Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Time flies.....
Hey Everyone,
Well sorry about the shortage of posts lately, guess that's how it goes eh?!
Must say that they boys put up a good effort, Boydie had a good game plan and stuck with it throughout. His knowledge helped him to get quite a few good waves however he was out pointed on better set waves. Georgie had a tough heat with not many waves going his way, the waves he did get weren't really keen on cooperating. Scratch put in a fine effort, his experience from the past two events helped him prepare for his heat. Surfing well throughout his heat Scratch did himself proud unfortunately he found his roll of the dice not in his favour. He found himself in one of the highest scoring heats of the first round, even though he did not make it through his heat he could still walk up the reef with his head held high.
I'm sure that everyone seen the photos that have come from the event, I'm going to upload some of my favourites soon. The photo above is Scratch just before his heat and for me this is an outstanding photo. It really sums up the feelings and thoughts that go through your head just before a heat like this. In all honesty its not a very nice position to be in, sure you have all of the journalists calling and talking about how you are the wildcard, the chosen one. Here we have the warrior that the Scots have chosen to put forward as our best.
The ego boost that the journalists give soon subsides leaving the cold hard reality, you are about to surf against some of the best surfers in the world. This is their job, they surf heats every week, winning means continued support and a shot at the big time loosing isn't really an option. Here you are waiting for the countdown, thinking... All I want to do is my best, if I do the best I can and fail that's OK I've done my best. The other option is to surf badly, make the wrong decisions, pick the wrong waves, fall, get stuck inside, it could go flat and I won't get any waves. There are more things can go wrong than right.
Then you have the walk back up the reef, that in itself is a daunting thing. If anyone knows anything about the guys who are at the top of their game it's that they HATE loosing. On the other hand if you win, the world is your oyster all smiles and life is good. winning means living up to the expectation, all the hype from the journalists, the support of the guys on the reef. Loosing is something that you have to deal with and I think that some handle it better than others. Whichever way you look at it it's a long walk with your head bowed.
Anyway I'm getting sidetracked, as you can see from this photo here Scratch surfed well and as far as I'm concerned he did enough to walk up the reef with his head held high.
Later
Chris
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Better late than never!
Evening everyone...
Well I have to say a big sorry to Martina and James as I've been so long at posting about the great work they did during the weekend of the Scottish. I've uploaded a selection of shots that they forwarded onto me but if you would like to see mroe please visit...
http://surfingnorth.wordpress.com/
and
http://www.jamesgunn.co.uk/page80.html
As for me, I'm going to be hanging out watching the 'QS. Boydie sneaked up today to try and get a wee bit of practice in before the event, said that he had a fun surf out at the bowl with twenty seven other guys. One things for sure.. he'll be looking forward to his heat so that there are only three other guys out there with him!
Later
Chris
Well I have to say a big sorry to Martina and James as I've been so long at posting about the great work they did during the weekend of the Scottish. I've uploaded a selection of shots that they forwarded onto me but if you would like to see mroe please visit...
http://surfingnorth.wordpress.com/
and
http://www.jamesgunn.co.uk/page80.html
As for me, I'm going to be hanging out watching the 'QS. Boydie sneaked up today to try and get a wee bit of practice in before the event, said that he had a fun surf out at the bowl with twenty seven other guys. One things for sure.. he'll be looking forward to his heat so that there are only three other guys out there with him!
Later
Chris
Friday, 12 March 2010
Scottish Surfing Federation Scottish National Championships 2010
The SSF Scottish Surfing Championships sponsored by Staunch was held on the weekend of the 6th & 7th March, at Scotland’s most famed wave, Thurso-East. Attracting competitors from all over Scotland to compete against one another for the prestigious title of Scottish Champion, and for the opportunity to represent Scotland in the forthcoming ASP WQS event, the O’Neil Cold Water Classic, and compete for a share of the $145,000 prize purse. The finalists of this year's open competition would also qualify for the Scottish National Surfing Team.
'The Scottish' saw competitors compete in five different divisions: Open, Seniors, Longboard, Ladies & Juniors. Testing conditions greeted competitors on Saturday; head high waves and 15 mph on-shores challenged competitors as a full day of surfing ensued. The 1st round of the open ran, followed by the Seniors semi-finals, Juniors, Ladies, and Longboard finals, all with fine displays of surfing.
The junior event was an exciting man on man final heat - both competitors surfing for their first time on Thurso-East's heavy lipped waves. Louie Chadwick came out on top after catching a high scoring set wave. Both juniors showed great confidence taking on the barelling right handers of Thurso-East on a day that was by no means small and proved to everyone that the future of Scottish surfing is in good hands.
The ladies also surfed with great confidence, this time Fraserburgh's Jill Noble taking the title after catching the best waves and stylishly carving her way to the channel.
