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“Surf Snowdonia is the world’d first inland Wavegarden lagoon open to the public, with continuous waves rolling from one end to the other”
The Global Boarders Surf Co. Cornwall squad travelled to Wales over the weekend of 20th – 22nd May for a ‘Elite Development Camp’ like none other .
Global Boarders Surf Co. Cornwall are excited to introduce two highly trained surf coaches to our growing team for 2016.
David Rainey (27) from N.Ireland.
Growing up in the sunny city of Belfast, it was there David ventured northwest to Donegal where he developed a love for the ocean. He has spent many years teaching surfing in Donegal and on the north coast of N.Ireland; moving to teach in ‘warmer’ waters for the first time this year. A shortboarder at heart, David is in the water day in day out and enjoys repairing his own boards.
Working with various outdoor companies has given David the opportunity to work with a wide range of groups, gaining qualifications in mountain biking, climbing and mountain leadership.
When his feet aren’t on his shortboard, David is a keen runner competing in local 5 and 10k races. If he is not on his bike or on the cliff face he enjoys a spot of spearfishing.
Having travelled to Bali, Canada, Costa Rica and beyond with his surfing he will bring this experience as a dedicated and hardworking surf coach to the Global Boarders Team.
Luke Goodman (36) from West Cornwall
A keen waterman and experienced local surfer, Luke is well travelled having been lucky enough to surf such regions as Africa, Indonesia, Australia and the Americas. A graduate in English and Creative Writing, Luke is essentially a progressive longboarder who loves to develop is abilities with various types of classic and fun style boards.
During is spare time Luke is a very keen, and successful poet, who also writes short stories which he is working towards getting published. Aside form surfing, Luke enjoys racket sports such as badminton and tennis, and holds a day skippers boat licence. He has extensive experience working with a diverse range of people from his role as a care assistant within the mental health sector. This has helped him develop various skills for his role as a enthusiastic and fun loving surf coach.
Luke is married to his long term partner of 12 years Samantha and has two children, Eva who is three, and Lily who is one.
Global Boarders Surf Co. Cornwall are excited to welcome David & Luke to the 2016 team, look out for them both in the sea and in our new ‘Surf Shop’ on the high street in Penzance.
Friday 06th May 2016 saw Global Boarders Surf Co. Cornwall host the third annual ‘Penwith School Surf Championships’ @ Gwithian.
50+ Competitors check in at the contest site
The first heat has entered the water.
With five local secondary schools competing and the best surfers that Penwith has to offer on show, the competition was fierce right from the get go and the standard of surfing throughout was again very impressive! Conditions were challenging in the first number of heats, with competitors facing some solid waves in the 4-5ft range. As the wind switched and the tide dropped, so did the size of the waves, offering up some great scoring waves heading into the semi finals. A complete drop in the wind and a super fun high tide bank gave the finalists the chance to really express themselves and they certainly delivered, proving once again that the pedigree of grassroots surfing throughout West Cornwall is on the up!
Girls U16 Final hits the water
Woody New from Mounts Bay putting it all on the line in the final
Bodyboard U16 Final
1st Alfie Brown (Mounts Bay) – 7.85 (Heat Score)
2nd Stan Roynon (Mounts Bay) – 7.80
3rd Olly Brunnock (St Ives) – 5.65
4th Joel Mead (Cape Cornwall) – 3.25
Girls Surfing U16 Final
1st Bonnie Whitelock (Mounts Bay) – 6.55
2nd Molly Pritchard (Mounts Bay) – 5.55
3rd Iris Tanner (Mounts Bay) – 4.05
4th Lilly Glasson (Cape Cornwall) – 2.25
Boys U14’s Final
1st Woody New (Mounts Bay) – 12.40
2nd Huck New (Mounts Bay) – 8.70
3rd Thomas ‘Scamp’ Reeves (Mounts Bay) – 7.20
4th Taylor Bairds (St Ives) – 6.25
Boys U16’s Final
1st Taylor Bairds (St Ives) – 8.35
2nd Leo Reeves (Humphry Davy) – 7.85
3rd Toby Pearce (Humphry Davy) – 7.40
4th Woody New (Mounts Bay) – 7.20
Well done to all those who competed and a big congratulations to all our individual winners!
