League 2 competition :
With the run of surf we have had in the last few weeks and the hope that the swell would last just a little longer a comp was hastily arranged and with a very well made call, to say the comp was going to be on with the dubious forecast predicted, the decision to run paid off. Chest to shoulder high offshore waves continued throughout the day.
With the top man away and the return of the two prodigal sons, Ashley Braunton and Phil Hill, it was game on. Despite hardly surfing for the last 3 years it was good to see Ashley Braunton hadn’t forgotten what to do and he was quick off the mark to rack up some decent scores. Beth Leighfield proved she wasn’t to be intimidated by the fellas and posted an excelled combined score to take 1st in her Open heat with a long 5 to 10 noseride which impressed the judges.
There were many highlights of the day but Steve Burley face-planting and then snapping his leash on a waist high wave was definitely one of them. Having said that he then paddled back out leashless and took the heat. Also Keeno possibly surfing the best we have seen in a few years
Overall a great day with decent weather, something that is not normal at comps, meant that everyone was remarking how nice a comp it was.
And as said earlier with the top man, Jack Unsworth, away competing in France it was up to Ashley and Phil to dominate the finals. Oh, and Norm was away too working in London.
Thanks to all the judges and sponsors for making it happen.
Results:
Open : 1 Ashley Braunton 2 Phil Hill 3 Adrian Napper 4 Beth Leighfield
Ladies : 1 Annie Young 2 Beth Leighfield 3 Emily Wells 4 Vikki Burley 5 Stella Briggs
Masters: 1 Damo Hooker 2 Adrian Napper 3 Keeno 4 Pete Osment 5 Martin Davies
Grandmasters: 1 Keeno. 2 Tim Quick 3 Rich Unsworth 4 Jerry Horsborough
Juniors: 1 Emily Wells 2 Annie Young 3 Stella Briggs 4 Joe Maloney
Single Fin: 1 Phil Hill 2 Ashley Braunton 3 Damo Hooker 4 Keeno
BLU Saunton Sands Longboard Classic.
Report by Richard unsworth / Richard Davies .
If you wanted to watch longboarding at its best then you should have been at The Saunton Sands Longboard Classic this weekend. The first stop of the 2018 tour kicked off at the North Devon primo longboard wave and in a nutshell – Saunton delivered. Really delivered.
The standard of competition was high and the 3-5ft clean surf provided the perfect canvas for Britain’s top longboarders.
Elliot Dudley from Wales, having returned to competition after winning the Welsh title the week before and was quick to set his stall out and with his traditional logging approach posted some high scores. Local lad, Jack Unsworth, also favouring a traditional approach was keen to show why he qualified for the 2018 WSL World Longboard Tour posting two 10s to score a perfect combined heat score of 20 in the Single Fin semi final. However it was Elliot that took the win in the final with Jack in second.
Elliot also dominated the Men’s Open despite a valiant effort from Ben Howey in the final who posted a 10 on one wave, but still fell just short of Elliot’s massive overall score.
Claire Smail returned to her winning ways after a year off, taking the win in the Ladies Division. Her experience at Saunton gave her just too much of an edge against the other finalists, despite Jen Pen and Jenny Briant racking up high scores in earlier rounds.
Barnaby Innes, the 14 year old from Bude, showed that he is going to be one to watch in the future winning both the Cadets U16 and Juniors U18 narrowly squeezing out Newquay gigant-a-grom Jordan Zervas in the final. The predominently right-handed waves at Saunton just seemed to favour Barnaby’s style, which should lead us nicely into the second tour stop at Fistral and Jordan’s home break.
In the Junior Girls U18, the bigger conditions made the paddle out back more of a strength-sapping folly than a winning strategy and Emily Wells played it perfectly, picking off the reforms and putting enough on the scoreboard to seal victory.
The conditions brought out the best in everyone and even the old fellas showed they could still take on some solid waves and long paddles, with Adam Chell and Adam Zervas winning the Masters and Grandmasters respectively. Jason Gray, current Masters Tour Champion, will be looking to redress the balance at Fistral.
A huge thank you to all sponsors of The Saunton Sands Longboard Classic, without you none of this would be possible and we thank you all for your continued support.
