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Archived News - IN DETAIL
CANI Fitness & Training [12 Mar
05]
The Squad attended a CANI fitness and training course including
motivation and mental toughness in Portrush on the 12th of March.
This was a full day event and proved a very useful contribution
to the squads' training schedule leading up to the World Championships
in Costa Rica in October. A compilation of the main points covered
can be found in the Training & preparation
for the surf section of this website.
World Championships Squad Selection Weekends [Nov 04]
Pressure time again for our top surfers as they battled it out for the chance to go to Costa Rica next October. This year’s league took the format of 6 competitions, 4 of which were National ranking events that created the team that travelled to France and the last 2 were to create the worlds team for 2005.
Weekend 1 – Magheroararty
When it’s working this is perhaps one of the best breaks in Ireland and a great location to hold a competition. The ladies and juniors battled it out on the beach and created the tightest competition off the day. For the first time ever there was enough juniors to have semi-finals. Chris Hobson is undoubtedly streets ahead but battle raged for that 2nd place with a strong Portrush contingent of David Robinson, Russell Smyth and Jonathan and Andrew Doherty working hard. Elaine Alexander was top in the ladies with Erica Chisholm narrowly beating Chloe Hamilton for second.
Competition shifted to the reef break and first up the Masters. Richard Hobson took the risk of going deep and was rewarded with some excellent waves, smashing his boat back into the pile to win.
The Men’s IC was one of the highest scoring events for years with Jonny Bingham scoring a massive 53points to beat rival Dessie McGlinchey in the final. Jonny continued to surf well in the HP final but this time was under pressure from Junior Chris Hobson. With only a point in it at the hooter it proved to be Jonny’s day. There would be scores to settle in Bundoran.
Big thanks to Andy Hill in Troggs for providing the prizes.
Weekend 2 – Bundoran
What a contrast. Driving rain with cold westerly winds and messy surf. Credit to the Juniors and Ladies who braved the elements to get changed and tackle the trudge along Tullan Strand to get into their heat.
Again Elaine Alexander proved to strong for Erica and Chloe but they are gaining. In the Juniors it was Portrush against Enniskillen. It was Fermanagh’s Michael McManus’s first time in the surf but he took to it like a natural to win a cag.
The first big upset of the day came when Jonny Bingham failed to progress beyond his IC semi-final allowing James Newell and Dessie McGlinchey to challenge Stephen Campbell and Ashley Hunter in the final. Was there another shock in store? With only 10 seconds to go James Newell had only 2 waves out of a necessary 3. His luck held and he produced the wave of the day to win the final.
Again the HP was a close call with Jonny Bingham out for revenge. The North Coast man managed to keep his nerve but was again pushed so close by young Chris Hobson whose first league victory must surely be only a matter of time.
Nick Harkness booked himself a seat to Costa Rica with a superb surf in the Masters. Kevin Quinn followed up his Magheroararty 2nd with another No.2 finish here with Kevin Lewsley hot on his heels.[Top]
Irish Open 2004
Once again Northern Irish kayakers Ashley Hunter, Kevin Lewsley and Dessie Mc Glinchey come away from another surf kayaking event with the top honours. The Irish Open was held in Easky, Co Sligo and attracted a large turn out considering the time of year and the weather conditions, with the Dublin paddlers having to remove snow from their vehicles before heading for the west early on Saturday morning.
The lads have been putting in the practice on the water recently having competed the previous weekend in Magherarorarty, North Donegal and last month at the Home Internationals in France.
The event kicked of just after high tide and as the tide dropped the surf got bigger and better, near perfect conditions for the highlight of the Irish surfing Calender. First to show form was Kevin Lewsley who was surfing a new boat, with very little time to practice in it last week, he looked like he’d been surfing it for years.
Ashley Hunter was a man on a mission, surfing his international class boat better than he has surfed all season, comfortably winning his first and second round heats.
Dessie Mc Glinchey, aiming for his fourth successive Irish Open title, was a little slower to get going finishing second in round one, he knew he’d have to improve to progress to the latter stages of the event, this he did taking first place in round two, ensuring all three paddlers had made it through to the semi finals. Both Hunter and McGlinchey were also competing in the H.P. class along with comp first timer Caothair Dolan and again all three won their heats to get them through to the semi finals.
Experience showed the way in the semis, with Dolan going out and the other two again winning through. Next up was Kevin in the Master’s final, and he showed the others what to do by comfortably beating the current world no. 2 Dennis Dowling, to claim the Master’s title.
The International class final was next, with 3 of the 4 places taken up by the N.I. lads, after the 20 minute final Mc Glinchey came out on top to claim his forth Irish Open win in succession, Sean Egan from Co Clare claimed 2nd with Ashley Hunter 3rd and Kevin Lewsley 4th . It was a quick boat change and then straight back out onto the water for the final of the High Performance class for both Hunter and Mc Glinchey . Once again Mc Glinchey came out on top with Hunter claiming 3rd. Shane Cronin from Dublin claimed 2nd. [Top]
Home Internationals – France Oct 04
France. Beautiful, sunny beaches and world class waves! What a place to hold the first ever British Surf Kayak event outside the British Isles...
