Westcountry

Over 200 young surfers battled it out in Woolacombe this weekend for the 2008 Hunter/Billabong British Schools Surfing Championships in association with Calypso and Kustom.

Consistent 4ft clean surf and sunshine meant superb conditions for everyone involved and encouraged a very high standard of surfing. Over 200 young surfers aged 12 to 18 from schools across the South West, England, Wales and the Channel Islands entered but it was Newquay that shone through with Holly Donnelly winning the girls, George Picking winning U16s and Tretherras School taking the team cup.

Cornwall led the way right from the beginning as the Tretherras A team scored a massive 61 points knocking last years winner Braunton with 36 points from their top spot. Stand out individual performances were from Matt Burner from Kingsbridge pulling off some impressive maneuvers in the glorious conditions to claim the Under 18s title. George Picking surfed with consistency and maturity posting high scores with his flowing attacking style and duly claimed first place in the Under 16s. In the Under 14s it was Miles Lee Hargreaves from Bournemouth that took the top spot.

North Devon's Karma Worthington won first place in the longboard category but in the girls category Karma was pipped to the post by Newquay's Holly Donelly who has gone from strength to strength this year.

The bodyboard categories also saw some highly competitive surfing with some of the best bodyboarding heats ever judged in the British Schools, standouts Bertie Thompson and Nat McCabe who exchanged a number of high scoring rides in both U16 and U18 finals. Bertie Thompson wowed judges and took both the Under 18s and Under 16s titles. In the girls bodyboard Tamsin Dillon accumulated enough points in the final and took the title.

Karen Walton, National Director of the BSA, said: "We've seen some awesome talent at Woolacombe this weekend and have been blessed with some ideal conditions. We've had an impressive entry from schools across the country, and we are incredibly grateful to the sponsors, teachers and parents who support the youngsters in making this happen. I'm very excited about the summer season of contests that is now on its way and I hope to see a lot of these youngsters competing and giving it as much effort as they did this weekend, well done to everyone who took part!"

Results:

Under 16 bodyboard
1. Bertie Thompson
2. Jacob Sharp
3. Ollie Arden
4. Liam Bentley

Under 18 bodyboard
1. Bertie Thompson
2. Nat McAbe
3. Liam Bentley
4. Ollie Arden

Girls Bodyboard
1. Tamsin Dillon
2. Sophie Good

Longboard
1. Karma Worthington
2. Zack Lawton
3. Harry Bennett
4. Zack Broad

Tassy Swallow
1. Holly Donnelly
2. Karma Worthington
3. Kathleen Spears
4. Tassy Swallow

Under 14
1. Miles Lee Hargreaves
2. Ryan Roberts
3. Paddy Daniel
4. Tassy Swallow

Under 16
1. George Picking
2. Max Tucker
3. Robert Merchant Greenslade
4. Jack Ellis

Under 18
1. Matt Burner
2. Jack Whitefield
3. Tom Bentley
4. Haydn Duck

Overall Schools Winner 2008
1. Tretherras A team 61 points
2. Braunton 36 points
3. Bournemouth 33 points
4. Kingsbridge and Ivybridge 32 points