Remember that those who finished 1st and 2nd in their respective categories will get the chance to compete at the Cornwall School Games Surf Championships being held at Perranporth on June 29th.
Finally, a huge congratulations to Mounts Bay Academy for winning the school team award for the second year running!
A big thank you must go to all those who helped out with the competition, including Martyn at Robie Robes for the brilliant prizes, Neil Eddy – Penwith School Sport and Oliver Reeves for your photography (including these photos), Fourth Surfboards for providing the Team Winners Trophy & the Hungry Horse Box for providing all with delicious food and drink throughout the event! Thank you!
Elite Winter Training Programme 2016
Life as an U16 elite surfer in during the 2015/2016 wintertime is full of challenges, begging for lifts to the beach, school, homework, never being able to eat enough, girlfriends, boyfriends, never-ending cold and rain. In response to this we held our second annual ‘Elite Winter Programme’.
What? Winter Surf Course
When? 4 Full Days (8am – 4pm, 3 surfs per day)
Which Days? The four days will be selected based on the best surfing days over the Christmas period.
Pre Course Preparation – Prior to the first days coaching we will run a 2-3 hour coaching session in the shop, which will include goal setting, performance analysis, video coaching, equipment assessment etc.
Day 0 – Pre Course Preparation.
Day 1 – Day one will focus on FH & BH bottom turns.
Day 2 – Day two will focus on FH & BH floaters, cutbacks, carves and top turns.
Day 3 – Day three will focus on barrel riding, we will ensure that we choose a day / location that offers barrel opportunities.
Day 4 – Aerials and progressive surfing.
Here are the video highlights captured by official team filmographer Mr Oliver Reeves and edited by Chris Brown:
Here’s head coach Chris finding some fun sections during the coaching sessions…
Next up is senior team member Leo Reeves, arguably one of the top 14 year old surfers in the UK Leo rips and heres the proof…
Three years younger than Leo and snapping at his heels is younger brother Thomas ‘Scamp’ Reeves. Check out Scamps radical style and pure ability for someone of just 11 years old…
Next up is Woody New, who is ranked 19th in the UK as an U14 in his first competitive year on tour. Woody has ben showing great progression this winter and has set his sights on a top 10 finish in the U14’s division in 2016.
U12 British Girls Champion 2015 – Bonnie Whitelock is up next, surfing well beyond her years Bonnie is setting her own standards for girls surfing in West Cornwall. Check the results out here…
Twin to Woody is stylish club member Huck New, a true statician Huck analyses all elements of coaching and applies then instantly to his surfing. Check out Huck’s bottom turn improvements in the following video clips…
Next up are new members Austin, Fin, Josh and Tommy who all joined the Global Boarders team in 2015 looking to improve their surfing to the next level. Here’s the evidence that it’s all starting to pay off…
The final two two surfer who participated in the ‘Elite Winter Training Programme’ were Toby and Theo. Both showed great progression during 2015 and showcased some great surfing during the sessions…
For daily updates on the progress of the Global Boarders team riders follow our page here:
https://www.facebook.com/Global-Boarders-Surf-Co-Cornwall-9290549881/?ref=hl
St Ives School – Morocco – October 2015
Located in West Cornwall the town of St Ives is considered one of the hubs of surfing in the UK for the past 40 years. At Global Boarders we have a long standing relationship with St Ives Secondary School and were extremely excited too take fifthteen lucky students to Mirleft in South Morocco at the end of October 2015.
With both air and water temperatures a very inviting twenty-five degrees, perfect empty waves, clean water, delicious Moroccan food and unrivalled hospitality the group were ready for a surf trip of a lifetime.
Here’s head coach Chris Brown putting the group through their dynamic warmup before entering the water. A warm up in Morocco is like working out in a steam room at your local gym, the group have to drink water consistently to match the amount they are sweating.
Chris here showing the group some radical tricks that he expects to be performed in the surf today. I’m not sure if Jake and Jed are convinced?
