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The Coors Light European Club Surfing Championships
which were held in Tramore recently proved to be well
worth the long trip for the French Champions who made
the journey by road from the Basque town of Bidart.
This was the first time an Irish Club hosted the event
and Tramore was the obvious choice with National County
titles back to back in recent years and also the infrastructure
of the Surf Centre to complement the event
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| There was a
great turnout for the contest |
The Finals which were held at Tramore Beach saw British
champions Channel Coast Surf Club from Wales up against
The French Champions Bidart Surf Club, East Coast Surf
Club and two teams from the local club T-Bay. Small
but clean surfing conditions combined with a good sprinkling
of South East sunshine made for ideal conditions for
a large local crowd to enjoy in what turned out to be
a thrilling contest involving the best surfers in Europe.
Keith O'Brien hitting the end section |
The contest format of Tag Team allowed for no
errors as only 3 waves per surfer were allowable
and this gave the opportunity for the Basque team's
experience to pull clear at an early stage. However
at the end of the first stage Tramore's Jamie
Byrne with a spectacular display kept T-Bay within
striking range. Consistent surfing from his elder
brother Andrew and Keith O'Brien contributed to
a glimmer of hope for the locals but Jamie's second
half display was not equal to his first and even
allowing for John McCarthy's and Gary Butler brave
and redeeming second half could not stop the French
from pulling well clear at the end. The other
local team boosted by up and coming surfer Kevin
Doyle were too reliant on Big wave surfers like
Dave Blount who just could not get the power required
from the waves available. None the less they gave
the British Champions a good run for their money
and ended up in Forth place overall.
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Andy Byrne launching into one for the team! |
The contest format of Tag Team allowed for no
errors as only 3 waves per surfer were allowable
and this gave the opportunity for the Basque team's
experience to pull clear at an early stage. However
at the end of the first stage Tramore's Jamie
Byrne with a spectacular display kept T-Bay within
striking range. Consistent surfing from his elder
brother Andrew and Keith O'Brien contributed to
a glimmer of hope for the locals but Jamie's second
half display was not equal to his first and even
allowing for John McCarthy's and Gary Butler brave
and redeeming second half could not stop the French
from pulling well clear at the end. The other
local team boosted by up and coming surfer Kevin
Doyle were too reliant on Big wave surfers like
Dave Blount who just could not get the power required
from the waves available. None the less they gave
the British Champions a good run for their money
and ended up in Forth place overall.
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Bidart had the small waves wired! |
At the end of
the Day the Waterford Crystal Trophy went to Bidart
Surf Club from France with T-Bay surf Club a deserved
Second with British champions Channel Coast Third.
Best of the other contestants were T-Bay's second
team who finished 4th beating other clubs from Ireland
England and Wales. |
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