It’s taken me a minute to get this done, I was straight back to work on Friday and then my custody of my daughter from Friday afternoon until Monday, then back into two busy days of work on the road and office, been trying to squeeze the time in to rest, do my fitness and get this written up!

Firstly, a huge thank you to the team at Surfing England for an amazing competition, and at the Wave in Bristol which suddenly had to close the week prior due to financial reasons, the team there did amazing to get the place refinanced, managed and back open in days for our competition!

Secondly, I need to say a massive thank you to my sponsors so far for 2025:

• DH Earthworks – Funding my World Tour event in September @Oceanside California
• Devon Contractors – whose sponsorship has paid for entry, accommodation and training for this tournament.
• The Plym Group and Progressive Systems whose funding has paid for my fuel to and From Bude sea surfing training with my coach @Adsurf
• C-Skins wetsuits for sponsoring my wetsuits for this season
• Good Surfcraft (Goodfinco) in Bude surfboard shaper and repairs for keeping my board in top top shape
• And of course – the legends in Bude Adsurf themselves for providing opportunities for everyone but specifically coaching and mentoring me.

OK – This year’s Para surfing champs was always going to be a tough one for me, well everything has been tough to a degree, I only picked up a surfboard a year ago! I do forget that sometimes. aha. I do what I always do and train my best in whatever sport I participate. I tried to prepare myself as best I could by surfing at the wave pool as much as was feasibly possible, both in availability of adaptive sessions at the Wave and my work / daughter schedule, and doing bi-weekly sessions in the sea at Bude. I was surfing at least once a week and that’s pretty good for someone in my classification sheerly because of the physical limitations due to my spinal injury and requiring helpers in my sessions.

What I knew was that I had put in the work, I had spent time investing hours in reviving and adapting to my needs an old competition surfboard, donated from a fellow English competitor and legend of parasurfing; Spike Kane. I put my time in at the wave, I know the place, I know how the lake works and roughly how the waves will push me depending on the setting, in essence, I could not have done more.

The pressure was always going to be on my own shoulders, as much as I was trying to be a cool cucumber, I want to be the best and this years comp is my first competition in the UK where I am in my international classification pool, against the best 3 the UK has to offer and, one experienced competitor from Germany. As much as I tried to play it down, I am a competitor and in my first heat it rattled me knowing the others could easily out surf me just through decades of experience as able, then disabled surfers or through more years of para surfing, full stop.

I had a plan, get a banker wave score to settle the emotions, and then go from there! However, a mixture of nerves and inexperience in competition surfing, I was so concerned about completing a long ride it became my focus. Therefore, when my first wave that was due to be a banker score to relax me, did not come off, it really rattled me. In some ways, I was over prepared and worrying about the small things too much, my take off point, the angle of take off, how far from the wall I was etc.

Did I tick the box eventually and complete a couple of long rides out of the 6 we are given? Yes, absolutely and the comparison from a year ago was that those waves were silky smooth and technically for me, pretty good. However, where my inexperience was blatantly obvious was that a silky smooth surf and ride may be enjoyable and good to watch, it does not score points. My already shot nerves became more shot as I heard my scores were in the 4’s, and the other 3 English team mates in my heat were in the 7’s, I died a little inside as my worst fears became reality that I finished 4th in my heat, and 4th out of 5 after the first day.

Naturally, I left the wave pool beach disgruntled that my rides were good but low scored, until I looked back at the video and my coach pointed out my lack of movement using the whole wave. I spent the evening in the hotel having dinner on my own, stewing over things, back in the room which was like an oven, stewing, messaging my coach, stewing! All in a muddle and confused until, I do what I always do and stew and stew until I come to a moment of serenity and calm in my head, where I can then put it to bed. No matter how long it takes, it’s a process that I have to go through, I have to go through every emotion, every scenario, anger, frustration, confusion, feeling hard done by, realising I am not hard done by, remembering I have only been surfing a year, but of course understanding what I should have done and can do the next day.

Fortunately, I could look back at a winning wave of mine from last year in the open category and compare it to my wave this year. It’s easy to think to myself

“Well, I won my open category last year after surfing for 2 months and scoring 8.23, why can’t I get the same scores this year, was I over scored last year?”