Thatch Croyde Saunton Break Cafe Ocean & Earth Europe O’Neill Paua Technologies Surfing England
Results:
Men’s Open:
1 Elliot Dudley
2 Ben Howey
3 Jack Unsworth
4 Sam Bleakley
Ladies Open:
1 Claire Smail
2 Jenny Briant
3 Jen Pendlebury
4 Rebecca Brown
Grand Masters:
1 Adam Zervas
2 Rich Unsworth
3 Colin Bright
4 Nick Lethbridge
Masters:
1 Adam Chell
2 Jason Gray
3 Colin Bright
4 Tom Gibson
Single Fin:
1 Elliot Dudley
2 Jack Unsworth
3 Lewis Stritch
4 Sam Bleakley
Junior U18:
1 Barnaby Innes
2 Jordan Zervas
3 Jack Gregorius
4 Matt Mitchell
5 Joe Maloney
Cadets U16:
1 Barnaby Innes
2 Matt Mitchell
3 Joe Maloney
Junior Girls U18:
1 Emily Wells
2 Annie Young
3 Stella Briggs
2017 Divisional Winners.
Groms-
1st. Erin Argyle
Juniors –
Joint 1st
Beth Leighfield / Tom Horn
3rd – Annie Young
4th – Stella Biggs
Women’s –
1st – Beth Leighfield
2nd – Annie Young
3rd – Vicky Burley
4th – Stella Biggs
SUP –
1st – Tom Hewitt
2nd – Matt Argyle
3rd – Ben Pye
Open –
1st – Paul Kennan
2nd – Steve Horn
3rd – Thomas Watkins
4th – Ashley Wright
Masters –
1st – Adam Chell
2nd – Paul Kennan
3rd – Ben Keay
4th – Ray Lee
Grand Masters –
1st – Tim Quick
2nd – Richard Unsworth
3rd – Jerry Horsburgh
4th – Norman Wright
Single Fin
1st – Steve Horn
2nd – Adam Chell
3rd – Jerry Horsburgh
4th – Ashley Wright
League 1 comp : 17th June
Finally all the planets aligned and we could finally get a comp underway and you couldn’t have asked for better conditions really. Hot sunny weather, clean 2ft waves and a high tide at midday all ensured that everyone was on the beach enjoying the action.
Things kicked off with the Single Fin and the first heat saw the Welsh dominate taking the first major scalp of the day 🙂 followed by what seemed to be a g(l)ut of Grandmasters and Masters.
Standouts of the day were MP from Sussex flying on his 60s log, Tom W from Wales taking major scalps, Tom on his SUP, Beth L winning 2 divisions and last but not least it was good to see El Presidente Norm back in the mix. He was even allowed to win a heat at one point which made his day. Bless.
Special thanks to Jo Pye for tabulating all day , Christies Estates , saunton break cafe , Oneil Wetsuits , surfsurfsurf, south west VW ,everyone that judged and Phil Williams who obviously had a word with him upstairs and blessed us with sun & surf all day.
Results:
Open:
1st Tom Watkins
2nd. Steve Horn
3rd Adam Chell
4th Keeno
Ladies:
1st Beth Leighfield
2nd Vicki Burley
3rd Stella Briggs
4th Sonja Kapp
5th Annie Young
Masters:
1st Ben Keay
2nd Adam Chell
3rd MP
4th Ray Lee
Grandmasters:
1st Rich Unsworth
2nd Tim Quick
3rd Jerry Horsburgh
4th Norm Wright
Juniors:
1st Beth Leighfield
2nd Tom Horn
3rd Annie Young
4th Stella Briggs
Single Fin:
1st Steve Horn
2nd MP
3rd Adam Chell
4th Keeno
SUP:
1st Tom Hewitt
2nd Max Shepard
3rd Ben Pye
4th Matt Argyle
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BLU 1 report/results :
The first of the BLU events for 2017 was held at Saunton at the weekend. The competition got underway with the Juniors battling it out in the small onshore conditions followed by the Ladies and Mens Open. However as the tide dropped so did the waves and the competition was put on hold until the pushing tide in the afternoon. When there was no improvement it was decided to re-commence on Sunday. Competitors then went to either to Pigstock to see Reef, to the pub (Skindog bought a duck which was delivered to him in the car park on the Sunday!) or to Ramon’s wedding. Thankfully the swell had picked up overnight and it was back on with some competitors a little worse for wear! The chest to shoulder high swell provided competitors with long useable waves. Ben Skinner and Jack Unsworth met in both the finals for the Open and the Single Fin with Jack taking the wins in both divisions. Jordan Zervas dominated the Juniors. Jen Pendlebury took the honours in the Ladies, Jason Gray the Masters and Colin Bright the Grandmasters. All in all a great competition.
