I came away inspired and my head was buzzing with all sorts of new techniques and manoeuvres to try. I entered a couple more contests and decided it was time to make the switch so I sold my inazone and bought a specialist surf kayak, I have never looked back since!

Several boats and many contests later I now take part in as many contests as I can. When I am free surfing I often see other paddlers out enjoying the surf and think that they would also love to take part I a contest.

I felt really nervous entering my first ever contest. My head flooded with thoughts of; “what if they are all ripping and I look like a wally- What if I take a swim and the whole beach has to be closed while the air/sea rescue helicopter is mobilised and a naval ship is taken off an important mission to rescue me from the beach- What if I don’t know what to do and everyone laughs at me-

Well with all this in mind I have put together some advice about entering your first contest, I have attempted to keep it to the absolute minimum so you can read it while having only one cup of tea, but apart from that you really do not need to know much to go along and enter a contest! 

Why compete in the first place-

• Meet likeminded surf kayakers, some with lots of experience and some with very little.
   
• Competing makes you surf in locations and conditions you might not otherwise go out in.  
   
• Competing makes you focus and surf as well as you can for short periods of time (15 or 20 minuet heats). You are very unlikely to focus as hard in your free surfing or even while being coached.
   
• You see how other people surf (some of the best surf kayakers in the country attend most contests). This means you can learn what works and what does not work with particular techniques and manoeuvres. You also get an impression of different styles as even at the top some of the paddlers surf a given wave in a very different style and manner.  
   
• Watching all these other people gives you ideas of manoeuvres/ways of surfing you might not have though about before.  
   
• You can pick up tips from the some of the experienced surfers
   
• Gives you the opportunity to complete in contests all over the UK and abroad, In 2005 alone there has been contests in Brittney, Mundaka (Spain), an American contest in California and recently the world championships took place in Costa Rica not to mention all the contests in Cornwall, Wales, Ireland etc.
   
• It can make you push both your technical skills and physical capacity in the sport much more than you ever would on a normal surf session

What is the format for the contests-

1. Check out the BCU surf website for dates and contact info about contests - www.bcusurf.org.uk .

2. Send your completed entry form to the competition organiser with a check (don’t send cash). You must then phone them on the Thursday evening before the event to check the conditions are suitable for the location it is planned to run at (sometimes a competition may be held further along the coast if the surf is due to be better there).

2. Waiting for others to arrive is a good time to have a look at the conditions and get a feel for what is going on in the surf, chat to other competitors and ensure you know where and when the briefing is.

3. Make sure you make the competitors briefing. This is where a brief outline of the competition format, judging and safety procedures are explained. There will be a notice board with the heats drawn up, check to see that your name is listed in one or more heats. Heats are drawn by a process where the seeded paddlers are spread out among all the heats and the unseaded paddlers then make up the remaining places, this means that you can expect to be in a heat with one seeded paddler and at least one other unseeded paddler. Remember or write down which heat you are in and what colour bib to wear. If heat times are not posted take a few minutes to work out when your heat should start (heats last 15 or 20 minutes).

4. Check the board as the day goes on to make sure the heats are running on schedule. When the competition starts, watch some heats to see what the waves and the other competitors are doing.

5. Observe some judging and after a heat or two offer to scribe. This is a great way to see what scores well and to get a better understanding of the rules. A few heats before yours is a good time to get changed and if possible catch a few waves – well away from the competition zone. Remember to get your boat checked out by the Competition Marshal in time to make any necessary arrangements i.e. borrow some air bags etc.

6. When the heat before yours starts, get your coloured bib, bring your boat to the beach and check in with the Competition Marshal (make sure you are in the right heat). Now you can take a few minutes to relax, stretch and prepare yourself mentally. You will also be the safety cover for the heat which is competing so make sure you are able to lend a helping hand if necessary.  

7. When the 'five minutes remaining’ hooter sounds (two blasts, yellow flag), you can paddle out and wait outside the competition zone. Find the other competitors in your heat and stick together. Do not surf in the competition zone before or after your heat.

8. When the end of heat hooter goes (three blasts, red flag), you can paddle into the surf zone and start positioning yourself for a wave. Watch out for the green flag (one horn blast) that indicates the start of your heat. Try and catch three waves in the first few minutes – you should take it easy with your first few waves, try and get some long easy rides in to start with (this gives you confidence and helps you get some marks on the score cards) as the heat progresses start to be more aggressive in your surfing but don’t try to do moves which you have never pulled off before! You are scored on your best three waves out of ten.

9. Don't waste time worrying about the other competitors – just surf the best you can and have some fun. When the end of heat hooter (red flag) sounds paddle straight in, check in with the Competition Marshal, hand in your bib and wait for your results to be posted. A black flag and repeated horn blasts indicates danger – paddle in or, if capable, give assistance.

What do I need-

To start competing you need a kayak, (this needs to have air bags, a length or tape or rope at each end, and full plate footrests) a paddle, a buoyancy aid, a helmet or a friend who is willing to lend you these things! You do not need a specialised surf kayak, a plastic GP or freestyle boat will be fine. (most contests have a separate class for plastic boats and this class is also Nationally ranked so if you enter your name will appear on the website and in the yearbook!

Don’t worry if you are missing the odd bit like tape or rope as you can normally borrow this from other competitors.  