Last year I used a very high volume generic surfboard that literally you can’t sink for trying, so hard to fall off a wave when you’re on one and surfing! Last year, I just had to get pushed onto a wave and use my limited knowledge and skill to make minor adjustments on the wave to get to the other side. Absolutely, my self doubt flooded my mind with

“Why don’t you go back on that board tomorrow” and my answer to myself was; “no, that would be the easy thing to do and I want to be the best”.

For sure, there were waves that rolled me over and wiped me out in heat 1 that would not have if I had been on one of the big yellow or green Flowt boards, but I don’t want that for my career, to take what I see as the easy option. Yes, they may surf well on that wave setting, but I need to be able to use a professional board and use it well in the toughest of conditions and then master it to get the massive scores.

I still ‘floated’ the question past my coach in our team chat the next day pre-heat, if he had told me

“I need you to go on that board”

I would have, but he didn’t, he agreed that I had spent time working on the board I was on, the setup, the handle placement etc, it made sense to stay on it and master it. Our goal for my second heat that morning on the other side of the lake was to relax, enjoy but go for those bigger turns at the start and really use my head to move me on the wave, and do what I did not do the day before and use the whole wave from bottom to top, and not just float at the bottom hanging on. The legend Spike also gave me some good advice that my coach also enjoyed hearing, and the 4 brits in my heat enjoyed some water time on the beach cooling off as we got ready to get the stoke on.

I took the pressure off my coach and pusher into the wave Cyril, by saying to him

“Fuck the take off markers, angles, just get me onto the wave and i’ll figure it out”.

It was an instant win removing that pressure of the micro managing details from both of us, each could just relax and get on with our job: Cyril getting me to and on my wave, me surfing it well. I was still super nervous, the left side is usually everyone’s weakest side so I thought

“Shit, if these guys were scoring 7’s on the left, I’m really screwed on the right”.

However, I was second in line to go behind the British no.1 Mark Hagger, and as I bounced up and down the waves as they rolled through for my turn, I felt the adrenaline kick. Cyril launched me onto the wave, it was low on the wave (did not realise at time), it did not have much speed I thought it was the board being hard to turn, it was because there was no drop onto the wave ergo no speed. I was determined to get myself back up that face so I could really do a pronounced turn and drop back down it for the scores. The right side is my strongest side so I was more comfortable in that respect and I absolutely nailed my first ride with some good up and downs, dropping it down off the top of the wave and even checking back slightly to avoid Haggar who had fallen off in front of me to avoid nailing his head with my board, it was silky smooth, confident, and the first wave banker that I needed and when I heard the scores come up at above 5, I had already improved on the day before. That put a smile on my face, my coaches face, and just enabled me to relax and crack on.

Heat 2 I had 3 great waves, all very good surfing and board control, and the only person to beat me on day 2 was the British no.1 ‘Mark mad dog Haggar’. To finish 2nd on day 2 was where I expected to be at, where I hoped to be at, was a great way to round it out and especially with really accomplished surfing having only been on a board since mid May 2024. Sadly, my scores did not elevate my position and I came away with the copper medal.

However, what I gained in experience was so invaluable in learning how and what judges scored and interestingly in my mind, because of the highest scoring wave the day before being a huge cut back first turn; what I was nearly achieving in heat 2 but still 3 good big turns on a wave, it was the little check back turns using the wave that Mark does so well, that scored the highest, and exactly what I had done the year prior…

If I had carbon copied my wave from the year before I could have easily placed 3rd, and with a 9 score, 2nd, and another lesson in surfing learned… expect the unexpected, I presumed everyone would be awesome on the right, but only Mark, myself and then the German ‘Justin’ slightly behind, the right was weak for everyone else. It was fascinating then realising that actually, I was not over scored the year before, I just got those high scores doing small deliberate movements ‘in the pocket’ which that big board allowed, but what the judges scored highly on again this year (I got an 8.23 the year before, he an 8.5, and then 8.3 this year doing the same). So, figuring out the judges is also key!

A very mixed bag competition, invaluable experience, a 4th and a 2nd in my heats, a copper medal to bring home for my daughter, and a great weekend with good company, a great vibe, amazing weather, sadness, smiles, and an awesome effort from the staff at Surfing England and their sponsors for getting it done.

Next up…. The AASP world para surf tour championships USA leg, in September!

Massive thanks to Jamie https://www.instagram.com/_jamie_elliott?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== for the great photos and Surfing England