Big thanks to all our sponsors .
Thatch ,Finisterre , Saunton Break Cafe,Farming solutions, old guys rule , submariner ,ocean & earth, robies , Christies Estates and Saunton Surf Life Saving Club for the use of the building .
Big thank you to Saunton Break cafe for their financial support.
SAUNTON CLASSIC 2017.
U16’s Cadet
1.Jordan Zervas
2.Barnaby ‘Bear’ Innes
3.Tom Horn
4.Alex Townsend
U18’s Boys
1.Jordan Zervas
2.Tom Horn
3.Barnaby ‘Bear’ Innes
4.Alex Townsend
U18’s Girls
1.Beth Leighfield
2.Stella Briggs
3.Annie Carroll-Young
Women’s
1.Jenifer Pendlebury
2.Emily Currie
3.Claire Smail
4.Jenny Briant
Masters
1.Jason Grey
2.Colin Bright
3.Adam Chell
4.Ray Lee
Grand Masters
1.Colin Bright
2.Adam Zervas
3.Richard Unsworth
4.Tim Quick
Single Fin
1.Jack Unsworth
2.Ben Skinner
3.Steve Horn
4.Jenifer Pendelbury
Open
1.Jack Unsworth
2.Ben Skinner
3.Ben Howey
4.Lewis Stritch
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FINAL COMP RESULTS 2016.
OPEN 2016
1. Jack Unsworth
2. Greg Norman
3. Damien Hooker
4. Claire Smail
MASTERS 2016
1. Paul Kennan
2. Damien Hooker
3. Adam Chell
4. Steve Hart
GRAND MASTERS 2016
1. TIM Quick
2. Richard Unsworth
3. Jerry Horsburgh
4. Ben Keay
WOMENS 2016
1. Claire Smail
2. Beth Leighfield
3. Vicky Burley
4. Sam Bowen
JUNIORS 2016
1. Jack Unsworth
2. Beth Leighfield
3. Tom Horn
4. Joss Cresswell
GROMS 2016
1. Tom Horn
2. Anya Burley
3. Lilly wright
SUP’s 2016
1. Sean Facey
2. Rob Martin
3. Ben Pye
SINGLE FIN 2016
1. Greg Norman
2. Richard Unsworth
3. Paul Kennan
4. Jack Unsworth
UNDERDOG 2016
1. Ashley Wright
MOST IMPROVED 2016
Steve Burley
Ray Sanson
Pete Osment
Sponsor Trophy’s
SURFSURFSURF
OLD GUYS RULE
COOK ISLAND
Hotdoggers Single Fin No.2
‘Quite possibly the best waves we’ve had at a contest for a very long time’ was the opinion of El Presidente Norm and very few would disagree. The solid 4-5ft sets provided some super long righthanders which enabled plenty of high scores being awarded. The paddle back out was tricky and most opted to run or paddle back over to the rocks to use the rip to get back out ! Even those that got knocked out weren’t disappointed as the quality of waves on offer made for some happy surfers. It was also good to see Norm back in the water again !
The final was a high scoring affair with son and father taking the one two.
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Hotdoggers Single Fin 3
What better way than to end a week of pumping waves than by having a contest ? Those that still had the stamina amassed on the beach to find yet more perfect waves. The comp was on. Shoulder high sets provided long workable rights and shorter lefts into the rocks (ask Keeno……again!) Some long noserides were possible and scores of 7s and 8s were quickly handed out. At times it was tricky keeping the baying crowd off the peak but the good vibes and good humour in the line up ensured everyone was happy, despite a few drop ins.
Steve Burley must surely get a lottery ticket as he had the noseride of his life to dispatch Damo and Adam in his semi final and progressed, with Rich, to the final where they met Greg and a back on-form rock-dodging Keeno. By now the free surfing pack could barely contain themselves as The Cave began to work for the final and the finalists had to contest for waves amongst not only the other finalists but the pack too. The tit for tat final was a close affair with Greg getting the nod from the judges.