How good do I need to be-

If you are confident catching waves in the surf and can roll you are good enough to compete. There is a core of people who attend nearly all the events throughout the year but at nearly every event there are newcomers who come along to see what it’s all about.

So there you have it, there is no excuse not to come along and have a bash. Just check out the website www.bcusurf.org.uk, decide which contest to enter and get out practicing.

Ladies and Junior Surf Kayaking

Current Situation

General interest and involvement in this sport has been increasing over the last 10 years due in part to an achievable BCU star scheme, a sound BCU coaching scheme, increased publicity for events, increased publicity of successful competitors, equipment improvements and equipment affordability. However the sport is still dominated by men and so a development programme focused on women and girls was set up to run from 2005 to 2007 (extended into 2008) to address this imbalance. It should be mentioned from the start that although the development programme has been an overwhelming success another important factor in the last three years has been the production of plastic molded surf kayaks which at a price of less than £400 have had a significant effect on paddlers (male and female) who were in two minds about buying a surf specific kayak in addition to their normal boat. The sport is very much split between a relatively small number of competitive paddlers and a much larger number of recrea-tional paddlers. The BCU star and coaching scheme generally have more appeal to the recreational paddlers although more competition based paddlers are now getting involved in coaching clinics and paddling workshops run by BCU qualified coaches, the majority of these performance clinics being run by the various Home Nation teams around the UK. Women paddlers are poorly represented in both surf kayaking groups as are paddlers under the age of 18. This may be due to some of the following reasons.

• Changing is often from the back of a car in a beach car park.

• Having a car to travel to different beaches is required.

• The sporting environment can be very intimidating.

• Women, Junior and Novice paddlers are often exposed to

frightening experiences which put them off.

• Clubs have no knowledge of sound surf kayak skills, safety or

etiquette

• Surf coaching can be expensive

Our North Cornwall based development programme set up to increase participation and to improve performance was run initially for 2 years leading up to the 2007 World Championships in Bakio, Northern Spain (then extended into 2008). This development programme addressed the points above with a focus on women and young paddlers. The development programme succeeded in introducing 86 paddlers to safe surfing techniques (47 adult women, 14 girls and 25 boys) and from this 86, five paddlers went on to represent England in the 2007 Worlds, two boys and three adult women.

Development Days

Advertising- Some advertising is through Canoe Focus and a large (450 plus) email list of interested surf kayakers held by Simon Hammond.

Attendance- Average attendance on a development day would be 10 women, 3 girls and 6 boys.

Equipment- All equipment so far has been provided by the participants themselves. A mobile set of kit would have a big positive effect both in terms of progression and promotion.

Coaches- The coaches used so far have all been male and carefully selected so as to provide high quality coaching along with a relaxed and personable manner.

Time of year- The Spring and Autumn sessions have been the best attended and indeed have also had the best conditions.

Sessions- Most sessions have focused on foundation surf kayaking skills and as such have predominantly taken place in the white water surf environment. This is also the best environment in which to build confidence.

The Day- The development days have generally started at 10 am and have consisted of two wet sessions and a reasonable break over lunch finishing around 4 pm.

Coaches have been employed so that the sessions have run with women only groups and junior only

groups.

Lessons learned- Women and girls appreciate women only groups. The atmosphere is relaxed, non-competitive and fun. The coach is a key figure and its been essential to employ the right coaches. Clubs could be targeted and offered subsidised development days which would include women and girls but would not exclude men - they could be coached in separate sub-groups during the day but by including the men you would establish an educated surf culture back within the club which would benefit the women and girls into the future.

Thoughts on future developments and initiatives

• Continue to run yearly development programmes in the South West and the North East aimed at Women, Juniors and Men. Development days to be run as Women Only, Juniors Only, Men only to help build confidence and avoid progressing beyond paddlers abilities and comfort zones.

• Subsidised development days could be offered on a club by club basis as well as to individuals.

• Low level competitions to be developed for club level paddlers as a way of introducing them into the competitive side of the sport.

• Create one or two central resources to aid development days and low level competitions. This would be a set of self contained surf equipment and trailer including plastic surf kayaks, decks, paddles, BA's, helmets etc. One set to be kept in the South West and the other to be located in the North East.

• Manufacturers to be persuaded to develop a junior plastic surf kayak - which would then be added to

the central resources.

• BCU supported DVD to be produced covering basic techniques and safety which could then be distributed to clubs around the country.

The Future

Subsidised development programmes have been a great success and will continue to produce better educated, safer and more skilful paddlers. By focusing on Women and Junior paddlers the Male club paddlers have so far been excluded and as these paddlers are often the most influential paddlers in a club/ group it would be best to include them in any future plans as their good practice will then be filtered down and indeed maintained within club and group paddling environments. The South West and North Cornwall in particular are the primary focus for this sport in England however there needs to be provision for paddlers in the North East where surf kayaking also takes place.

For increased competitive success in the future

• Development programmes to include performance based workshops and days

• National teams to be given a coaching budget

• National Competition equipment (flags, bibs, etc) to be up-dated

• A National mobile competition trailer / judging office to be purchased

• Improved coverage and promotion of surf kayaking events

Produced by Canoe England Development Team 2008- Contributors: Simon Hammond and Kimberley Walsh