Day 2 was perfect, the winds lightened and the swell dropped to allow point break perfection for the group. In Mirleft one guy out is considered a busy day…
Here’s Josh Martindale setting his rail on a perfect Moroccan canvas…
Here’s Bonnie Whitelock, current U12 British Champion and the youngest ever girl to charge the point break in Mirleft at 4-6ft.
It’s thumbs up on breakfast at the beach from Jack after charging 6-8ft point break perfection for 3 hours. Same again after lunch Jack?
In addition to world class surf Morocco hosts numerous other cultural amazements, from abandoned French forts, handcrafted jewellery and traditional Moroccan music and dance.
Sadly all trips come to an end, with unforgettable memories and a nice tan for November the group enjoyed their final meal on the balcony overlooking the surf as the final sunset dropped into the sea.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading, the Global Boarders Team, Spot-m Team and Staff and students from St Ives Secondary School.
At the end of 4 months of freezing wintery conditions laced with training camps in Spain, Morocco and the Dominican Republic, the team of 7 were ready to enter both the British Schools and the English National Championships.
Introducing the 7 club members who have made the selection to compete nationally during 2015:
Leo Reeves (13) – This will be Leo’s second full competitive years surfing in the UK. In 2014 Leo finished 3rd in the UK in the U14’s division. In 2015 Leo will be competing in both the U14’s and U16’s.
Thomas Reeves (10) – Thomas finished 2014 in emphatic style making 2 national finals in the U12 division and winning a national title in the U10 division. In 2015 Thomas will be competing in both the U12’s and U14’s
Tintin Klamar (14) – This will be Tintin’s second full competitive season in the UK. In 2014 Tintin finished in the top 15 in the UK in the U14’s division. In 2015 Tintin will be competing in the U16’s.
Toby Pearce (14) – This will be Toby’s second full competitive season in the UK. In 2014 Toby finished in the top 10 in the UK in the U14’s division. In 2015 Toby will be competing in the U16’s.
Bonnie Whitelock (12) – This will be Bonnie’s first competitive season in the UK, after training hard for 12 months in Noosa Australia Bonnie is now ready to compete in both the U14’s and U16’s in 2015.
Woody New (12) – This will be Woody’s first competitive season in the UK, after joining the squad in December 2014 Woody has made amazing advancements and is now ready to show the rest of the UK U14 surfers that he’s not just here to make up the numbers. In 2015 Woody will be competing in the U14’s.
George Carpenter (14) – This will be Georges first full competitive season in the UK, with the support of Sennen Sufing Centre and the elite coaching that we have provided George s now ready to take of the best U16 surfers in the UK.
Aquajuice British Schools Surfing Championships
Sleeting rain and small challenging conditions greeted the team on an early Saturday morning in Bude, some could say a standard UK competition! Head coach Chris and team photographer and parent Olly were fuelled on caffeine and ready to take on a big day of competition ahead.
Leo and Thomas made family history today when they were drawn in the first heat of the U14 boys division. On this occasion bragging rights went to Leo, who progressed in 1st with Thomas narrowly missing out, finishing 3rd place. We’re expecting many more heats with Leo and Thomas and already have a sweep stakes on the Month / Year that Thomas (3 years Leo’s minor) takes his first win against his older brother.
After two days of tough competition, the Global Boarders team posted some very promising results, the highlight performers were:
Aquajuice British Schools presented by Surfing GB Results
Location: Widemouth Bay, Bude
Highlight Results
U14 Boys: Leo Reeves taking a very respectable 4th place in the Final.
U14 Girls: Bonnie Whitelock taking 5th place in the Final.
U14 Boys: Woody New making it to the Quarter Finals.
U16 Boys: Toby Pearce making it to the Quarter Finals.
U16 Boys: Leo Reeves making it to the Quarter Finals.
Check Leo out on the far right with his new team rider Robie Max.
Bonnie finished a very proud 5th place in the U14 girls final.
English National Championships
The first weekend in May saw the Global Boarders team descend on, a once again wet and windy competition site at Watergate Bay. The conditions looked perfect, however the closer you got the small the waves became, the stiff offshore winds were going to certainly make for a challenging day of heat strategies and nail biting delays from the over worked judging team.
