Griffiths in action on his way to claiming the title

Newquay longboarder Adam Griffiths has been crowned the UK's first ever flowriding champion by winning the sports inaugural event on Thursday.

A flowrider uses high-pressure water running over a plastic ramp to create an artificial sheet wave.

Griffiths sealed the title by beating Josh Brooks in the final, following wins over Ben Skinner in the semis and Rhys Barfield in the last eight.

He said: "It's an insane feeling. It's an awesome event and awesome place."

"The level stepped up so fast and luckily it all clicked," added Griffiths.

"Flowriding isn't like surfing but it's great for your core strength and it's instant fun."

The competition's judges awarded points in five categories at the event in Retallack - entry on to the flowrider, carving manoeuvres, full use of the 12-metre wide flow, hand-free spins and overall style.

UK Pro Surf Tour contest director Dave Reed said: "It's been a fantastic event. We've seen some of the best surfers in the UK competing for the first time on a flowrider and we've shown how good it can be and what people can do on it.

"These guys have had fairly limited experience on the flowrider but they've performed incredible turns and done amazingly well."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version