The longboard final faced difficult conditions, bumpy faces and fast walls. This year Scottish Longboard Champ, Sam Christopherson had a worthy challenger - Simon Parkinson. Simon was ripping powerfully and stylishly on his 9 footer as if it was a shortboard, and combining traditional nose riding on steep sections of the wave in all his heats. Longboard favourite, Sam, picked off a bomb mid way through the final and rode the tube to secure his title for the second consecutive year, although it was obvious to everyone that Simon has the repertoire to be a contender for the title next year.
You could hardly have asked for a better day on Sunday; over-head world class waves, light off-shores, and even a little sunshine! The remaining heats of the Open promptly beginning at 9am with all competitors and spectators absolutely frothing over the conditions. Surfers were exchanging long barrels, huge floaters and heavy hacks on Thurso Easts flawless copper walls.
Standouts in early rounds of the Open were Mark 'Scratch' Cameron, Chris Noble, Mark 'Boydie' Boyd, Georgie 'Slater' Watt, Russel Cruikshank and Alex Sutherland.
Regardless of conditions Scratch picked off the best waves and surfed them with textbook style to the highest standard. Scratch dominated his heats throughout the competition until he met Chris Noble in the semis, where Chris' tuberiding skills put him on top.
Winner of the Staunch Eagle for highest scoring wave of the competition was the Thurso local, Chris Noble; taking a perfect throaty right with two long deep barrels in the ¼’s, scoring unanimous 10’s from the judges. Thurso-East resident Alex Sutherland had the second highest scoring barrel and was a threatening competitor in the tubing conditions.
Russel Cruikshank was looking strong early on in the contest, throwing buckets of spray on his backhand until an unfortunate wipeout whilst pig-dogging his way into the tube in the semis resulted in a broken thumb.
Mark Boyd and George Watt who both had podium places in the 2009 championships were feeling confident and looking strong early on. Georgie was surfing progressively with a variety of manoeuvres such as reverses and even a layback snap on a lefthander in early rounds. Boydie's backhand attack is always dangerous, although he surfed reservedly in early heats - not the usual radical surfing he is capable of. His tactical knowledge came into play in a tough semi final where a fierce paddle battle ensued with George Noble for a set wave in the dying minutes in the heat for Boydie to protect his lead. Boydie and Georgie Watt both progressed through the semis and into the final for the second consecutive year.
It would be Cameron, Noble, Boyd and Watt who made the final - the experienced regular footers against the youthful goofy footers; Cameron, Boyd and Watt all had podium places in 2009 and Cameron and Noble were both ex champion therefore all finalists were hungry to take the title this time round.
Conditions slightly deteriorated for the Open final, with the wind swinging onshore and the swell pulsing with a lesser frequency than in earlier heats. Event favourites Mark ‘Scratch’ Cameron and Chris Noble were looking tired having surfed their semis and senior final immediately prior. UKPST surfers, Mark Boyd and George Watt were looking strong, but with them both surfing on their backhand against the two favoured, yet tired regular-footers, on Thurso’s reeling rights... who would take the championship title and the WQS wildcard was anyone’s guess.
All four finalists surfed with commitment, control and confidence in the heavy and challenging conditions, but nobody could stop reigning champ, Scratch, from finishing first and retaining his title. Chris Noble came a close second with Boyd and Watt taking 3rd and 4th respectively. It proved to be another close battle between Scratch and Chris who are 10 years older than the other finalists Boydie and Georgie. The rivalry the Scottish Championships has witnessed over the years between Cameron and Noble is sure to be mirrored in future years by the two promising young guns Boyd and Watt, keeping the SSF Scottish Surfing Championships as exciting as ever!
A big thanks to the organisers, the Scottish Surfing Federation, the competitors and all the spectators for making this such a great event. Particular thanks to Andy Bain and Grant Coghill, the head and assistant judges for the weekend, Peter Fenwick the beach marshall and Staunch Industries the competition sponsor.
RESULTS:
OPEN
Mark 'Scratch' Cameron
Chris Noble
Mark 'Boydie' Boyd
Georgie Watt
LADIES
Jill Noble
Lizzy Sutherland
Dianne Ripoll
Angie Fraser
LONGBOARD
Sam Christopherson
Simon Parkinson
Boydie
Angus
JUNIORS
Louie Chadwick
Max Ferguson-Hook
SENIORS
Mark 'Scratch' Cameron
Sam Christopherson
Jason Burnett
Chris Noble
Words by Simon Parkinson & Mark Boyd
'The Scottish' saw competitors compete in five different divisions: Open, Seniors, Longboard, Ladies & Juniors. Testing conditions greeted competitors on Saturday; head high waves and 15 mph on-shores challenged competitors as a full day of surfing ensued. The 1st round of the open ran, followed by the Seniors semi-finals, Juniors, Ladies, and Longboard finals, all with fine displays of surfing.
