An entry for the history books – it’s been a phenomenal weekend at The Wave in Bristol, delivering the biggest surf event at the venue since the doors opened late 2019. We firmly pushed the boundaries of our knowledge, having developed a new format for the event which ran seamlessly, and overall delivered a surf contest that everyone involved in should be immensely proud of. A firm showcasing of why Surfing England are at the forefront of the surf industry and development of the sport in England.

This was the 2023 korev lager English Interclub Surfing Championships, where we welcomed 9 clubs and 130 surfers from across the country to Bristol, to compete and celebrate the surf club community. We had new clubs joining us to compete at this event and we were off the charts stoked. Running at The Wave offered up guaranteed waves and a fantastic amphitheatre venue to watch the action, and for everyone turning up for a regular surf lesson, what an inspiring weekend to have landed on.

The sunshine that aligned was an added bonus – illuminating the turquoise waters, as the waves rolled through the lake. It couldn’t have gotten any better for an Autumnal weekend. On Saturday morning everyone came together for check in and briefings, and you could feel the nerves radiating and excitement building. Rapidly brought up to speed by our expert team, everyone was stoked to know they were getting their fix of advanced waves.

The moment everyone had been waiting for – the korev lager keg crowning championships, supported by dryrobe. This was a separate event to the main contest, and was a battle of the barrels, which 40% of surfers got the opportunity to compete in. It was down to the teams to nominate their surfers for this round, which wrapped the end of each day. Surfers had to surf forehand and backhand barrels to end the event crowned champion open and woman barrel rider.

Charging through the heats on Saturday, all surfers had a warm-up set, then were scored on rotation, and given the opportunity to free surf as many waves as we could offer up. In the water, the teams were closely watching the fellow clubs in the lake to see what maneuverers they were pulling off and knowing what they had to do to get the points on the board.

In spare time between surfing, the skate ramp was in constant use, and surf skates were whipping around the smooth shoreline, the surfers and Wave staff clearly getting a little competitive with one another! Saturday afternoon was also soundtracked with a line-up of musicians and DJs to set the vibe into the evening – thanks to The Wave for organising this.

At the end of day one, everyone was glued to the pier to watch the barrels eating up the bay. Back-to-back the surfers got the chance to try and get pitted. There were some snarls, some slams, and some serious cover ups. The crowd were elated, and this set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Sunday morning, the mist hugged the lake as the sun rose on a glorious day. The women took to the water first and charged hard, having known their placings from the end of day 1 and the underdogs keen to storm into the lead. The surfing continued with the open surfers taking to the water, and once again the placings were tight, and everyone knew there was no time for errors if they wanted to come out with champion placings.

Completing Sunday, 1-2pm the korev lager kegs event continued. The surfers all knew their points from day one, and now it was a focused session on their backhand or forehand depending which side of the lake they got pitted on day one. This aspect of the contest was to showcase the high-performance side of club surfing and the best all round barrel riders. When it came to crunch it was the Betteridge brother and sister duo who came out on top; our huge congratulations to Belle (Women’s Crowning) and Beau Betteridge (Open crowning).

When the event drew to close, St Agnes Surf Lifesaving Club women came out as Champions, based on overall day one and two combined. In the Open, Croyde Surf Club held onto their lead, taking home Champion status.

The overall club leaderboard had been under wraps throughout, setting the tone for a tense presentation, every ear hooked on Martin Reay’s recap of the event. The points were in, the scores were nerve-rackingly close, but just nudging it to claim 2023 Interclub Champions was Croyde Surf Club, who were off the charts stoked – congratulations!

RESULTS:

Club Champions

1   Croyde Surf Club

Women Champions

1   St. Agnes Surf Lifesaving Club

Open Champions

1   Croyde Surf Club

Korev Lager keg crowning OPEN surfer, supported by dryrobe

1   Beau Betteridge

Korev Lager keg crowning WOMEN surfer, supported by dryrobe

1   Belle Betteridge

Thank you to our fantastic headline partners korev lager and to all our brilliant partners  Caravan and Motorhome Club and to our amazing partners Caravan and Motorhome Club, The Wave, dryrobe, Muscle Food, Decathlon UK, Clarke Willmott, Vospers 

The Gathering of the Clans 2023 took place at Pease Bay for the first time ever on the weekend of the 7th and 8th of October 2023 with the North Shore Surf Club (NSSC) victorious once again defending the title of Inter-Club champions for the 6th consecutive year running. Conditions were testing on Saturday, big and stormy, for the Open Men’s first round – but things cleaned up on Sunday and Pease provided pumping clean head high sets.