Here’s Leo flaring up and chucking buckets of spray on a small windy wave.
English National Championships Results
Location: Watergate Bay, Newquay
Highlight Results
U16 Boys: Leo Reeves making it to the Semi Finals.
U14 Girls: Bonnie Whitelock taking 3rd place in the Final.
U16 Girls: Bonnie Whitelock making it to the Semi Finals
U14 Boys: Woody New making it to the Quarter Finals.
U16 Boys: George Carpenter making it to the Quarter Finals.
U16 Boys: Tintin Klamar making it to the Quarter Finals.
Bonnie smashing a lip section on her way to becoming 3rd best U14 girl in England at just 12!
Check out 10 years old Thomas (far left) finishing an amazing 4th in the U12’s final. Just missing out on second by just 2 points. At just 10 years old ‘Thomas’ was clearly disappointed with his result, watch this space for the rest of the 2015 season.
Bonnie collecting her medal in the awards presentation, showing off her new team ‘Robie Max’
Finalists Bonnie and Thomas working the camera at the English Nationals.
On a warm sunny day in March, we met up with the staff from Aspects Holidays and Classic Cottages for a wonderful days surfing to remember…
When you think of Cornwall what are the first things to spring to mind? Pasties, cream teas and seagulls,or sun, sea and surf? If it’s the latter then we would like to welcome you to our beautiful county! With gentle rolling swells from March – November and over 100 surfing beaches to choose from, think surfing, think Cornwall.
As a mobile surf school we aim to chase the best conditions, today they were at just down the road from the Aspects Holidays office in Hayle. On reaching Gwithian we made our way down to the top of the sand dunes to check the surf and tide conditions, to our surprise it was a perfect 2-3ft, blowing offshore and there was no one out! in hast we then returned to the minibus for the inevitable struggle into our 5:3 warm Rip Curl wetsuits, boots, gloves and rash vests!
The six staff from Aspects Holidays and Classic Cottages made their way down the beach with their oversized, bright yellow foam ‘swell’ boards, with the waves being small and the group beginners the large foam boards are the perfect vehicle to get even the most unstable of surfers onto their feet, wind in their hair and riding towards the beach.
After a brief safety talk, we whipped out the wind break for a quick before and after group photo, our brief was to look as natural as possible, I think ‘Elizabeth’ may have done this before! After the token beach photos the two more experienced members of the group made their way excitedly to the water to start showing off their surf skills. The remaining four members stayed on the beach for the surfing tutorial, once we were happy everyone cold stand up on dry land we were then ready to add water to the mix!
Wrapped up in their Rip Curl winter suits the group instantly forgot that it was March and quickly got into the full flow of surfing. Naturally all angles were covered with a waterproof camera and another one on the beach with a massive telephoto lens, ready to catch the imminent wipe outs (surf speak for falling off in a spectacular fashion!). Here’s Doug just moments away from showing the group what a wipeout looks like!
As the saying goes “time fly’s when your having fun” two hours had passed in a flash of yellow and orange, everyone was starting to get peckish with their bodies tiring, but the promise of catching the next wave was teasing them to stay in.
With heavy arms and hungry bellies the walk back up to the car park was practically a sprint. With the partial eclipse just a day away the pull on the tides was huge, the water having moved over 300 metres closer to the steps making for a nice short walk back to the minibus. The group were provided with a clean, warm and dry beach towel each and with the thought of warm clothing and a locally sourced lunch everyone was changed within minutes and soon devouring their lunches in a sheltered sun trap in the Gwithian dunes.
As the group finished their lunch, we were quickly editing all the photos and videos from the mornings achievements. The Aspects Holidays and Classic Cottages group of 6 then made their way to the local cafe for a warm coffee before getting a sneaky preview of the mornings accomplishments. Typically all the photos / videos of the standing and riding of waves were overshadowed by the awesome wipeout highlights…
Once the group were warm and fed we went through the individual surf packages that we can offer to the clients of Aspects Holidays and Classic Cottages; whether this involves a week long surf vacation, long surfing weekend, surf experience day or even a school trip to our surf camp in south Morocco with our partners Spot-M we can really offer the true surfer lifestyle package! We’ll even pick you up from any of the Aspects of Classic holiday cottages, and return you later that day.