Results:
1 Greg Norman. 2 Rich Unsworth. 3 Keeno Keenan. 4 Steve Burley
Results:
Open: 1 Jack Unsworth. 2 Rich Unsworth. 3 Greg Norman. 4 Steve Horn
Underdogs: 1 Tom Watkins. 2 Steve Burley. 3 Tom Horn. 4 Sean Facey. 5 Vikki Burley
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Hotdoggers League 1 report/results :
There was a good turnout, with many new faces, for the Hotdoggers first league competition of the year with competitors having traveled to Saunton from Wales, Dorset and Cornwall. Conditions were challenging throughout the day with strengthening winds and a solid overhead swell.
The event was initially put on hold with the judging van getting swamped after a big storm surge but thanks to some quick thinking and impressive driving the event got back underway leaving the drama to be provided by the competitors….and it was. It conditions required the competitors to be selective and then make the most of each wave which resulted in some good scores and impressed spectators.
There were standouts in all the divisions but having posted the highest scores throughout the day Jack Unsworth went on to win both the Junior and Open categories.
Results:
Open – 1.Jack Unsworth 2.Damien Hooker 3.Greg Norman 4.Steve Horn
Ladies – 1.Clare Small 2.Beth Leighfield 3.Vikki Burley 4.Briege Lawrence
Masters – 1.Damien Hooker 2.Adam Chell. 3.Paul Keenan. 4.Ben Keay
Grand-Masters – 1.Tim Quick. 2.Jerry Horsborough. 3.Ben Keay. 4.Mark Watson
Juniors – 1.Jack Unsworth 2.Beth Leighfield 3.Tom Cresswell 4.Tom Horn
Cadets – 1.Anya Burley 2.Lily Wright
Underdogs – 1.Briege Lawrence. 2.Simon Mitchell. 3.Pete Osment. 4.Tom Horn
SUP – 1.Max Sheppard 2.Paul Williams. 3.Ben Pye. 4.Simon Mitchell
——————————————————————————————————
Hotdoggers League 2
With the poor weather and windy surf that was forecasted it was good to see competitors travelling up from Cornwall and down from Wales to take part. The day began well with 3ft offshore waves for the SUP, Grom and Junior heats. However, unfortunately this didn’t last and it wasn’t long before the wind howled from the south making Saunton challenging. The Masters, Grandmasters and the Open rounds were held in 3-5ft lumpy cross onshore waves. Despite this some big scores went down like Jack Unsworth managing to score a 10 on his opening wave in the Open final ! Special mention should also go to Vicky Burley who not only had her birthday, but became a grandma and won the Ladies division !!
Next weekend its the Single Fin event.
Results :
Open : 1 Jack Unsworth. 2 Greg Norman. 3 Steve Horn. 4 Tom Watkins
Ladies : 1 Vicky Burley
Groms : 1 Tom Horn. 2 Rudder Rava. 3 Lily Wright. 4 Anya Burley
Juniors : 1 Jack Unsworth. 2 Joe Hornbuckle. 3 Tom Horn. 4 Rudder Rava
Masters : 1 Adam Chell. 2 Paul Keenan. 3 Jerry Horsborough. 4 Mark Watson. 5 Ray Sansom
Grandmasters : 1 Tim Quick. 2 Rich Unsworth. 3 Ray Sansom. 4 Jerry Horsborough. 5 Mark Watson
SUP : 1 Sean Facey. 2 Robbie Martin
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Saunton Slidefest 2016
Traditional longboarding was the winner at Saunton on Saturday for the ‘Slidefest’ which was hosted by Hotdoggers Longboard Surf Club.
Riders from all over the UK descended on Saunton to put on a fine display of traditional longboarding at what is regarding as one of the best longboarding waves in the country.
Drop knee turns , hang fives , hang tens , head dips , fade turns were what the judges were looking for with a good spread of style and inventiveness …
Everybody got two surfs and a goodie bag for their entry fee with a club tee shirt , bar of West Country wax , longboard magazine and a stylish old guys rule mug…. Bloody bargain they said.
Results :
1. Ben Haworth
2. Elliot Dudley
3.Mike Winter
4. Jack Unsworth
Special awards :
Highest placed lady : Juliet Marlow
Highest placed old dude : Chris Webb
Highest placed grom : Joe Hornbuckle
Best head-dip : Danni Bradford
Best drop-in : Jeremy Horsburgh
Biggest Frother : Steve Burley
Thanks to Seafolk, The Salty Merchants, Duffs Footwear, Chariots of the Sun, Old Guys Rule, Passenger Clothing, Submariner Clothing, West Country Surf Wax, Nine Plus and Moken Coffee for sponsoring a great event
hosted by Hotdoggers Longboard Surf club.
