photo winning team Newquay BSA;
Back row: L/R Jacob Foster. Dale Foster, Jess Selkirk,Alys Morrison, (coach Mark Parry)
Middle: Dylan Scotney, Harry Timson, front Mikey Sutton

The BSA British Grommet Inter Club Championships, a key spot for the identification of breaking future UK surf talent, took place at Fistral Beach on Saturday 19th August, with a wide range of youngsters showing that the future of British surfing is bright. Forty eight enthusiastic groms, from six of the best clubs hailing from Cornwall, Devon and Bournemouth, arrived early to battle it out in the four divisions - Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 & Under 14 Girls.

A great beach day followed with a fresh two-foot swell producing some overhead waves for the micro surfers to perform and impress the judges. A double elimination format saw all competitors surfing twice throughout the day with points gathered from each heat racking up towards the overall team positions.

Early standouts were Paddy Daniel from Shore Surf School & local BSA grom Mikey Sutton who both won every heat & went onto to take top honours in the finals of the under 10's & under 12's respectably.

As the afternoon progressed it was an outstanding overall team performance that pushed Newquay's BSA grommet club into top spot with a total of 114 points ahead of 2005 winners Croyde Surf Club with 97 points, followed closely behind by a best ever third place finish from Shore Surf School who gained themselves 95 points.

Contest director Tony Good said, “We’ve seen a great day with conditions that allowed each of the groms to work hard on the water and pull a number of their best skills out of the bag. There were some who shone through time and time again but overall the standard of talent at this level, and the levels of enthusiasm, give us a lot to be optimistic about.”

Karen Walton, National Director of the BSA said, “Our Grom Programme forms one of the key planks in our aim to continually build Britain into one of the world’s top surfing nations. The surfers who shine at these Groms Inter Club Championships often go on to join the Juniors team and represent the UK on an international level so those who did well this weekend will have gathered themselves some attention. It’s a brilliant day and as Tony says, the feeling of enthusiasm and commitment is particularly strong at this level at the moment which is critical to the development of this young pool of talent. It’s all credit due to the surfers, to the club coordinators and to the parents and friends who give up their weekends to travel across the country and bring the groms here so they can show what they can do.”

Final team points

Newquay BSA 114 points

Croyde 97 points

Shore Surf School 95 points

Bournemouth surf school 63 points

Gwithian Groms 56 points

Newquay B team 55 points