We enjoyed really enjoyed hosting the staff from Aspects Holidays and Classic Cottages, showing them in just 1 day how we can tailor any surfing package to their clients. Sadly it’s back to the office today but we’ll see you in the surf soon
Love Cornwall
Love Surfing
We have been working closely with Mounts Bay Academy since 2010 providing lots of surfing opportunities for the pupils. In 2014 we approached the academy with an exciting opportunity to run a surf trip to our partners Spot-M‘s Surf Camp in South Morocco.
One year and numerous exciting meetings later, eleven students from years 7-11 waited with great anticipation on a frosty February evening at the gates of the academy.
Our ‘School Surf Trip‘ to Morocco began…
Eleven excited academy students, two staff members and two coaches arrived starry eyed in Marrakech.
The group arrived in Mirleft to a banquet meal prepared by our local Moroccan chief Aiesha, after a long journey and with food comas kicking in the groups divided into their respective luxury boys and girls villas for a much need nights sleep.
After a scrumptious buffet breakfast the group then visited the local secondary school, gaining an insight into life as a Moroccan student. The school were brilliant, dressed in traditional clothing the students used this as a chance to practice their english, whilst the academy students were treated to traditional pastries and sweet tea, with the boys opting for a traditional henna tattoo, causing some laughter for the Moroccan students.
Could you cope with two lessons a day, each lesson lasting four hours? This was the school that Spot-M coach Hussain attended, seen here at the front of the class, clearly still a very good listener…
Creating an international and cultural link between both schools was very important. Here’s Mr Veal sealing the deal with some Cornish fudge and biscuits, I was informed that both were devoured instantly after we left the school
Day one came to a end with the students enjoying a cultural visit to the local town ‘Mirleft’ it was their first attempt at haggling! Some certainly need some more practice than others!
The most popular shop on the street was surprisingly, the doughnut shop… where it’s 1 dirham per doughnut, which worked out at about 7p!!!
Days two-five greeted us with warm African sunshine, light winds and perfect waves. Endless walls of groomed white water rolled into the beach at Plage Savage, with layers of suncream applied and with colourful pink zinc noses, lips and ears the group were ready to surf.
Hussain, Hassan Smail, Bohcin made up the Spot-M team of expert coaches, all of whom did everything in their power to ensure the trip of a lifetime for all eleven students and two staff members from Mounts Bay Academy.
A Mounts Bay Academy Party Wave!!!
Some of the students found surfing on their feet far to easy and opted for surfing in their head to heighten the challenge, here’s Isaac sharing a wave with head of PE from the academy Mr Veal…
With every great wave come an even greater wipeout…
Great friendships were made between the Moroccan coaches and English students. Here’s Hussain and Jamie sharing a ‘shaka’ moment…
You can’t have a school trip without a cheesy group photo?
As we drew towards the end of this very special week, students bronzed and practically professional surfers we thought the group required more culture. So we donned our walking shoes (flip-flops) and made our way through old town Mirleft to the summit of the ancient French fort. Fifteen minutes later we were sat overlooking the town of Mirleft, quietly we watched as the enormous African sun swallowed the sky…
“Harry the suns setting over here!”
Our final evening in Morocco climaxed with a rustic wild boar buffet, which was naturally devoured in seconds by the academy students. As the students digested the incredible food the evening sprung into life once more when the local Moroccan band hauled all the students to their feet and proceeded to teach them the ways of the foot stamping tribal like traditional dance. Like the traditional Moroccans centuries ago we moved and swayed with stamped feet and linked hands, singing and cheering as the fire danced before us.
Once all the dancing was over we were left with the all important awards presentation. Each surfer was presented with an award that highlighted their weekly accomplishments. Hussain naturally was the best person from the team to present each of these awards. Here’s ‘Big Wave Dave’ Issac receiving his traditional Moroccan rock award…
As our epic journey draws to a close we we are now able to reflect on our African surfing experience.
If you would like more information on our unique schools surf trips to south Morocco then contact us today.
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