As the nights draw in and the summer winds down into the promise of long-awaited autumn swell,
the British Longboard Union finish the year with a bang as they return to Fistral Beach on 30th September – 1st October 2017. We are once again looking forward to the very warm welcome of main event sponsor – and purveyors of the finest pizza, pies and cider – ‘The Stable, Fistral’. The Stable Fistral Longboard Classic has seen the rollercoaster ride of the BLU tour come to an epic conclusion in previous years, and this year looks like it’s going to be another cracker. A reduced number of events has left every single division wide open, with the Women’s and Men’s Open divisions promising the real fireworks.
In 2016, the overall Women’s tour win was shared between Emily Currie and Jen Pendlebury, with previous holder Claire Smail missing out on a three-way tie by the slimmest margin of 10 points. Emily’s win at Fistral in 2016 was needed to force the tie, and with Jen leading the field into the final event it’s sure to be a close affair once again as both Emily and Claire are still within range of victory.
The Men’s Open and Single Fin divisions are currently in the grip of European Junior Longboard Champion Jack Unsworth, having put in a comprehensive and professional performance at Saunton earlier in the tour. Current tour and 11 time European Longboard Champion Ben Skinner is in second place in both divisions, and is unlikely to come to Fistral with anything less than all guns blazing.
Below: Charlotte Bayliss
The U16 Cadets, U18 Boys, U18 Girls, Masters and Grand Masters divisions are all still undecided, and it will definitely come down to performances – good or bad – on the day to finally put the issue to bed.
The contest portal is now open and entries can be made here (before Wednesday 27th September) New competitors are always welcome, please contact Minnow Green here if you have any questions.
The decision to call the contest on/off will be made at 1300hrs on Thursday 28th September.
The BLU would also like to announce their intention to run the Men’s Open and Women’s divisions with equal prize money and a repechage for both divisions. This will be dependent on entry levels and surf conditions, but forms part of the BLU’s commitment to equality and fair representation within the sport of surfing.
Below: Emily Currie
History of The British Longboard Union
In 1994 Robert ‘Minnow’ Green was asked to run a Prestigious Longboard only 2 day event for Oxbow to coincide with the launch of the clothing brand in Europe to be held at Fistral beach, Newquay.
The contest attracted some important names to Britain’s shores with surfing professionals Nat Young and his son Beau from Australia plus Joel Tudor and Duane Desoto from Hawaii in attendance. Following the event a number of British longboarders felt it would be a beneficial step for the sport to have more events like it, so in 1995 we worked on how to produce a tour. In 1996 the British Longboard Union was launched with backing from Oxbow U.K. Twenty two years on, the BLU Tour continues to grow with surfers competing from the Channel Isles, Wales and Scotland alongside our English loggers.
Longboarding continues to evolve due to a large resurgence of interest & through the inclusion of progressive surfing combined with traditional nose-riding disciplines.
Below: Tina Beresford
