Other Sport / Surfing
Adaptive surfing championships return to The Wave
The English Adaptive Surfing Open will see the best para-surfers from across the country and beyond convene in Bristol.
The event, to be held on Thursday, will be the fifth of its kind and the second held at The Wave.
The venue in Easter Compton, near Cribbs Causeway, was chosen due to its design, which will allow for accessibility in the range and quality of the waves produced by its technology.
It is hoped the event will build the case for national funding to be made available to support this rapidly growing para-sport. Surfing will make its debut in the Olympics in Tokyo this summer.
Speaking ahead of the competition, Nick Hounsfield, founder of The Wave and chair of Surfing England, said: “The Wave was built to be truly accessible to all, with the aim of bringing the physical and mental health benefits of surfing – as well as the pure joy of it – to more people, regardless of ability.
“Our UK adaptive surfing community helped develop the plans with us and were among the very first people to test the place out when we opened in late 2019.
“Our wave-making technology allows us to run a range of different surfing waves at the touch of a button – and we aren’t at the mercy of the elements, which is perfect in terms of running a surfing competition.”
Contestants at this year’s event will be competing on The Wave’s advanced setting, with the competition being scored by their rides on both sides of the lake.
This year, the dryrobe-sponsored surfing competition will also introduce a new event, the Waikiki Participation Session.
This session will allow for those adaptive surfers who are competent but not yet of competition level to experience the events of the day and have a go at surfing on a gentler wave setting, known as “Waikiki”.
Ben Powis, CEO of Surfing England, said: “As surfing makes its Olympic debut this year, it’s a great opportunity to raise awareness of adaptive surfing and highlight the amazingly talented athletes we have in this country.
“Adaptive surfing continues to go from strength to strength, with the Team England Adaptive crew home to some of the world’s best.
“We need the sport to gain more recognition, be funded at a national level and ultimately included in the Paralympics.”
The event will run according to Covid-19 measures and so groups will be restricted to 30 outside and six inside, with social distancing enforced across the site.
Spectator Passes can be purchased at thewave.com.
Main photo: The Wave
Read more: ‘Mastering The Wave – well, sort of’
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