Sweet Dreams on Elms Street

SURFING Channel Island championships Open winner Nathan Elms Picture: DAVID FERGUSON

Multiple winners were crowned across divisions spanning from the U14 girls category to the hotly contested men’s open – which was held in high-quality surf at the Watersplash on Sunday in front of a large crowd.

The first rounds of the contest ran on Saturday in big and windy conditions which tested competitors’ physical and mental resilience. The finals were held on Sunday in waves of a similar size to the previous day, but with an offshore wind which made the conditions cleaner.

Pre-event favourite and 2019 winner Nathan Elms retained the men’s open title ahead of Finlay Clayton in a closely fought final that had the crowd gripped. The final was a battle of the ages and featured 16-year-old Owen Graham who made it to the last hurdle in the U18 boys category too.

Graham, and fellow juniors Anders Ravenscroft and Guernsey’s Tom Hook, were among the stand-out surfers of the event and presented a new challenge for the established senior surfers in the open category.

Hook also ensured the U18 boys title went back to Guernsey as he surfed critically to beat Graham, Ravenscroft and Max Bennett in a high-scoring affair.

Sam George made the most of the tricky mid-tide conditions in the men’s masters final, securing the highest scoring wave of the heat and the title.

Maina Cummins, Nava Dowse-Harris and Arran Hunt won the U18 girls, U14 girls and U14 boys divisions respectively.

All of the junior entrants showed great determination and courage to surf beyond their years in the challenging conditions throughout the event.

Other winners included Josh Le Marquand, Aaron Rowe and Clint Radius Loake who took top honours in the men’s Longboard, men’s Stand-up paddle board and men’s body board respectively.

Michelle Dawson, one of the organiser’s of the event, said: ‘All of the competitors across the divisions contended with big and challenging conditions and the judges commented that the level of surfing was exceptionally high, which is fantastic for all member clubs of the Channel Islands Surfing Federation, as well as Channel Island sport generally. In addition, it was incredible to see the sheer determination and fearlessness displayed, given the conditions, particularly amongst the junior divisions. This, coupled with the obvious community spirit between all entrants, spectators and the event team, meant the weekend was a great success.’

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