SSF Junior Series Event #3 – Fraserburgh Event Report & Series Standings
|This weekend seen the return of the Scottish Junior Surfing Series to Fraserburgh, hosted by the Broch Surf Club.
A tricky midweek forecast made for a bit of a gamble to call the contest on, with the fear of inadequate swell to run the event, a real possibility.
After a lot of deliberation on the long range wave forecast and some long discussions with the local veterans, the event was eventually called on for the weekend on the Thursday morning.
Over 50 top young surf athletes from all across Scotland descended into Fraserburgh for the 08:30 event check-in at the Broch beach club facility ready to battle it out for surf junior series event points, pride and podium honors.
Quick assessment of the Broch beach and it was clear the event had to be relocated to the Waters of Philorth where the arriving north groundswell made for more favourable surfing conditions.
All hands on deck to move the generators, judging gazebos, priority boards, PA systems, flags and all else required to run a successful surf event. A monumental effort from all involved to get the event underway and kicked off by 09:30.
The sun began to shine and with the rising tide, rising swell & the light offshore wind made for ideal surf conditions on one of Scotlands finest stretches of beach.
By mid afternoon, conditions were perfect, with head to shoulder high A-frame peaks consistently breaking into the crystal clear waters at Philorth.
With the waves pumping, it really allowed the young athletes to showcase their talents to the gathering of spectators on the beach and the all important judges.
Highlights of the event would have to be current British junior champion / current Scottish champion Craig Mclachlan’s air game, inspiring the youngsters with his radical wave approach.
It was also fantastic to see young athletes in the Non-Competitive under 10 category, most participating in a surf event for the 1st time. These youngsters are definitely the future of our sport
The event continued throughout the day and was wrapped up by 16:00 after a non-stop day of high performance surfing action through a range of age & gender categories.
Final results as follows:
UNDER 12
1st Kai Cruickshank (BSC)
2nd Lewis Morgan (ASC)
3rd Joel Christopherson (BHSC)
4th Aidan Innes (BSC)
UNDER 14 Girls
1st Callie Cruickshank (BSC)
2nd Rosie Moore (BHSC)
3rd Freya Pilarska (BHSC)
4th Olivia Sutherland (NSSC)
UNDER 14 Boys
1st Gabriel Noble (BSC)
2nd Ansel Parkin (BHSC)
3rd Riley Whyte (BSC)
4th Sebastian Ballantyne (BSC)
UNDER 16 Girls
1st Lola Mitchell (BSC)
2nd Olivia Mackay (NSSC)
3rd Athena Sintoris (EBSC)
UNDER 16 Boys
1st Charlie Pugh (BHSC)
2nd Israel Noble (BSC)
3rd Fraser Brown (LSC)
4th Gregor Mill (NSSC)
UNDER 18 Girls
1st Robyn Larg (TSC)
2nd Annie Herd (EBSC)
3rd Natalie Kobedza (SSC)
4th Nadia Murray (NSSC)
UNDER 18 Boys
1st Craig Mclachlan (NSSC)
2nd Finn Clark (EBSC)
3rd Ebon Parkin (BHSC)
4th Joel Carleton (BHSC)
The event prizegiving returned to the Broch Surf Club hut where the competitors received their awards for the top performances throughout the day.
Big thanks to 11 year old scottish para surfing world semi finalist, Jade Edwards, who helped share out the awards to all the competitors & finalists.
Following the prizegiving, allowed for the parents and officials a chance to unwind and catch up on the days event around the heat of the beachfront firepit, with toasted marshmallows.
The kids on the other hand taking full use of the floodlights at the epic skatepark facility just across the road with big thanks to Broch Skate Club
Massive thanks to all who made the event such a success, the officials, sandwich suppliers, soup makers, helpers, beach Marshalls and so on, these events would be impossible without your support
Huge congratulations to all the competitors, we hope you enjoyed your time in Fraserburgh.
Already looking forward to the final Stop 4 at Sandend Moray, 21st – 22nd October, see you all there
Results of the SSF Junior series going into the final stop are as follows (best 3 count):