ADAM GRIFFITHS CROWNED FIRST EVER UK PRO SURF FLOWRIDING CHAMP
Newquay-based professional longboarder and surf coach Adam Griffiths proved he has another string to his bow last night (Thurs 17th June) with a unique victory at the inaugural Professional Surfers Flowriding Championships at Retallack Resort & Spa. Organized by the UKPSA and with the help of Retallack’s Flowrider® staff, the event required special new judging criteria with points awarded primarily for ‘entry’ to the flowrider, large carving manoeuvres, full use of the 12m wide ‘flow’, hands free spins and other tricks, and overall style.
Adam was one of the standouts from the opening round which saw the likes of Ben Skinner, Sam Lamiroy, Joss Ash, Reubyn Ash, Danny Wells, and Lee Bartlett testing their skills on the artificial wave. Representing the women, Swiss champion Celine Gehret made it through to second round and there were impressive performances from many of the younger riders, in particular 13-year old Rhys Barfield who went up against Ben Skinner in the quarter finals.
In the semis, fellow longboarders and rivals for this weekend’s Gul Night Surf Skinner and Griffiths battled it out with Skinner enthralling the crowd with some ‘off-the-wall’ aerial entries to the wave. Wildcard Griffiths took victory however - a solid display of powerful cutbacks sealing his place in the final against Joss Brooks after Brooks’ semi-final win over George Picking.
With a large crowd gathered under the floodlights, the final pitted the smooth style of Brooks against Griffiths powerhouse manoevres. After a long day in the heat with competitors’ legs feeling the strain, Griffiths put in one last push and secured his victory, along with the title of first ever UK Pro Surf Flowriding Champion, and a cheque for £1000.
“It’s an insane feeling,” he said. “It’s an awesome event and an awesome place. The arena is great for watching a contest like this so it’s been amazing watching everyone and really interesting. The level stepped up so fast and luckily it all clicked. Flowriding obviously isn’t like surfing but it’s great for your core strength and it’s instant fun.”
Dave Reed, UKPSA contest director added: “It’s been a fantastic event. We’ve seen some of the best surfers in the UK competing for the first time on a flowrider and we’ve shown how good it can be and what people can do on it. These guys have had fairly limited experience on the Flowrider but they’ve performed incredible turns and done amazingly well. It’s been great.”
For more information www.retallackresort.co.uk / www.ukprosurf.com
Issued on behalf of Retallack Resort & Spa by Excess EneRGy Communications.
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