Scottish Surfing Champs 2010

Muddy, smelly, tired, and painful we just got back to Fraserburgh from the 2010 Scottish Surfing Federation Champs held at Thurso and I thought I may as well do a brain dump before it disappears.

This is the first Scottish Champs I've been to since the birth of my son Israel, and at 16 months I figured now would be a pretty good time for his first surf trip. So, come Friday afternoon (after some last minute ding repairs) we loaded the truck with boards, wetsuits, prams, nappies, toys etc, hooked up with Russell and Elaine Cruickshank and hit the road for the four-hour trek North. With the chart looking a bit 50-50 expectations were mixed, and with a NW wind and relatively small swell expected for Saturday conditions looked uncertain.

Saturday morning dawned rainy, windy and small, with hacked up, head high peaks hitting Thurso East. Despite the poor conditions rideable waves were coming through and the call was made to get the Open division underway. Being in the third heat I had a bit of time to kill and thought I'd watch the first two heats and suss out where best to sit and whether to wait for sets or keep busy. That plan was soon got ditched as 'Dada' needed to be on hand for some puddle stomping instead, which was ultimately more fun! My first heat was challenging to say the least with very few waves on offer, a strong rip, and the westerly wind hacking up the face. Everyone in the heat struggled in the poor conditions. Fortunately I managed to sneak a couple of ok waves and won the heat, so onwards to round two.

As Saturday progressed, the wind got steadily stronger as they ran the Juniors, Seniors, Ladies and Longboards. Hats go off to all the ladies and juniors for giving it a good go in the challenging conditions, particularly as many of them had never surfed Thurso East before. Fortunately, Jill did enough to win the ladies and re-take the Scottish title after a two year hiatus from competition. Having got through a good number of heats the call was made to wait until Sunday to finish the remainder of the comp, and with a dropping wind it looked like good surf would be on offer. However, when I came out from my last heat it was clear something was wrong with my shoulder, and the familiar pain of an old rotator cuff injury came shooting unpleasantly back. At that point I was dubious whether I would be able to surf on Sunday so trudged off to the pharmacy for some ibuprofen and deep heat.

Pulling back the curtains on Sunday morning the sun glinted across a glassy Thurso East, and although it was hard to tell the size it seemed like the swell hadn't dropped any. After a full Scottish brekkie we hit the road, and as soon as we pulled into the TE car park a glassy overhead set roped down the reef - game on. My shoulder was still in a great deal of pain, but with good waves on offer it was down the hatch with the painkillers and off to surf. Despite the glassy conditions it was still tricky to get good waves, particularly on the backside, with the frontsiders having a distinct advantage. Still, once again I managed to pick off enough decent waves (and even a small backhand tube) to take the win and progress to the semi finals. Unfortunately, by the time my semi final came round my shoulder was feeling really fatigued and painful, with paddling becoming a real effort, which really hit home in my heat as I struggled to get into waves, finding only a handful, all of which closed out. Alas my campaign had ended, which was probably just as well from my shoulder.

The finals hit the water with in-form surfers Scratch and Chris Noble hitting the water with the remaining two goofy footers Georgie Watt and Boydie. With an increasing wind and lack of sets the final was a bit of an anticlimax compared to the preceding heats, with only a handful of good sets coming through. In the end it was Scratch who took a deserved win, having surfed impeccably the entire weekend. Chris took second spot and also took home the prize for best wave of the comp for a sick 10 point double tube in his round two heat. Third place went to contest director Mark Boyd and fourth to Georgie Watt.

A big thanks to all the competitors, judges, beach marshalls and anyone else who helped out. Props to Staunch Clothing for the prizes, Tempest Surf Cafe for use for the AGM. Boydie for his first time as contest director. A big thanks also to Martina Cross for standing in the rain and taking photos of us all. Also, thanks to Pentland Lodge House for the great accommodation and food.

For a full set of results and official write-up please keep your eye on the Scottish Surfing Federation Blog. Labels: Scottish, Surf, surfing, Thurso