The junior event was an exciting man on man final heat - both competitors surfing for their first time on Thurso-East's heavy lipped waves. Louie Chadwick came out on top after catching a high scoring set wave. Both juniors showed great confidence taking on the barelling right handers of Thurso-East on a day that was by no means small and proved to everyone that the future of Scottish surfing is in good hands.
The ladies also surfed with great confidence, this time Fraserburgh's Jill Noble taking the title after catching the best waves and stylishly carving her way to the channel.
The longboard final faced difficult conditions, bumpy faces and fast walls. This year Scottish Longboard Champ, Sam Christopherson had a worthy challenger - Simon Parkinson. Simon was ripping powerfully and stylishly on his 9 footer as if it was a shortboard, and combining traditional nose riding on steep sections of the wave in all his heats. Longboard favourite, Sam, picked off a bomb mid way through the final and rode the tube to secure his title for the second consecutive year, although it was obvious to everyone that Simon has the repertoire to be a contender for the title next year.
You could hardly have asked for a better day on Sunday; over-head world class waves, light off-shores, and even a little sunshine! The remaining heats of the Open promptly beginning at 9am with all competitors and spectators absolutely frothing over the conditions. Surfers were exchanging long barrels, huge floaters and heavy hacks on Thurso Easts flawless copper walls.
Standouts in early rounds of the Open were Mark 'Scratch' Cameron, Chris Noble, Mark 'Boydie' Boyd, Georgie 'Slater' Watt, Russel Cruikshank and Alex Sutherland.
Regardless of conditions Scratch picked off the best waves and surfed them with textbook style to the highest standard. Scratch dominated his heats throughout the competition until he met Chris Noble in the semis, where Chris' tuberiding skills put him on top.
Winner of the Staunch Eagle for highest scoring wave of the competition was the Thurso local, Chris Noble; taking a perfect throaty right with two long deep barrels in the ¼’s, scoring unanimous 10’s from the judges. Thurso-East resident Alex Sutherland had the second highest scoring barrel and was a threatening competitor in the tubing conditions.
Russel Cruikshank was looking strong early on in the contest, throwing buckets of spray on his backhand until an unfortunate wipeout whilst pig-dogging his way into the tube in the semis resulted in a broken thumb.
Mark Boyd and George Watt who both had podium places in the 2009 championships were feeling confident and looking strong early on. Georgie was surfing progressively with a variety of manoeuvres such as reverses and even a layback snap on a lefthander in early rounds. Boydie's backhand attack is always dangerous, although he surfed reservedly in early heats - not the usual radical surfing he is capable of. His tactical knowledge came into play in a tough semi final where a fierce paddle battle ensued with George Noble for a set wave in the dying minutes in the heat for Boydie to protect his lead. Boydie and Georgie Watt both progressed through the semis and into the final for the second consecutive year.
It would be Cameron, Noble, Boyd and Watt who made the final - the experienced regular footers against the youthful goofy footers; Cameron, Boyd and Watt all had podium places in 2009 and Cameron and Noble were both ex champion therefore all finalists were hungry to take the title this time round.
Conditions slightly deteriorated for the Open final, with the wind swinging onshore and the swell pulsing with a lesser frequency than in earlier heats. Event favourites Mark ‘Scratch’ Cameron and Chris Noble were looking tired having surfed their semis and senior final immediately prior. UKPST surfers, Mark Boyd and George Watt were looking strong, but with them both surfing on their backhand against the two favoured, yet tired regular-footers, on Thurso’s reeling rights... who would take the championship title and the WQS wildcard was anyone’s guess.
All four finalists surfed with commitment, control and confidence in the heavy and challenging conditions, but nobody could stop reigning champ, Scratch, from finishing first and retaining his title. Chris Noble came a close second with Boyd and Watt taking 3rd and 4th respectively. It proved to be another close battle between Scratch and Chris who are 10 years older than the other finalists Boydie and Georgie. The rivalry the Scottish Championships has witnessed over the years between Cameron and Noble is sure to be mirrored in future years by the two promising young guns Boyd and Watt, keeping the SSF Scottish Surfing Championships as exciting as ever!
A big thanks to the organisers, the Scottish Surfing Federation, the competitors and all the spectators for making this such a great event. Particular thanks to Andy Bain and Grant Coghill, the head and assistant judges for the weekend, Peter Fenwick the beach marshall and Staunch Industries the competition sponsor.
