Bay, Bude, in North Cornwall.

As two days of clean 3ft waves and fine Autumnal weather drew to a close, several hundred people lined the cliffs at the picturesque North Cornish resort to watch surfing buddies Jayce Robinson, Dane Hall and Billy Norways battle it out with Newquay’s Aiden Wright for the prestigious Junior title. Jayce Robinson, in a class of his own throughout the event, got off to a strong start with a six point ride. Dane Hall replied with some powerful backhand hacks. Norways and Wright also racked up solid waves whilst Jayce struggled to find a back up (with the best two waves being scored). With two minutes to go, and the title very much up for grabs, Jayce tore apart a long right-hander, his lightning fast, progressive turns earning an 8.5 from the judges and rapturous applause from the crowd. Robinson had earned his first British title.

The under 18 finalists (L-R: Billy Norways, Jayce Robinson, Dane Hall, Aiden Wright)
Photo Ralph Rutter / Event Media

Jayce said, “I’ve been surfing all week in preparation for the British and it’s certainly paid off. The conditions were perfect for my style and technique and it feels like a lot of years of hard work have come together to help me take this title. I’m really grateful to all of my sponsors for all of their ongoing support and it’s just brilliant to get the British Junior title under my belt in my last year in the category.” He went on, “It was amazing that there were three of us local St Ives lads in the final. We’re really coming up and there’s lots more St Ives talent to be reckoned with in the future!” Jayce earned the Billabong trophy and £500 plus a bag full of Billabong and Kustom Goodies.

Luis Eyre from Cheshire put on a blistering display to add the under 16 boys title to his 2006 under 14 crown. The under 14 boys was taken by Nathan Elms of Jersey and Harry Timson of Newquay took the Under 12s for the second year running.

(L-R) Tom Good and Seb Smart, 4th and 2nd in the under 16s respectively. Photo Ralph Rutter / Event Media

In the under 18 Girls, one of the shocks of the event was British Open Champion Beth Mason going out in the semis, leaving the path clear for North Devon’s Karma Worthington, Newquay’s Holly Donnelly, Zoe Sheath from the Isle of Wight and fellow Swansea surfer Gwen Spurlock to battle it out in the final. A typically solid and consistent performance from Worthington almost won her the title for the first time, but she couldn’t quite match Spurlock’s pizzazz. This is Gwen’s second time as British Junior Champion as she won both the Under 18s and Under 14s category in 2005. The under 14’s girls was won by Lucy Campbell, eager to bring home a trophy after elder brother Stuart’s dissapointing early exit in the under 16 boys.

Karen Walton, National Director, BSA said, “We’re amazed by the size of the entry for the Billabong British Juniors. We had 160 surfers last year which was a big enough number but this year there were in excess of 200 entrants meaning a very full schedule to get through all of the heats and categories. This just goes to show how much talent and enthusiasm we have at the Junior level and is hugely encouraging for the future of our sport. Our congratulations go to all of the winners and our appreciation goes to our sponsors, Billabong and Kustom, Calypso, RNLI, North Cornwall District Council and all the event staff for making the championships happen.”

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