The first surfing championships in
Jersey took place at the Watersplash in
1963. In the 1960s and 70s Jersey
was a surfing mecca, hosting a number of European surfing
championships. In 1968 five out of six of the British surf team who
travelled to Puerto Rico for the world championships were Jerseymen
and over the next two years the club staged the first two European
Championships, both being won by Jersey's Gordon
Burgis. During the 1970s Jersey was
also one of the most renowned places for shaping surfboards. Steve
Harewood started Freedom Surfboards when there were only a couple
of other places making surfboards in
Europe, Bilbo and Tiki in the
UK and Balin Rot in
France.
Surfing has kept its base around the Watersplash and
continues to thrive. In more recent times Jersey Surfboard Club has
hosted a number of large scale surfing events, with one of the
larger events being the 2009 European Championships with Ben
Skinner winning the longboard title. The Jersey Surfboard Club has
approximately 500 members, with over half being juniors so the
future of surfing in Jersey is looking
bright. Come and join us!
Many thanks to Dave Ferguson of the Jersey Surfboard club
for his help with the photographs.
