A five-year £75,000 sponsorship of the British Junior Surfing Team by children’s drinks company, Calypso, is set to end years in which Britain’s best young surfers have been starved of the funding they need to compete at the peak of their ability in international events.

“This is a massive boost for Britain’s elite young surfers at a time when they are on the verge of long, professional careers in what has become one of the country’s fastest growing sports,” said Karen Walton, director of the British Surfing Association (BSA), the sport’s governing body in Great Britain and the Channel Islands.

“Their talent has never been in any doubt, now this deal with Calypso means they can concentrate on structured training and receive the very best coaching and support without having to worry about where the money is coming from.”

As a ‘warm up’ before the main sponsorship begins in 2008, Calypso has joined some of the biggest brands in the sport as a Gold Sponsor of the BSA, a move which will help the association to continue its vital role in developing the sport at all levels.
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Staff at a Watergate Bay extreme sports business are celebrating triple success with two champion surfers and a prestigious tourism award.

Surfers Harry Timson and Chris Thomson, both sponsored by the Extreme Academy, have won their divisions on the 2007 UK Pro Surfing Tour following the final event of the season earlier this month.

This success was further boosted last week when the Extreme Academy won a Gold award in the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2007.

“We would like to congratulate both Harry and Chris on becoming the UK Pro Surf Tour champions for 2007,” said Will Ashworth, Managing Director of The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay. “Then for the Extreme Academy to win gold at the Cornwall Tourism Awards is just fantastic. We have had an incredible year on the beach, and to cap it all with success on three fronts is excellent.”
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As you might have noticed, that time of year has arrived where you have to put your flip flops away in the back of your wardrobe.

So if you’re looking for something cool to wear this winter you could do a lot worse than considering a pair of trainers from Kustom’s new range. With a variety of trainers designed to suit any style, they have a wide range of colours, styles and materials to suit any personality.

The pair they’ve sent through for us to have a gander at are called the Edison! They’re a well built, fairly traditional white trainer style that have a very comfortable bright green cushioning interior with a solid rubber sole and the magic eight ball design on the side definitely sets them apart. Life will never be dull in those winter months when you’re sporting your own luck! For further information go to www.kustomfootwear.com

IMBITUBA, Brazil (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007) Australian Mick Fanning clinched his maiden Foster’s ASP World Title after winning the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil today. Fanning was in the water about to surf a semifinal heat against childhood friend Joel Parkinson (AUS) when Taj Burrow (AUS) was eliminated by Tom Whitaker (AUS) and his lifelong dream was realized.

“I woke up this morning and I just had a good feeling that it was going to happen today,” Fanning said. “It was so amazing to be out there with Joel. When I realized I’d won I went, ‘What do we do Joel?’ and he was like, ‘I don’t know!’ I was just so stoked to share my first ever heat as the World Champion with him. It was amazing.”

Fanning surfed a signature heat to beat Parkinson 18.70 to 12.84 in Semifinal 1 before defending his Brazilian title by beating rookie Kai Otton (AUS) in the final to win the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro. The win marks his 9th Foster’s ASP World Tour event win.

Americans Kelly Slater and Andy Irons have monopolized the World Title for the last five years but Fanning’s win today makes him the first Australian to clinch a men’s ASP World Title since Mark ‘Occy” Occhilupo did so in Brazil in 1999.

“To take the reins over from Oc is incredible,” Fanning said. “He is pretty much the legend of the sport. He’s such a character and such a cool guy. Even when I’ve been on tour with Andy, he’s such a determined guy as well and I was there for his first world title. And then there’s Kelly – the guy who gave inspiration to every kid who surfs today, he’s amazing.”
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Sam Lamiroy wins 2007 UK Pro Surf Tour at the Gul Newquay Open, on Fistral Beach last weekend, 10/11 November.

Sam defeated Llewellyn Whittaker by only 12points, the narrowest margin for victory in tour history. The title on the final day of the Gul Newquay Open could have gone either way, but because of Sam’s marginal lead going into the final event on the tour he had the advantage and used all his experience to achieve his goal.
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Newquays Alan Stokes beat of a highly talented field to clinch victory at the final event of the UK Pro Surf Tour

Alan Stokes won the hotly contested Gul Newquay Open, the final event on the UK Pro Surf Tour 2007, ahead of Matt Capel, Russell Winter and Johnny Fryer. Fistral beach provided testing conditions for the UK Pro Tour title decider on the 10th and 11th of November. The Open event was a high-tension affair with all six of the top seeds on the tour still in with a chance of taking the tour title coming into the final event.
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