RESULTS:
OPEN
Mark 'Scratch' Cameron
Chris Noble
Mark 'Boydie' Boyd
Georgie Watt
LADIES
Jill Noble
Lizzy Sutherland
Dianne Ripoll
Angie Fraser
LONGBOARD
Sam Christopherson
Simon Parkinson
Boydie
Angus
JUNIORS
Louie Chadwick
Max Ferguson-Hook
SENIORS
Mark 'Scratch' Cameron
Sam Christopherson
Jason Burnett
Chris Noble
Words by Simon Parkinson & Mark Boyd
Monday, 8 March 2010
Done and dusted!
Well that's it for another year...
Pretty successful and eventful all round I reckon. There were some good waves, some not so good waves, a few injuries and aching bodies the next day but most importantly some pretty good surfing in all of the divisions!
Sunday had to be the highlight, Scratch took the Open title again this year and set out his intentions right from the hooter in the first heat of the day. His first wave for the heat on Sunday pretty much sealing his heat win leaving him the rest of the heat to find a back up wave which of course he had no problems in doing.
Conditions throughout the morning were some of the best we've seen for a contest in quite a few years, I must say I enjoyed my heats, the waves allowed mostly everyone to have a fair crack at a couple of nice ones and I'm sure that there were some happy campers on the way home on Sunday evening.
Another good turn out from everyone, stoked to see the longboard and Senior division's becomming bigger at the event too.
Big thanks to everyone for turning up and helping out especially Grant and Andy for Judging, Pete, running the beach marshall for the two days, Boydie for his first efforts at Contest Director and again thanks to everyone who picked up a clipboard and judged a heat or two.
Anyway I have to get going just now, full results to follow soon, I'm away just now so once I can get it organised I'll get them posted.
Thanks
Chris
Pretty successful and eventful all round I reckon. There were some good waves, some not so good waves, a few injuries and aching bodies the next day but most importantly some pretty good surfing in all of the divisions!
Sunday had to be the highlight, Scratch took the Open title again this year and set out his intentions right from the hooter in the first heat of the day. His first wave for the heat on Sunday pretty much sealing his heat win leaving him the rest of the heat to find a back up wave which of course he had no problems in doing.
Conditions throughout the morning were some of the best we've seen for a contest in quite a few years, I must say I enjoyed my heats, the waves allowed mostly everyone to have a fair crack at a couple of nice ones and I'm sure that there were some happy campers on the way home on Sunday evening.
Another good turn out from everyone, stoked to see the longboard and Senior division's becomming bigger at the event too.
Big thanks to everyone for turning up and helping out especially Grant and Andy for Judging, Pete, running the beach marshall for the two days, Boydie for his first efforts at Contest Director and again thanks to everyone who picked up a clipboard and judged a heat or two.
Anyway I have to get going just now, full results to follow soon, I'm away just now so once I can get it organised I'll get them posted.
Thanks
Chris
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Scottish champs '10
Hi Everyone,
Well we've decided to call the Scottish on for this weekend (6th & 7th) at Thurso. With a reasonable chart we're hoping for a few waves over the weekend. Check in will be 8am at Thurso East car park.
There is also the AGM planned for the evening of the 6th. This will start at 7pm at Tempest surf cafe.
If you would like to see the agenda please follow the link to the side.
Cheers
Chris
Well we've decided to call the Scottish on for this weekend (6th & 7th) at Thurso. With a reasonable chart we're hoping for a few waves over the weekend. Check in will be 8am at Thurso East car park.
There is also the AGM planned for the evening of the 6th. This will start at 7pm at Tempest surf cafe.
If you would like to see the agenda please follow the link to the side.
Cheers
Chris
Friday, 26 February 2010
Have you been injured whilst surfing/body boarding/knee boarding?
Hi all,
I am a Masters student currently studying an MSc in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Glasgow University. For my thesis I am undertaking a research project on injuries related to surfing. As a keen surfer (knee boarder) who has spent over 25 years in the water I have suffered, as well as seen many various injuries whilst out in the water. Therefore, I am keen to see if the choice of what type of surfing you participate in (stand-up/body board/knee board) can predispose you to certain types of injuries.
Many previous studies in this area have mainly looked at stand-up surfing, but as stated above, I am keen to see if your choice of surf craft can lead to particular types of injury. The injuries that I am looking for can range from the most minor cut or scrape, to more serious forms of injury. No injury is too small or too large. However, the injury that I am asking you to report must have happened during the year 2009 or early 2010. All that I ask is that you click on the link provided and answer the on-line questionnaire (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CY8S59Y). It is completely anonymous, and please be as honest as possible.
Also, if you know of any other surfer who may have been injured, or they know of any other surfer who may have been injured, could you please forward the link onto them? They do not have to be Scottish! As the more respondents to the survey, the better understanding of the risks associated with the choice of board you ride.
If you require more information please feel free to email me on b.ferrier@napier.ac.uk and thank you for your time.
