Hundreds of surfers on traditional wooden belly boards will be taking to the waves at Chapel Porth beach in Cornwall for the National Trust and RNLI’s World Belly Board Championship, sponsored by Skinners Brewery, on Sunday 6 September.
The event celebrates the origins of surfing in Britain and is the brainchild of two keen local surfers – Chris Ryan, (Chapel Porth National Trust Car Park Attendant) and Martyn Ward (RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor). The two friends developed the idea in 2002 as a memorial to the late Arthur Traveller, a Londoner who holidayed with his wooden board at Chapel Porth every year. From its humble beginnings with only a handful of competitors, it now boasts over one hundred entrants.
Robyn Davies, five times British Surf Champion and Surf Project Officer for the National Trust says:
'The World Belly Board Championship celebrates all that is good about surfing. This event brings a communal stoke factor back to an ever growing sport.
The National Trust and the RNLI feel its really important to highlight the pressures put on the coast and the beaches and what better way of doing this than by having a really great day out.'
Although there is a slightly serious element to the day, as the participants compete for the coveted World Title, there is also a fun Expression Session. Here prizes are awarded for the Most Stylish, Best Trick and Spirit of Belly Boarding categories. There is also the opportunity to win prizes out of the water, with belly boards judged on the Best Artwork, Best Patina and Best Vintage to name a few. Wetsuits are not permitted and many participants come in traditional bathing attire with prizes for the Best Costume and Best Bathing Cap.
Martyn Ward, RNLI lifeguard supervisor and one of the co-founders of the event says:
'Its amazing to see the event that Chris and I started six years ago grow into the World Championships we have today, helping to raise vital funds for the National Trust and the RNLI. Both charities contribute to the conservation of the coastline and the safety of bathers at Chapel Porth.'
Although it has grown in size and popularity the event still remains a simple, fun, family day out, with entrants from seven to seventy years old getting together to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Surfing really became popular in the UK in Cornwall in the 1920s in the form of lying down on wooden boards known as ‘belly boards’. However it is thought it have started in the 1900s when a form of the Hawaiian finless, wooden ‘Paipo’ board was copied by British Soldiers returning from the Great War inspired by stories of surfing from South Africa, Australia and Hawaii. Stand up surfing came later, with the first pictorial evidence dating back to Cornwall in 1929.
There are two age categories for the belly boarding event, Junior (under 60) and Senior (over 60). Entry to the competition is by donation, which helps contribute to the work of the National Trust and RNLI on the coast.
For more details on this and how to enter go to: www.bellyboarding.co.uk
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