There were 8 teams from all over Scotland (two from the host club) each comprised of two Open Men, two Open women, one Master, one Longboarder, one Junior Boy and one Junior Girl who would battle it out for the Gathering of the Clans sword and quiach. The overall team results were as follows:

This year was hotly contested between our event hosts Belhaven Surf Club (BHSC) and the North Shore Surf Club (NSSC) with Belhaven taking the win in the Masters division and runner up spots in both the Longboard and Open Women’s divisions.
Sam Christopherson (BHSC) was able to pip Dylan MacDonald (NSSC) in the final of the Masters division with a combo of turns to the beach, despite Dylan holding onto the highest single wave score of the category (6.5pts for a series of slashing backhand carves) and only required 1.3pts to move to 1st place.

It would be Malcolm Findlay of the Broch Surf Club (BSC) who would go on to win the Longboard division with Sam Christopherson (BHSC) in runner up spot and daughter Clover (BHSC) in runner up spot behind Phoebe Strachan (NSSC) in the Open Women’s division in a well fought final after Clover had got the better of Phoebe in the semi-finals.

Ruaridh Farquharson of the Wave Project Scotland (WPS) team and Donald Peace (LSC) also made the finals of the Longboard division behind Malcolm and Sam respectively after some good rides and performances combining both traditional nose riding and conventional turns throughout the event.
It would come down to the open divisions to decide this year’s champions so all finalists were feeling the pressure. Phoebe Strachan (NSSC) had posted the highest heat total of the day in the quarters (13.47pts) so it was no surprise for the current Scottish Champion to go on to scoop the 1000pts for the North Shore Surf Club (NSSC).

Soleil Errico (USA) and Kai Sallas (HAW) claimed the 2023 Longboard World Titles with victories at the Original Sprout Malibu Longboard Championships Presented by Tractor Beverage Co., stop No. 4 on the World Surf League (WSL) Longboard Tour. Clean, two-to-three-foot surf provided a beautiful canvas for the world’s best longboarders to battle for the Longboard World Titles. 

Soleil Errico Claims Back-to-Back World Longboard Titles At Home In Malibu

Today, Soleil Errico (USA) claimed her historic third World Title at her home break of Malibu. Errico won her first World Title in 2018 at the Taiwan Open Longboard Championships. Last season she earned her second Title here at Malibu. With her win today, Errico now joins a shortlist of three-time WSL Longboard Champions including Honolua Blomfield (HAW), Taylor Jensen (USA), Cori Schumacher (USA), Rusty Keaulana (HAW), Joel Tudor (USA), and Colin McPhillips (USA).

“It’s so insane, this is my home, and my heart and soul is here,” said Errico. “I appreciate everyone’s support. I have the best family ever, it’s insane. It doesn’t feel real. It’s been a really long day and weekend. It’s been weird, the fog kind of messed everyone up, but I just tried to stay strong mentally through it and trust the process. I’m really happy.”

Errico entered the Original Sprout Malibu Longboard Championships Presented by Tractor Beverage Co. ranked No. 2 and had to make it past Sophia Culhane (HAW) in order to join Kaleopa’a in the Title Match. Title Match 1 kicked off with a brilliant exchange, the nod going to Errico who earned a 7.17 (out of a possible 10). Errico utilized her priority at the halfway point in the heat to earn a 6.33 backup and force Kaleopa’a’s requirement to an excellent 8.00. The ocean did not provide anything of substance for Kaleopa’a to answer back and Errico led the Title Match 1-0. 

In Title Match 2, Errico picked up right where she left off and earned a 7.50 for an early lead over Kaleopa’a. Errico then added an excellent 8.33 at the halfway mark. With just a few minutes left, Kaleopa’a got herself out of the combination situation by earning a 7.17 but she still needed a big score to take the lead. Errico emerged victorious out of Title Match 2 and was crowned the 2023 WSL Longboard Champion at home for the second-straight year.

“It took a lot of hard work,” said Errico. “I worked very hard. I mean that’s just how it goes. You need to work hard to achieve your dreams. Sometimes you can work as hard as you can and not know if it’s going to happen but it happened. I want to thank my mom, my dad, of course CJ Nelson. I’m really thankful he’s in my corner and riding this journey with me.” 