A alternative competition format ensured that spectators could witness some real style and not just point scoring for the judges. Luckily the swell forecast was accurate with small clean waves, perfect for logging, on offer throughout the day.
Results :
1. Ben Haworth
2. Elliot Dudley
3.Mike Winter
4. Jack Unsworth
Special awards :
Highest placed lady : Juliet Marlow
Highest placed old dude : Chris Webb
Highest placed grom : Joe Hornbuckle
Best head-dip : Danni Bradford
Best drop-in : Jeremy Horsburgh
Biggest Frother : Steve Burley
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Jesus Longboard Classic 2016 at Polzeath
It was good to see decent waves again after a relatively flat week and so with some great 3-5ft offshore waves the event was on. Some found it hard to curtail their free-surfing so to have enough energy for their heats but progressing through their respective early rounds were Claire, Vikki, Rich, Damo, Steve and Tom Horn and Eric who was back in the mix!
Saturday night was well spent in the pub and Damo in particular felt most at home 🙂 The wind swung round on the Sunday making conditions slightly more challenging but still 3-4ft and fun. Standouts of the weekend were Howey, Bleakers, Captain Birdseye and Jordan Zervas. Christian Surfers know how to run a comp and this year was no exception so big thanks to them for another great event.
Results:
Open: 1 Ben Howey. 2 Sam Bleakley. 3. Lewis Stritch. 4 Martin John
Ladies: 1 Emily Currie. 2 Jen Pendlebury. 3 Rachael Taylor 4 Claire Smaile
Masters: 1 Sam Bleakley. 2 Steve Horn. 3 George Stoy 4 Colin Bright
Grandmasters: 1 Colin Bright. 2 Rich Unsworth. 3 Ray Lee. 4 Vic Danks
Juniors: 1 Jordan Zervas. 2 Barnaby Innes. 3 Beth Leighfield. 4 Will Burton
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The final stop of the 2016 British Longboard Union tour was held at Fistral Beach, Newquay this weekend in huge waves. Anxious competitors arrived early keen to see how big the forecasted swell was and were greeted with 6-8ft waves in a strong cross-shore wind. In order to get the competition run in one day it was decided that 2 2 peaks would be used to run 2 heats at the same time. Drama was immediately provided with one competitor snapping his board and another washed onto the rocks in Heat 1 !! The swell continued to build throughout the day as did the excitement. Ben Skinner, Sam Bleakley and Adam Griffiths from Cornwall, Josh le Marquand from Jersey and Jack Unsworth from North Devon put on a display in the huge surf, snapping off the top, pulling into huge barrels and nose-riding the most critical of sections much to the commentator and spectators delight. All in all a thrilling end to another great season.
Results:
Open: 1 Adam Griffiths. 2 Sam Bleakley. 3 Ben Skinner. 4 Jack Unsworth
Ladies : 1 Emily Currie. 2 Claire Smale. 3 Jen Pendlebury. 4 Jenny Briant
Single Fin : 1 Ben Skinner. 2 Sam Bleakley. 3 Josh le Marquand. 4 Adam Griffiths
Juniors : 1 Jack Unsworth. 2 Max Hudson. 3 Jordan Zervas
Cadets : 1 Jordan Zervas. 2 Max Hudson
U18 Girls : 1 Beth Leighfield. 2 Stella Briggs. 3 Lily Wright
Masters : 1 Jason Gray. 2 Colin Bright. 3 Adam Chell. 4 Tom Gibson
Grandmasters : 1 Simon Gould. 2 Jerry Horsborough. 3 Colin Bright. 4 Ben Keay
The results meant that Jack Unsworth retains his British Junior Champion title for a 4th consecutive year and Beth Leighfield retained her U18 Girls British title.
Other Hotdoggers finished Runners-Up in their categories – Rich Unsworth in the Grandmasters, Adam Chell in the Masters, Lily Wright in the U18 Girls and Clare Smale in the Ladies.
Check out the great photos of the event on the BLU Facebook page by Richard Davies.