Brendon Ferrier
MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine
Glasgow University
I am a Masters student currently studying an MSc in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Glasgow University. For my thesis I am undertaking a research project on injuries related to surfing. As a keen surfer (knee boarder) who has spent over 25 years in the water I have suffered, as well as seen many various injuries whilst out in the water. Therefore, I am keen to see if the choice of what type of surfing you participate in (stand-up/body board/knee board) can predispose you to certain types of injuries.
Many previous studies in this area have mainly looked at stand-up surfing, but as stated above, I am keen to see if your choice of surf craft can lead to particular types of injury. The injuries that I am looking for can range from the most minor cut or scrape, to more serious forms of injury. No injury is too small or too large. However, the injury that I am asking you to report must have happened during the year 2009 or early 2010. All that I ask is that you click on the link provided and answer the on-line questionnaire (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CY8S59Y). It is completely anonymous, and please be as honest as possible.
Also, if you know of any other surfer who may have been injured, or they know of any other surfer who may have been injured, could you please forward the link onto them? They do not have to be Scottish! As the more respondents to the survey, the better understanding of the risks associated with the choice of board you ride.
If you require more information please feel free to email me on b.ferrier@napier.ac.uk and thank you for your time.
Brendon Ferrier
MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine
Glasgow University
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Staunch supports the Scottish champs
Hi All,
Just had a really exciting call from the guys at Staunch clothing, turns out that they're super stoked on the event and would like to support the SSF this year! If you've never heard of them they're an up and coming clothing brand made in Scotland by Scots for Scots, if you'd like to know more check out http://www.staunchindustries.co.uk/
There was a wee bit of confusion from some of you regarding my last post so just to clarify, our dates that we would love to run the contest is going to be the 6th and 7th of March. Obviously this will depend largely on Huey!
Hopefully the event runs and we will be able to hold the 2010 SSF AGM on the evening of the 6th, I'm still working on the venue but will update everyone once that's finalised. A copy of the agenda will be available soon for anyone who would like a copy, Also if you would like to see anything on the agenda please feel free to email me at scottishwaveriders@gmail.com.
As always there will be a final call made around Wednesday the week of the contest, if everything goes belly up there is a back up date for the start of April but keep your fingers crossed and prey to Huey!
See you there...
Chris
Just had a really exciting call from the guys at Staunch clothing, turns out that they're super stoked on the event and would like to support the SSF this year! If you've never heard of them they're an up and coming clothing brand made in Scotland by Scots for Scots, if you'd like to know more check out http://www.staunchindustries.co.uk/
There was a wee bit of confusion from some of you regarding my last post so just to clarify, our dates that we would love to run the contest is going to be the 6th and 7th of March. Obviously this will depend largely on Huey!
Hopefully the event runs and we will be able to hold the 2010 SSF AGM on the evening of the 6th, I'm still working on the venue but will update everyone once that's finalised. A copy of the agenda will be available soon for anyone who would like a copy, Also if you would like to see anything on the agenda please feel free to email me at scottishwaveriders@gmail.com.
As always there will be a final call made around Wednesday the week of the contest, if everything goes belly up there is a back up date for the start of April but keep your fingers crossed and prey to Huey!
See you there...
Chris
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Dates for the Scottish
Evening all,
Sorry it's taken a wee bit of time to get these to you, things have been a bit hetic on my end however I'm hoping that you'll have enough time to get ready for this years Scottish.
The first date we are looking at is a bit earlier than usual on the 6th and 7th of March with a back up date of the 3rd and 4th of April.
Once again we will be looking at running the event in Thurso.
A final call will be made around the start of March so that you know what's happening.
On a similar note, we are still working on dates for this years Gathering. Hopefully I can confirm them soon!
Thanks
Chris
Sorry it's taken a wee bit of time to get these to you, things have been a bit hetic on my end however I'm hoping that you'll have enough time to get ready for this years Scottish.
The first date we are looking at is a bit earlier than usual on the 6th and 7th of March with a back up date of the 3rd and 4th of April.
Once again we will be looking at running the event in Thurso.
A final call will be made around the start of March so that you know what's happening.
On a similar note, we are still working on dates for this years Gathering. Hopefully I can confirm them soon!
Thanks
Chris
RESULT!
Coastal Car Parking Charges not going ahead
After discussions within the administration group- it was decided not to progress with Coastal Car Parking Charges
Budget papers are now available for the meeting on Tuesday- link attachedhttp://cmis.eastlothian.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/
Labour and Tory Groups have both proposed to proceed with charging, however the administration councillors form the majority of councillors and charging will not go ahead
Difficult decisions however had to be made throughout the budget
Cllr Paul McLellan
Paul has also ensured that there will be no futher charges for the period they continue to be in administration (2 yrs)
So looks like you can still turn up and surf for free!