The squad for this event was put together using the results of the four league events that have taken place over the course of the year and what a squad it was! Departing on Friday 22nd October a nightmare journey started with the crossing from hell to Cherbourg getting us into Quiberon, south Brittany early Sunday morning.
Other teams that attended the competition were the organisers Jersey, England, Wales and a guest Brittany team. Two days of training on the beach got us relaxed and into the competition mode and of course that difficult French way of life!
Tuesday 26th saw the comp kick off with team captain Dessie McGlinchey first up and of course winning with some style. Northern Ireland lead. The surf was semi reasonable and the sun did shine but the only body on show was David Hasselhoff aka Nick Harkness performing an all-important rescue. The results continued to roll in and Northern Ireland moved further into the lead. In fact by the end of the day we had edged in front of England by 6 points. Performances of note have to be Chris Hobson’s junior 1st and senior HP 2nd, Aisling Shannon pulling off two 3rds and Graeme Grant doing his usual stuff to claim his heat. Others also claimed big names and credit has to go to all.
No surf on the Wednesday saw proceedings halted to a blustery Thursday with deteriorating surf and conditions. This was good English surf and they showed why they are currently World No.2 by starting to eat away at the precious lead. The weather moved in during heat eight and never improved. Portrush would probably have been more pleasant. Comp postponed.
The Friday produced ankle snappers and gusting onshore winds. Things just didn’t go right but credit must go to Erica Chisholm on an outstanding 3rd and to Chloe Hamilton on a deserved 4th. By the end of play England had overtaken us.
A slightly disappointing end to a good competition. Northern Ireland may not have won but leading for 30 out of 32 heats ment we certainly raised a few heads and have now the nucleus of a great squad to take on and beat the rest of the World next year in Costa Rica.
Final results:
- 1st England 80 points
- 2nd NI 85 points
- 3rd Wales 92points
- 4th Jersey 95 points
- 5th Brittany 102 points
At the presentation ceremony the English received the home nations trophy but it was the Northern Ireland Team that received the credit for challenging the worlds no.2 team having only been on the competitive circuit for 4 years. Stuart McGlinchey, the event organiser, described Team NI, "as the rising stars of surf kayaking and a force to be reckoned with at next years World Championships in Costa Rica". Team manager Mike Barton believes this to be the strongest ever squad of surfers and plans to keep developing this group to challenge for the top prize.
A big thanks to Mike Barton for managing us so professionally, always being on the beach and for producing the best out of everybody. We also would like to thank Harry our secretary for his invaluable work at home, without which the whole trip would not have happened. Roll on Costa Rica!!!! [Top]
Comp 4, Western Classic [25 Sep 04]
Competitors met on Saturday morning at Tullan car park, Bundoran. This was the most important event of 2004 so far due to the fact that the results would heavily influence the structure of the Northern Ireland squad to attend the Home internationals in France at the end of October. Conditions at Tullan where however not favorable and the event organisers moved it to town beach in Bundoran itself. First on the water however was the Plastic class that saw tight competition between newcomers Andy Bingham (Banbridge) and Tommy Marron (Magherafelt) and the more experienced but still Juniors Chris Hobson (Dungannon) and Paul Cassidy (Kilkeel). An exciting heat saw Chris show a few tricks that were beyond the rest and claim the first place prize.
The Ladies followed and achieved some strong performances in the testing conditions with Elaine Alexander clearly winning. Chris Hobson picked up his second victory of the day in the Juniors but congratulations must go to Corin and Jake King who surfed brilliantly for their first ever competition.
With a big entry in the Men's International Class competitors had to finish first or second in a quarter and semi final in order to reach the last four. With such a big prize at stake as a place on the team for France an excellent standard of surfing was seen with boats traveling at amazing speed for the conditions and some brave end maneuvers being thrown for that extra point. Dessie McGlinchey showed why he is Europe’s No. 1 with an amazing display that had the crowd and judges on their feet. He was however made to work for it by a determined Northern Ireland Open Champion Steven Campbell (Annalong).
The draw for the Men's High Performance couldn't have been tighter with World No. 5 Dessie, up against Graeme Grant (WR 9th=) and Jonny Bingham (WR 9th=). A truly World Class semi saw speed and exhilarating end maneuvers with kayaks leaping well into the air. Graeme and Jonny met Chris Hobson and Nick Harkness in a close run final due to the waves dropping. Chris, still only 15 would have taken his 3rd victory of the day if it hadn't been for an unfortunate interference call that allowed Jonny Bingham (Ballybogey) to take the top spot.
