Junior Surf Training UK – Surf GB Camp at The Wave Bristol
I was incredibly proud, both as a dad and a coach, to see Joel Christopherson (12) selected for the recent Surf GB junior training camp at The Wave in Bristol.
The camp took place over the weekend of 19-20 April. It brought together some of the best young surfers aged 10-13 from across the UK.
It was fantastic to see the level of surfing from this age group across the home nations. The young Scottish surfers Kai, Gabe, Seb, Joel and Callie all performed really well and looked completely comfortable among the group.
Training at The Wave Bristol
The Wave in Bristol is an inland surf pool that provides perfectly consistent waves. This makes it an excellent venue for repetitive training and technical development.
Because the waves are consistent, surfers can practise the same manoeuvres repeatedly and focus on improving specific skills.
Over the course of the weekend, all of the young surfers made noticeable progress.
Coaching Development
From a coaching perspective, the camp was extremely valuable.
Watching the training sessions and working alongside other coaches gave me plenty of ideas that will feed directly back into our local junior surf development programmes.
These lessons will also support the ongoing work at Belhaven Surf Club, helping young Scottish surfers continue to improve.
Looking ahead, the upcoming Lost Shore Surf Resort near Edinburgh has huge potential for junior training. Once complete, it will be the largest inland wave park in Northern Europe and could become a major training facility for surfers in Scotland.
A Big Thank You
A big thank you goes to Suds, the Scottish national junior coach, and Joel Gray, the Surf GB head coach, for organising such a well run and inspiring weekend.
It was also great to meet and spend time with parents from across the UK. There were a lot of friendly and supportive people involved in the camp.
The future of junior surfing in the UK is looking very bright.
Training Focus – Forehand Surfing
The main technical focus of the camp was forehand surfing.
This involved linking a large wrapping cutback, often called a roundhouse cutback, with strong top turns as the wave steepened.
Below is a selection of still images from the camp. Joel as the first surfer and Gabe in the background. Both are part of the Scottish junior team.
