Alys Barton finished runner-up at the Pro Taghazout Bay on the weekend, capping off an incredible campaign in Morocco.
Words: WSF Editor Steve White; Surfer image: Craig Nicol; Podium images: @gowerbeanies
Second place was enough to see the Swansea surfer move from 12th to 5th in the QS rankings and earn qualification to the Challenger Series (CS), the final qualifying tier before the elite Championship Tour. The finish makes Alys the first British surfer to qualify for the CS full-time.
“I’m absolutely over the moon. It’s been a goal of mine for the last two years, and to make it happen in this event has been amazing,” she said.
“I didn’t really know exactly what I needed going into the comp; I just took it heat by heat. It still hasn’t quite sunk in.
“It’s been a brilliant event and I’ve had such a great time being here for the last two weeks with my family and everyone else. I’m stoked – we’ve had awesome waves, and it was great to be in the final with one of my good friends, Janire. I can’t believe I’ve qualified for the Challenger Series.”
Alys didn’t fully find her rhythm in setty, head-high waves at Anza, eventually finishing on a total of 11.33, just behind Basque shredder Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri on 14.83.
Reflecting on her performance, Alys said:
“It would have been amazing to take the win, but second was fantastic. I made a few wave choice errors but still put on a pretty nice show and enjoyed it.
“Qualification for the CS was always in the back of my mind, but I didn’t want to focus on the maths – I just kept surfing heat by heat.
“There was more period in the final, with bigger waves and hardly any wind, which produced pretty much ideal contest conditions.”
Building momentum through the event, Alys posted one of the competition’s highest scores in a showcase of British surfing talent.
“I dropped a 9.33, which was really cool. As someone from Swansea and the Gower, it was great to demonstrate my surfing against competitors from Spain, Portugal and across Europe.
“It’s so nice to be up there with those guys and girls and to show that working hard pays off.
“All the cold days at Peaks or walking down to Langland, all the training – those moments are definitely worth it when you come out on top.”
Barton’s promotion to the CS marks a significant milestone in British surfing history.
“I came out of the water after the final and everyone was saying that I’d qualified. It was just a surreal moment. Having my family and friends here made it even more special. I’m the first Brit to qualify for the Challenger Series full-time.”
The CS begins in July in Ballito, South Africa, before moving on to California, Brazil, Portugal and Australia.
“It will be fantastic to compete on the global tour,” Barton said.
“A lot of my friends are competing there and I’ve been watching them on TV from home, so it’s really nice to finally be able to go where they are. It’s just brilliant and I’m really excited for the challenge.”
Before the rigours of the CS kick in, she plans to have some well-earned downtime at home.
“The next move is to get on my flight tonight, get back home and have a rest. Ballito is probably the first event I’ll do, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll put a plan together for training over the next few months and prepare for the next tour.”