Overall an excellent event. The Northern Ireland Surf Kayak Committee would like to thank Atlantic shores dive shop, Enniskillen and Taggarts of Ballymoney for sponsoring the Juniors and Plastic class.[Top]
Juniors / Women's Coaching Day [15 Aug 04]
...was a great success, despite poor surf conditions, with over 25 newcomers to the sport arriving at White Rocks Beach, Portrush for coaching from the NI Surf Kayak Squad’s top surfers and coaches. Northern Ireland has a strong pool of men paddlers as demonstrated by several current high-ranking world positions but struggles to challenge in the team events due to a lack of competitors in the ladies and juniors categories. The weekend event was designed to promote the sport to these areas and encourage more varied participation leading into the surf symposium and competition 4 in September. The committee would like to thank Taggarts of Ballymoney for the use of their demo boats and all who attended. [Top]
The Northern Ireland Surf Kayak Squad have a
new Squad Manager Congratulations to Mike Barton and good luck for this year’s Home Internationals in France.
Comp 3 [12 June 04]
Despite poor surf conditions Competition 3 (12 June 2004) in the CANI Surf League took place on Falcarragh beach in North Donegal. With the sun shining, contestants making the best of the small waves, some tight competition and a great atmosphere everyone had a good time. This theme was continued late into the evening around the BBQ and campfire. Thanks to Lindsay's of Coleraine for providing the Plastic Class prizes. [Top]
NI Open Surf Kayaking Championships/ Comp 2 [22 May 04]
Small waves but plenty of sunshine was the order of the day for this CANI surf league event. This didn't however dampen the competitive edge in the all the categories entered. With the swell dying and the tide dropping a decision was made to switch venues to Portballintrae. The International class was first up with tense semi-finals and a close final with relative newcomer Steven Campbell taking top spot. High performance and plastic class heats ran next with everybody getting at least two opportunities to progress beyond the first round. An exciting day for all finishing with the Plastic, High Performance and International Masters finals. Thanks to Taggarts of Ballymoney for providing excellent prizes for the Plastic Class – Drycag for 1st place, rash vest for 2nd and a Skullcap for 3rd, congratulations to the winners. [Top]
European Open Success [8 & 9 May 2004]
Three members of Northern Ireland's Surf Kayak team travelled to Mundaka, Northern Spain to contest the European Open this weekend. The competition had two categories, the longer International class kayaks and the more manoeuvrable High Performance class. The longest left in Europe was rolling in solid head high waves on Saturday with Ashley Hunter, Dessie McGlinchey and Kevin Lewsley all progressing through their first round heats in the International class. Dessie and Kevin made it through to the final 4 paddlers and had to battle it out for top spot with Dessie winning and Kevin taking a 4th spot. Ashley narrowly missed out on the final finishing 5th overall. Competition was also hot in the HP event and congratulations again go to Dessie who managed to claim a 3rd place behind Wale's Nathan Eades and the winner, England's Darren Basin.
The boys will be hoping to continue their success in the Northern Ireland Open on the 22nd May in Portrush. Many other strong kayakers in the country will be out to improve their league position to earn a place on the squad that travels to France in October for the Home Internationals.[Top]
Come and Try it Weekend [1 & 2 May 2004]
in Portrush was a success with over twenty participants each day. Saturday saw a lot of sun (and sunburn) and some small waves perfect for those new to the surf. Sunday was a bit more overcast but with the swell beginning to pick up there was still a good turn out. The surfers split into groups in the morning for some coaching form Northern Ireland’s top kayak surfers and then in the afternoon had the chance to try a range of surf and freestyle kayaks. Judging from the cheesy grins in the photos everyone seemed to have a good time. Thanks must go to Taggarts of Ballymoney for providing the kayaks and to the members of the NI Surf Kayak Squad who volunteered their time.[Top]
Interprovincials 27 March 04]
A strong Ulster team travelled to Easky for the annual interprovincial competition. The first round of the competition got under way on Saturday morning in good, head high waves. With all categories of competitor and boat being represented it soon emerged that the winner would be either Leinster or Ulster with Leinster finishing with a 2-point lead at the end of day 1.
On Sunday the swell had picked up to a good double overhead and the competition had to be put on hold for 2 hours to allow the tide to go out and prevent competitors landing on the rocks. Ulster started with a bang winning all 4 high performance heats, 3 of their international class heats and strong placements of the ladies, masters and juniors. Particular mention goes to Chris Hobson, who at only 15 managed to win both his events in the men’s High Performance section.
The overall standings saw Ulster take victory over Leinster by 2 points.
Results: 1st Ulster::2nd Leinster::3rd Connauht::4th Munster [Top]
Comp 1 [7 Feb 04]
The 1st comp of the season kicked off in Co. Sligo on Saturday. The selected venue of Easky was too exposed to the strong NW winds and so the competition found shelter at Aughris beach. Despite the conditions some good waves where found with the competition being quite intense for those top spots. Places are available this year for the Home Internationals in France (October half term) and the World Championships in Costa Rica (September 2005). With team positions limited competition will be tight so make sure you don’t miss the next event in order to qualify.[Top]
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