After discussions within the administration group- it was decided not to progress with Coastal Car Parking Charges
Budget papers are now available for the meeting on Tuesday- link attachedhttp://cmis.eastlothian.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/
Labour and Tory Groups have both proposed to proceed with charging, however the administration councillors form the majority of councillors and charging will not go ahead
Difficult decisions however had to be made throughout the budget
Cllr Paul McLellan
Paul has also ensured that there will be no futher charges for the period they continue to be in administration (2 yrs)
So looks like you can still turn up and surf for free!
Friday, 22 January 2010
How good is your duck dive?
All,
Please see below from a student who is studying the art of the duck dive...
I am a keen surfer and a 4th year Sports Science student at the University of Edinburgh. For my thesis I am undertaking a research project on the biomechanics of the surfing duck dive technique. As a surfer I am sure you will appreciate the importance of duck diving, an effective duck dive allows a surfer to get out back more quickly, reducing fatigue and increasing time spent catching waves.
The purpose of this research is to analyse the technique in order to identify the movement patterns required to perform it successfully. This will provide information on how the technique can be improved and which muscles can be trained to make duck diving as effective as possible.
The research is taking place at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Aquatics Research, which has cameras placed both above and below water, providing detailed three dimensional analysis. There is very little research on surfing and nothing published in this area at all, making the results of this project potentially very interesting.
I am planning on getting started with the project in the next few weeks and I am hoping to find some surfers who may be interested in taking part. It would require performing a few duck dives in the University pool, allowing for the performance to be filmed. This would only take an afternoon and should be interesting to take part in because immediate feedback of the performance is available so a participant can watch themselves duck dive, and see how they could improve their own technique.
This project is completely reliant on volunteers being willing to take part and I would greatly appreciate anyone who is willing to come along and participate.
If you think you might be interested in participating, please email me at s0673892@sms.ed.ac.uk and I will be happy to give you some more information.
Kind Regards,
Robert Kupris
4th year Sports Science Student
University of Edinburgh
Please see below from a student who is studying the art of the duck dive...
I am a keen surfer and a 4th year Sports Science student at the University of Edinburgh. For my thesis I am undertaking a research project on the biomechanics of the surfing duck dive technique. As a surfer I am sure you will appreciate the importance of duck diving, an effective duck dive allows a surfer to get out back more quickly, reducing fatigue and increasing time spent catching waves.
The purpose of this research is to analyse the technique in order to identify the movement patterns required to perform it successfully. This will provide information on how the technique can be improved and which muscles can be trained to make duck diving as effective as possible.
The research is taking place at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Aquatics Research, which has cameras placed both above and below water, providing detailed three dimensional analysis. There is very little research on surfing and nothing published in this area at all, making the results of this project potentially very interesting.
I am planning on getting started with the project in the next few weeks and I am hoping to find some surfers who may be interested in taking part. It would require performing a few duck dives in the University pool, allowing for the performance to be filmed. This would only take an afternoon and should be interesting to take part in because immediate feedback of the performance is available so a participant can watch themselves duck dive, and see how they could improve their own technique.
This project is completely reliant on volunteers being willing to take part and I would greatly appreciate anyone who is willing to come along and participate.
If you think you might be interested in participating, please email me at s0673892@sms.ed.ac.uk and I will be happy to give you some more information.
Kind Regards,
Robert Kupris
4th year Sports Science Student
University of Edinburgh
Monday, 11 January 2010
Well hello there!
Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything, I had some major computer problems over the last couple of months. So there goes my first shout out... Cheers Santa! Old Saint Nick didn't fail me this year, he delivered a nice shiny new lap top so we should have a few more updates coming soon.
On the email front, thanks to everyone who has been in touch, I'll do my best this time I'm home to catch up with everything and get back to you, If I don't get back to you in the next couple of weeks feel free to mail me back and call me slack! ;o)
On the wave front it's been a really poor season up north with only a couple of days here and there, no real swells of note. However I've been lead to believe that the East coast has had a good run of waves since Christmas, if you've braved to freezing temperatures and really bad driving conditions to get a couple good on you. I reckon you earned them...
One last note, the East Lothian Council want to introduce parking charges at ALL beaches in the county. This was rejected once already but they are trying again. If you value your beach access please sign the petition and pass on to as many as possible. The decision is being taken at a finance meeting on 9th Feb - the Council seem to think this will rescue them from their budget deficit! http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33265.html
Thanks
Chris
Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything, I had some major computer problems over the last couple of months. So there goes my first shout out... Cheers Santa! Old Saint Nick didn't fail me this year, he delivered a nice shiny new lap top so we should have a few more updates coming soon.
