Most surfers profess in awkward and vague tones that they care about and have an appreciation for, the marine environment. Their local beach, the run off after rain, the sewage overflow…

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Blah blah blah, all talk.



But how many of us actually do something about it?

And shouldn’t the people with the most significant ‘reach’ be inspiring our army of extremely talented frothing grommets to lead the charge, while they go out into the world and make a name for themselves? (and for British surfing). And even old dogs can be taught new tricks, but as I recall in times gone by it was the old dogs who were on the beach, gloves on, with a black bag full of things that would not be there without our apathy for the place that we supposedly love.

Heavy stuff… But after observing the state of Fistral beach during this years POSCA British national surfing championships I’ve had some food for thought, and it’s a bitter taste.
The beach was covered in plastic debris. I myself tripped over a sharp piece of metal debris that could have easily cut a child, dog or competitor walking on the beach. And this was not just around the contest area (under Surfing GB’s noses I might add) it stretched ALL the way down to the south end… That’s a lot of plastic.

Considering the SAS signage in the POSCA tent and the fact that there were two beach cleans around the same time as the contest at Sidmouth and Saunton, it seems odd and a terrible shame that Surfing GB are not doing all they can for our beaches… or setting the example that should be paramount for all the extremely, and I mean EXTREME-ly talented groms that are going to take whatever attitude we give them out into the world. A big shout out to the Pro juniors and all the under 16’s, they absolutely charged in (what was for them) double overhead challenging conditions.



At least the individuals are not dropping the ball on this one. After Alan Stokes had had enough of a’popping unreal airs and won the comp, he still had time to promote SAS’ ProtectOurWaves petition.

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I know Surfing GB is suffering hard times and I fully support their partnership with POSCA, hopefully they will move into calmer waters and begin rebuilding the UK contest scene. I wish all the luck in the world to them, but the issue of leading by example for our surfers and for British surfing in general is something that needs to be addressed.
It should be cool to want to clean your beach, it should be standard for our surfers and governing bodies to be leading the masses to a better, more eco-aware future, and beach cleans/awareness events should be a part of our surf contests. I wonder what our international competitors thought of the state of our beach that day…

It’s time to stop talking about it, or ignoring it, and take action on our ‘supposed’ convictions. Surfing GB are engineering the future of British surfing, let’s make it cleaner, greener and an example to the rest of the world.

 

A little less conversation a little more action please... 

Protect our waves petition: 
Words By Josef Williams