Fat Face Night Surf shows weather can’t dampen the show!

The Fat Face Night Surf was completed this weekend despite flat surf and rainy weather. Despite the poor conditions Fat Face and Lusty Glaze put on a great show and the Night Surf, once again, proved to be a great success.

Alan Stokes

The decision to move the surfing to Pentewan Beach, St Austell was made by contest director Dave Reed on Friday morning, so the BPSA crew gathered all materials and surfers and off they went. With three categories including open, Womens and Longboard the decision had to be made and quickly. It paid off as they were greeted by 2/3 ft surf which was more than enough to run the comp. Day one standouts included Aussie WQS surfer Jason Duffy who won all of his heats to take him into round 4 the following day as did another Aussie Josh Fairleigh. Also surfing very well were Micah Lester and new Freerange rider Matt Capel. The usual suspects of Stokes, Whittaker, Pearce and Harris were also cruising along.

After day one surfing was complete it was back to Lusty Glaze for the first night of partying! Fat Face had organised some bands to play and with the rest of the action on the beach a great time was had by all. Foster’s kept everyone fed and watered with their beer and Barbie while Freerange Sport Optics (FSO) captured the whole event on camera, which can be seen on www.freerangeuk.com. Boost of course were also there with their energy sweets to keep everyone going. The party continued till around midnight, and possibly longer for those not surfing the next day!

Nicole Morgan

So on to day two and a lot of surfing to get through including the FSO Expression Session. For the FSO Expression Session it was decided to put all the £500 prize money into one move, which was going to be Best Air. All the best aerialists entered including Croyde’s FSO Move of the day, best air winner Reubyn Ash. Other entries included Toby Atkins, Micah Lester and Oli Adams, winner of the last FSO Expression Session At the Gul Newquay Open last year. With all these surfers entered the quality was high and the guys were busting out all over the place giving the judges a difficult time. In the end however it was Oli Adams who took the £500 and his tally of FSO Expression Sessions to two out of two!

The Fat Face Women’s event was very encouraging this year with a high entry level from girls all over the UK. It was hard work out there for the girls but in the end the final came down to Nicola Bunt, Nicole Morgan, Sarah Bentley and Sophie Cherel. All the girls surfed well but it was Nicole Morgan from Ireland who took a deserved win and a lead in the BPSA Womens ratings.

The Longboard event also went well with Ben Skinner and Lee Ryan dominating each end of the draw. They both won all their heats until the final and a tight clash was expected. However Ben struggled and Dan Harris pushed Lee all the way. He did not quite have enough though and Lee took the win. He then doubled his £250 prize purse by being awarded the FSO Move of the Day for best Floater.

The open event had been pretty tight all weekend and it was down to the quarter finals. Here the first upset took place and Alan Stokes, current BPSA champ was knocked out in 4 th place as was Reubyn Pearce in 3 rd. Both will have been disappointed due to current good form. The semis were up next and a great effort by Toby Atkins and Llewellyn Whittaker put out on form surf Jason Duffy while in the other semi British Junior

Champion Matt Capel and Micah Lester went through at the expense on Mark Harris and Irish Surfing Champion Mike Morgan.

The final was close all the way with all the guys ripping. Toby couldn’t find his form from the previous heat and took 4 th place. Llewellyn surfed great but was pushed into 3 rd leaving a fight between Matt and Micah. In the end it was Micah Lester who took the win in this international final and left Matt in second.

So with the surfing decided it was once again back to Lusty for the second party, prize giving and fireworks display. As before all the sponsors were doing their thing on the beach and Fat Face organised some killer acts to perform to the Lusty crowd. Prize giving took place and was then foillowed by the now traditional fireworks which lit up Newquay’s sky and drew ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd. After everyone had cleared off the beach it was time to go to Berties for the Foster’s party. With plenty of free beer vouchers flying around it made for the perfect end to a great weekend. Cheers guys!!

Dave Reed Event Director said “ It is extremely encouraging that the sponsors Fat Face are prepared to make difficult decisions, supporting a change of venue for the surfing for the benefit of the surfers and the event,” adding “ surfing will only get stronger with the backing of companies like Fat Face, Fosters, Boost and Freerange, who recognise the sports credibility”

The weekend was once again a success and massive thanks goes out to all involved, Fat Face, Lusty Glaze, BPSA, Foster’s, FSO, Boost, all the surfers and the crowds that cam to enjoy the party! Next stop on the BPSA Tour is the Kangaroo Poo Watersplash Open in Jersey. See you there!

For the latest information on the BPSA UK Tour, images or Press Releases, please contact James Rodd on 0044(0)208-789-6655 or Fax: 0044(0)208-789-6644 or Email: james @ sportsvision.co.uk

Source: Sportvision.co.uk

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