On the email front, thanks to everyone who has been in touch, I'll do my best this time I'm home to catch up with everything and get back to you, If I don't get back to you in the next couple of weeks feel free to mail me back and call me slack! ;o)
On the wave front it's been a really poor season up north with only a couple of days here and there, no real swells of note. However I've been lead to believe that the East coast has had a good run of waves since Christmas, if you've braved to freezing temperatures and really bad driving conditions to get a couple good on you. I reckon you earned them...
One last note, the East Lothian Council want to introduce parking charges at ALL beaches in the county. This was rejected once already but they are trying again. If you value your beach access please sign the petition and pass on to as many as possible. The decision is being taken at a finance meeting on 9th Feb - the Council seem to think this will rescue them from their budget deficit! http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33265.html
Thanks
Chris
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Gathering of the Clans Update 12 Nov 2009
All,
Unfortunately after looking closely at the charts over the last few days we've sadly had to cancel the Gathering of the Clans once again. The reason for this is the current weather charts still carry a large amount of uncertainty given the position of the low pressure system and it doesn’t appear that there will be a long enough swell window over the forthcoming weekend to give the event the full justice it needs. Once again on behalf of the Scottish Surfing Federation I'd like to thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience. The SSF team will work at revising dates for fallback and will let everyone know in due course.
Thanks
On behalf of the SSF
W.Watson
Unfortunately after looking closely at the charts over the last few days we've sadly had to cancel the Gathering of the Clans once again. The reason for this is the current weather charts still carry a large amount of uncertainty given the position of the low pressure system and it doesn’t appear that there will be a long enough swell window over the forthcoming weekend to give the event the full justice it needs. Once again on behalf of the Scottish Surfing Federation I'd like to thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience. The SSF team will work at revising dates for fallback and will let everyone know in due course.
Thanks
On behalf of the SSF
W.Watson
Friday, 30 October 2009
UKPST Update
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick update as to how the guys are getting on with their UKPST campaigns
Scottish surfers Mark Boyd and George Watt traveled to the Tynemouth UKPST North East Open at the weekend to try their hand against the UKs best surfers. The normal Thurso leg of the tour had been cancelled so this was the closest contest to Scotland for this season. Messy 1-2ft waves with strong winds made for difficult conditions. Mark Boyd narrowly missed out on progressing through to the quarter finals. Boydie found one right-hander on which he made a few backhand turns to the beach, this took him to second place behind Australia's Micah Lester but ahead of Newquay's Martin Black and Australia's Jordan Cuff. However Martin Black replied with two solid scoring waves, Boydie was unable to find another higher scoring wave which left him 0.5 points behind Martin.
Unfortunately an interference was called against Georgie early in his round 1 heat making the last 15 minutes in the water an uphill struggle. Georgie has continued onto Wales for next weekend’s competition so the best of luck to Georgie and let’s hope he can do Scotland proud. Georgie has been participating in all of the UKPST contests this year, the only Scottish surfer to have a real crack at the tour. Here’s hope his hard training and commitment really pays off and he can make his mark on the overall ratings.
Chris
Just a quick update as to how the guys are getting on with their UKPST campaigns
Scottish surfers Mark Boyd and George Watt traveled to the Tynemouth UKPST North East Open at the weekend to try their hand against the UKs best surfers. The normal Thurso leg of the tour had been cancelled so this was the closest contest to Scotland for this season. Messy 1-2ft waves with strong winds made for difficult conditions. Mark Boyd narrowly missed out on progressing through to the quarter finals. Boydie found one right-hander on which he made a few backhand turns to the beach, this took him to second place behind Australia's Micah Lester but ahead of Newquay's Martin Black and Australia's Jordan Cuff. However Martin Black replied with two solid scoring waves, Boydie was unable to find another higher scoring wave which left him 0.5 points behind Martin.
Unfortunately an interference was called against Georgie early in his round 1 heat making the last 15 minutes in the water an uphill struggle. Georgie has continued onto Wales for next weekend’s competition so the best of luck to Georgie and let’s hope he can do Scotland proud. Georgie has been participating in all of the UKPST contests this year, the only Scottish surfer to have a real crack at the tour. Here’s hope his hard training and commitment really pays off and he can make his mark on the overall ratings.
Chris
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Joxy Girls
All,
Looks like this ladies surfing thing might really be taking off here?
Here's a wee link to a facebook page for a group of girls who have called themselves the joxy girls. Their aim is to get more ladies into the water here in Scotland, good on them I say!
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=84810788541#/pages/The-Joxy-Girls/84810788541
Cheers
Chris
Looks like this ladies surfing thing might really be taking off here?
Here's a wee link to a facebook page for a group of girls who have called themselves the joxy girls. Their aim is to get more ladies into the water here in Scotland, good on them I say!
