The first ever women’s Tuaca ASP 6* longboard event went down in Newquay last week, pitting the world’s top longboarders against each other, including Newquay native Candice O’Donnell.
ROXY JAM 2010, BIARRITZ
This year’s annual Roxy Jam kicked off in sunny Biarritz in South-west France and the Surf Affinity ladies were lucky enough to be there and witness all the action as it unfolded. The invitation-only event has been held in Biarritz for five consecutive years now and is the venue for the world’s best female longboarders as they battle it out for the prestigious World Championship Title.
Not only is the Roxy Jam an ASP World Tour event, it also celebrates everything surfy, girly, creative and artistic, as well as raising awareness of environmental issues that affect surfers around the world. With art classes and live music, to charity shops and tropical beach bars, the Roxy Jam really has come into its own and brings the European surfing community together in celebrating dynamic longboarding, at its best.
The Surf Affinity ladies went to check out all the action last week, and as each round unfurled, the waves got steadily better and the standard of surfing started to fly! Thirty two of the world’s best female longboarders gathered on the beautiful beaches of Cotes des Basques in Biarritz, where the steady swell of 2.5 to 3ft swell rolled in to form cruisey mellow waves, perfect for the girls to demonstrate their intricate skills. Hang fives were the order of the day, with many girls pulling off hang tens and huge cut-back manoeuvres, nigh on impossible on such massive boards. Local French girls Coline Menard and Justine Dupont proved their worth, reaching the quarters and semi-finals respectively. However Americans Cori Schumacher and Kaitlin Maguire made it through to an exciting final, which saw the girls moving to a different peak that was still working during the higher tide, further down the beach.
The Surf Affinity crew were in dire need of ice cream after such an exciting final, so headed off into the beautiful town of Biarritz to sample some flavoursome delights! The Roxy Jam site then prepared itself for the award ceremony, which was swiftly followed up by live music and capoeira demonstrations. Definitely the place to be this July, the Roxy Jam will be back in Biarritz next year for more gracious manoeuvres and dancing on the waves with the world’s most awesome surf chicas. Check out the highlights in the video and click on www.surfaffinity.com for more from our Surf Affinity camps.
ROXY JAM HIGHLIGHTS 2010, BIARRTIZ
The annual Roxy Jam in Biarritz is the venue of the ASP World Longboard Championship (that was won by Cori Schumacher this year), but it is also a unique festival blending surfing, art and music. This year it was wild Parisians La Femme who rocked the beach at Port Vieux, followed by Australian musician Micky Green and on Saturday glamorous rockers Plasmatics. Finally, 10,000 spectators filled up the esplanade Beaurivage ensuring the success of the grand electro soirée that brought together DJs Sam Red, winner of the JBL European Competition and Roxy “Next Girl DJ” Estelle Surbranche, editor in chief of Flavor and DJ at the Bar du Ritz and last but not the least one of the stars of the current electro music scene, DJ Chloé.
But as such a special event is almost impossible to put in words, here’s a bit of video footage for you to enjoy…
YOU MUST BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!
ROXY JAM HITS TOWN THIS WEEKEND… Check out the teaser vid right here :)
Adam Griffiths claims first ever UK flowriding title
Newquay longboarder Adam Griffiths has been crowned the UK’s first ever flowriding champion by winning the sports inaugural event on Thursday.
A flowrider uses high-pressure water running over a plastic ramp to create an artificial sheet wave.
Griffiths sealed the title by beating Josh Brooks in the final, following wins over Ben Skinner in the semis and Rhys Barfield in the last eight.
He said: “It’s an insane feeling. It’s an awesome event and awesome place.”
“The level stepped up so fast and luckily it all clicked,” added Griffiths.
“Flowriding isn’t like surfing but it’s great for your core strength and it’s instant fun.”
The competition’s judges awarded points in five categories at the event in Retallack - entry on to the flowrider, carving manoeuvres, full use of the 12-metre wide flow, hand-free spins and overall style.
UK Pro Surf Tour contest director Dave Reed said: “It’s been a fantastic event. We’ve seen some of the best surfers in the UK competing for the first time on a flowrider and we’ve shown how good it can be and what people can do on it.
“These guys have had fairly limited experience on the flowrider but they’ve performed incredible turns and done amazingly well.”
COME AND SEE THE ROXY JAM LIVE IN BIARRITZ!!!
The beaches of Biarritz will be host to the world’s best women longboarders from July 10th - 14th. Come and witness the beauty of classic longboarding at its finest, and stay at the Surf Affinity camp from £20 per night. What a wee treat! Drop us a line.. info@surfaffinity.com or go to our BOOKINGS page by clicking on the picture above.
FUN IN THE SUN ;)