Sallas Claims Maiden World Longboard Title

Today marks Kai Sallas’ (HAW) maiden World Title, over nearly two decades in the making. After a sensational year on the 2023 WSL Longboard Tour including a massive win at Bells Beach, Sallas entered Malibu ranked No. 2. He was able to move past Ben Skinner (GBR) in Match 4 before meeting his good friend and apprentice, Kaniela Stewart (HAW), in the Title Match. 

“I’ve been doing this for so long, and all I can say is finally,” said Sallas. “I’ve been trying for over 20 years, and to add my name to that list of Hawaiin World Champions is a dream come true. I’m very proud. I want to thank my wife and my kids. They always put up with my moods at contest time, and they’re always here supporting me. They came with me to a lot of the contests this year, thank you.”
The first of the three bouts in the Title Match went to Stewart who put on a showcase of style and poise on the nose. Steward accrued a 15.77 heat total and the win despite Sallas’ near-perfect 9.57. But, Sallas struck back in their second duel opening up with two key scores to put pressure on Stewart. Stewart couldn’t find a score of substance to match Sallas, and the World Title came down to a third, winner-take-all battle. 

The third Title Match started slow but gave way to fireworks. In a back-to-back exchange, Stewart posted an excellent 8.67 and Sallas an excellent 8.60. Sallas then took the lead with a backup score of 6.83. Stewart’s last attempt fell short, and Sallas was confirmed as the 2023 Longboard World Champion.

“I’m standing next to my sparring partner back home (Stewart),” said Sallas. “This guy inspires me more than anyone. I believe he’s going to be the greatest longboarder of all time, and I’m going to be in his corner. So to win this against him is better than I ever dreamed.”

Waikiki’s Own Kaleopa’a and Stewart Finish Runner-up

Kaleopa’a finished the year as the World Title runner-up for the second-consecutive time today. The 18-year-old, Waikiki, competitor put on a showcase in 2023 with a win at Huntington Beach and runner-up finish in El Salvador to secure the No. 1 rank heading into Malibu. Now, Kaleopa’a prepares for another run at her maiden World Title in 2024.

One of longboarding’s modern-era icons, Stewart, showcased his world-class potential en route to becoming the World Title runner-up for a second straight year. Stewart entered Malibu as the No. 1 ranked men’s surfer after winning in Huntington Beach and El Salvador this season. The Waikiki competitor ultimately fell to mentor and shaper, Sallas, in the third and final Title Match and now looks to make history of his own in 2024.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Women’s Title Match Results:
HEAT 1: Soleil Errico (USA) 13.50 DEF. Kelis Kaleopaa (HAW) 7.73
HEAT 2: Soleil Errico (USA) 15.83 DEF. Kelis Kaleopaa (HAW) 11.90

Men’s Title Match Results:
HEAT 1: Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 15.77 DEF. Kai Sallas (HAW) 14.57
HEAT 2: Kai Sallas (HAW) 14.93 DEF. Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 11.10
HEAT 3: Kai Sallas (HAW) 15.43 DEF. Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 14.24

Women’s Match 4 Results:
HEAT 1: Soleil Errico (USA) 14.66 DEF. Sophia Culhane (HAW) 13.77

Men’s Match 4 Results:
HEAT 1: Kai Sallas (HAW) 17.87 DEF. Ben Skinner (GBR, above) 17.83

Women’s Match 3 Results:
HEAT 1: Sophia Culhane (HAW) 17.50 DEF. Honolua Blomfield (HAW) 16.33

Men’s Match 3 Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) 15.90 DEF. Taylor Jensen (USA) 15.24

Women’s Match 2 Results:
HEAT 1: Honolua Blomfield (HAW) 14.50 DEF. Mason Schremmer (USA) 11.37, Alice Lemoigne (FRA) 10.97

Men’s Match 2 Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) 14.13 DEF. Tony Silvagni (USA) 12.90, Declan Wyton (AUS) 11.60

Women’s Match 1 Results:
HEAT 1: Mason Schremmer (USA) 13.73 DEF. Rachael Tilly (USA) 10.54, Chloe Calmon (BRA) 10.40

Men’s Match 1 Results:
HEAT 1: Tony Silvagni (USA) 11.23 DEF. Edouard Delpero (FRA) 8.37, Rogelio Jr Esquievel (PHL) 7.17

Next Stop: Corona Saquarema Pro Presented by Banco do Brasil