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=84810788541#/pages/The-Joxy-Girls/84810788541
Cheers
Chris
Chicks Dig It.....
Having spent many hours splashing about in the cold Scottish waters of the North Sea, a group of surf-inspired chicas decided enough was enough, and migrated to the warmer climes of South-west France. That was five years ago, and now they're encouraging other like-minded ladies to do the same.
This summer witnessed the first ever surf camp for British girls held on the sunny beaches of Seignosse and Hossegor. Teaming up with Ashleigh Bennetts, head coach of the O'Neill Surf Academy, the Surf Affinity girls enjoyed a summer of sick surf and sunshine, where everyone's surfing progressed massively. The camp was sponsored by Nikita, who donated treats by the bucketload, and their team riders came along to hang out on the beach and boost some nifty surfing tricks!
It was a really good way for the girls to strike out on their own and boost their confidence in the water. The emphasis was definitely on having plenty of fun! All levels of ability were catered for and, once the surf session was over, the girls headed off to explore the local area.
There are plenty of courses planned for next summer, so don't hesitate to give us a shout if you're interested. From newbies to hotshots, everyone is welcome, so check out www.surfaffinity.com for more info or call us to discuss your Surf Affinity surf camp experience!
Cheers
Corinne
This summer witnessed the first ever surf camp for British girls held on the sunny beaches of Seignosse and Hossegor. Teaming up with Ashleigh Bennetts, head coach of the O'Neill Surf Academy, the Surf Affinity girls enjoyed a summer of sick surf and sunshine, where everyone's surfing progressed massively. The camp was sponsored by Nikita, who donated treats by the bucketload, and their team riders came along to hang out on the beach and boost some nifty surfing tricks!
It was a really good way for the girls to strike out on their own and boost their confidence in the water. The emphasis was definitely on having plenty of fun! All levels of ability were catered for and, once the surf session was over, the girls headed off to explore the local area.
There are plenty of courses planned for next summer, so don't hesitate to give us a shout if you're interested. From newbies to hotshots, everyone is welcome, so check out www.surfaffinity.com for more info or call us to discuss your Surf Affinity surf camp experience!
Cheers
Corinne
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
MVP... Who Decides?!
Evening all...
Well things are heating up with a wee bit of competition on the MVP front. If you don't know what MVP is it's basically a competition with the top ten guys being taken around the world to film their section. The beauty of it is that YOU decide who goes.
We now have two guys from Scotland in the running George Watt from Fraserburgh and Mark boyde from Sandend. So go on go to http://www.mvpyoudecide.com/ and have your say!
Well things are heating up with a wee bit of competition on the MVP front. If you don't know what MVP is it's basically a competition with the top ten guys being taken around the world to film their section. The beauty of it is that YOU decide who goes.
We now have two guys from Scotland in the running George Watt from Fraserburgh and Mark boyde from Sandend. So go on go to http://www.mvpyoudecide.com/ and have your say!
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Gathering Update
All,
Just another quick update - unfortunately the chart isn't looking much better this time either - and once again we have had to postpone the Gathering of the Clans event. For the time being we will now aim to hold the event on the weekend 14th– 15th November we've had to choose this date due to unforseen circumstances.
Apologies for any inconvenience and hope to see you in a months time,
Thanks
Watson
Just another quick update - unfortunately the chart isn't looking much better this time either - and once again we have had to postpone the Gathering of the Clans event. For the time being we will now aim to hold the event on the weekend 14th– 15th November we've had to choose this date due to unforseen circumstances.
Apologies for any inconvenience and hope to see you in a months time,
Thanks
Watson
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Gathering of the Clans '09
Morning everyone,
Unfortunately due to poor forecast conditions we have had to cancel the Clans this weekend.
We will now be looking at the 17th - 18th October to run the event. Again there will be another call closer to the time to let everyone know what's happening.
Lets hope for swell next time!
Thanks
Chris
Unfortunately due to poor forecast conditions we have had to cancel the Clans this weekend.
We will now be looking at the 17th - 18th October to run the event. Again there will be another call closer to the time to let everyone know what's happening.
Lets hope for swell next time!
Thanks
Chris
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Gathering '09
Hey Everyone,
Well it's getting closer to the Clans again, hope everybody is ready and have their teams in place.
Anyone still looking for a team can get in contact to try and arrange a place.
Clan Chiefs...
Can all Clan Chiefs please contact me with details of their teams at scottishwaveriders@gmail.com
Pray for waves!
Chris
Well it's getting closer to the Clans again, hope everybody is ready and have their teams in place.
Anyone still looking for a team can get in contact to try and arrange a place.
Clan Chiefs...
Can all Clan Chiefs please contact me with details of their teams at scottishwaveriders@gmail.com
Pray for waves!
Chris
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