Surf Features

The British and English champion is one of seven Cornish surfers to make the team competing at Costa de Caparica from October 11 to 19 where over 350 competitors from 35 nations will be entering. 

In all Twelve surfers from across Cornwall, Devon, Jersey and Wales have been honoured to be selected by the British Surfing Association.

Alan Stokes in action

The ISA World Surfing Championships, which will see athletes coming from every continent on the planet. The British team will join more than 35 other countries including the surf 'power brokers' such as Australia, USA, South Africa, and Hawaii alongside emerging nations including Israel, Morocco and Costa Rica.

The British Surf Team will now undergo an intensive training schedule to ensure they are fully fit and prepared for the Championships.

They have all proven themselves on the annual contest circuit and a number of them have competed in the World and European teams in the past.

They will be supported in Portugal by some of the best British coaches and managers who have also been specially selected to represent their country.

Unlike standard professional events, the surfers will compete in national team format. This format is unique in world surfing and the surfers will be competing solely for the honour of representing their nation and bringing home gold, silver, bronze or copper medals.

In the Open category Mark Harris and Alan Stokes from Newquay will join Reubyn Ash from Bude and Micah Lester from Constantine to battle it out for their country.

The Woman's team will see a combination of Swansea's Beth Mason and Jo Dennison from Pembrokeshire carrying the British flag and in the Bodyboard team the English and British bodyboarding champion Damien Prisk from Camborne will join local colleague Alex Winkworth and four times British Champion and multiple Welsh Champion Gemma Harris, who will represent the British women.

Well known female surfer from Newquay Joanne Hillman has also been specially selected once again to be a female judge for this year's World Surfing Games in Portugal.

Andy Sturt, Regional Surf Development Coach said, "To be selected for the team for the 2008 ISA World Surfing Championships is one of the highlights of these surfers' careers thus far and illustrates their talent and dedication to the sport. 

Ruebyn Ash flies high

"This event is the equivalent of the surfing Olympics and throughout the games, our British athletes will be pushed to their very max, to drive themselves to the absolute top of their form to represent their nation on this prestigious global platform and illustrate just what we can do.

"Our previous years' success and training and development programme has ensured that we have all been working together as a team for some time now and we're looking to beat our last results and ensure that we see this British team prove themselves within the global top ten," he added.

National Director of the British Surfing Association, Karen Walton says, "Now that the team has been confirmed, the BSA will be running an ongoing pre-event training programme to ensure that each and every surfer is at the very top of their game and their highest possible fitness levels. We took the ninth spot and a silver medal two years ago and will be doing all possible to up that placing even further this time around."

Karen continues, "With only a couple of weeks to go, the team coaches and managers will be working closely with all of the team to ensure that they are physically and psychologically ready for the championships and we're looking forward to seeing them all in the water, and hopefully on the podium, representing our surfing nation."