Winter boom booms Animal British Cup

British bulldog Russell Winter blew up in perfect waves at Fistral beach to dominate the Animal British Cup, surfing with the cream of British surfers in a man on man format Russ took time off the WQS Tour to surf his home break and prove that he is still the number one power surfer in the UK. With no wind the waves were flawless and all the surfers were frothing to have some of the three to four foot surf.

Contest organizers and Animal made the call late on Friday afternoon to move the event from Tolcarne to Fistral once the fresh swell started to arrive, giving near perfect conditions at the UK’s premier surf contest venue.

Early standouts were Sam Lamiroy, Tom Butler and Animals riders Alan Stokes and Mitch Corbett. The man on man format was welcomed by the competitors allowing them to concentrate of their surfing rather than hassling for waves in a four man heat. The semi finals were held is possibly the best surf for a contest this year, classic a frame low tide peaks and the level of surfing was unbelievable as Russ raised the bar. He had an in form Johnny Fryer but not even a spectacular no hands punt air from Fryer could stop the Bulldog as he consistently tore apart set waves lifting buckets of spray in to the heavens drawing nines and tens from the judges. The other semi saw two of the hottest young talents battle it out for the right to face Russ in the final, Oli Adams laid some big turns down but couldn’t match the intensity of Matt Capel who just edged him out.

The final was almost text book for Russ who opened with an 8.12 and backed it up with a 9.33 to combo the young gun Capel. The only way back was to attempt a series of massive air manoeuvres that had the crowd on the beach gasping. A relaxed and smiling Russell thanked the sponsors and organisers on the podium saying that he had enjoyed the event enormously.

The event ran along side Longboard, Women’s and Junior categories as well as a fun event for the local schools as part of Animals 20th year celebrations.

The second half of the British Cup concluded on Sunday with everyone still buzzing from the previous days action. The surf had dropped a bit in size but was being groomed by a light offshore wind making for perfectly formed and zippy little waves ideally suited for the Longboards, Women and Junior sections.

British Longboarding boasts a wealth of talent at the moment and not surprisingly it was European Champion Elliott Dudley who pushed the World number two Ben Skinner all the way in the final with Skinner ultimately coming out on top. The women’s division was dominated by the young new crew and three girls under 16 made the final but none were strong enough to beat Animal team rider Easky Britton. The Junior competition was cut throat as usual with tough heats right from the first round. Jayce Robinson came out on top by laying down some massive turns in the now tiny waves at the end of the day.

The Animal British Cup 2007

Animal British Cup sets up huge end of summer party 

One of the biggest surf events on this years calendar has just announced its revised dates for Friday 28th Saturday 29th Sunday 30th September 2007.

The event is part of  Animal’s 20th Birthday celebrations and is a continuation of the brands commitment to core surf events in the UK.

Animal Sponsorship manger Steve Kitchen comments “ As part of our 20th Birthday we have made a major commitment to the grass routes of surfing here in Newquay with the opening of our new Surfing  Academies at Tolcarne and Fistral Beach. We want to teach people the sport of surfing  using the best facilities and the safest environment . To celebrate this we are involved at the highest level with the sports development,  by running an event that helps choose the British Team for 08.

The British Surfing Association sanctioned Animal British Cup will take place at Tolcarne Beach  with Open, Women’s, Juniors, Longboard and  Bodyboard divisions. The Animal British Cup will be one of a series of events that help choose the British Team for 2008. Application forms for competitors are available from the BSA website www.britsurf.co.uk

The event will also incorporate the Carve Cornish Schools Competition which will see up to 15 schools from all over Cornwall and over 150 students compete against each other, organised by sixth form students from the Surf Academy at Treviglas'.

The Animal British Cup Weekend will also offer two spectacular nights of music as well as camping for those that want to take advantage of the full “Weekender” party

Organisers Bare Feet Promotions had moved the original dates from July. Nick Webb from Bare Feet Promotions explains “The original dates were tied in with the K Festival dates and when that moved Animal were very keen to push the Animal British Cup later in the year to take advantage of the bigger swell opportunities in September” We are very excited about having the best names in British Surfing battling it out in what should be the best conditions”

Webb adds “ We have planned the event to be  a heady mix of music, surfing and community involvement in short  - Newquay at its best ”

The event Kicks off on the evening of the Friday 28th  September  with a “Welcome party” at the Koola club Beach Rd,  Newquay  and a dance party on Saturday night – the music events will be ticket only with the line up to be announced in the Newquay Guardian in the next two weeks.

Down on the beach the action starts at 10am on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Contest Director Pauly Jeffery adds “With the amount of competitors we will have entering these events we will no doubt be using all three peaks at Tolcarne including the legendary Wedge for the Body boarders”.

Each day, the event will host the  Animal Braun bike teams ensuring the crowds are left in disbelief with their mad capped mechanical adventures. The first show will be at 12noon with other shows taking place during each of the days . To ensure that the temperature is kept at boiling point the famous Finals of the Shark Bikini Babes Competition will also be taking place over the weekend.