The UK leg of the Moskito Tour went off this past weekend in great 4 to 5 foot conditions at Fistral Beach. With just under a 100 groms entering the two day event and great conditions throughout the weekend, the UK leg of the European Moskito Tour has proved to be the best yet of the 2007 tour.

The event kicked off early on Saturday morning with a consistent 2-3 foot swell and light offshore winds giving competitors a great opportunity to show off their skills. With the rain holding off, and the promise of sunny skies ahead, the crowds at the beach were about to witness the UK’s best up and coming surfers in action.

The early rounds of the Under 12’s and Girls divisions got underway, with heats running back to back maximizing the great conditions on offer. From early on, 11-year-old Harry Timson proved to be a surfer to watch out for, ripping through his early heats in the under 12’s division with some fantastic surfing.

Zoe Sheath (15) and Holly Donelly (15) cruised through the early girls rounds getting themselves into the final against other stand outs Kathlean Spears and Tassy Swallows.
It was Holly however who took the honors winning the girls division with some impressive surfing to seal the victory. Holly also posted the highest score of the event with a 9.17.

In the Under 12’s, Harry Timson convincingly took the win, with a high standard of surfing beyond his years, even managing to combo the other 3 finalists with a combined 2 wave score of 17.33! After the prize giving Harry said: “I’m really excited, I surfed well today and I can’t wait to get in the Under 14’s tomorrow, I’m gonna try and win that too!” Harry walked away laden with prizes from the event sponsors.

Competitors were greeted with an increase in swell size on Sunday morning. With a solid 4 to 5 foot shorebreak pounding the high tide mark at Fistral event directors were pleased to have completed the under 12’s division the previous day. “The shorey was pretty heavy,” Phil Richardson said. “Some of the younger kids were amped for it but you can’t expect everyone to get out there, especially if they don’t know the break at Fistral as well as others.”

The first round of Under 16’s got underway from 9am with all 8 heats running back to back, followed by the quarter finals of the Under 14’s division. As the tide dropped the swell started to pick up on the good banks at Fistral, providing perfect 4 to 5 foot competition waves.

Again, youngster Harry Timson was proving to be a formidable contender, cruising through his heats in the under 14’s and working his way into the semis with some impressive surfing in the larger conditions. Leon Mansfield (14) also showed off some great moves, putting in powerful turns and high performance maneuvers throughout his heats, working his way into the Under 14’s final.

In the Under 16’s heats Jack Butler (16) and Toby Donachie from Constantine showed off some fantastic surfing, with Toby posting the highest Under 16 combined score of 16.90. Jack was unfortunate not to make the final but Toby powered through to meet the other 3 finalists – Josh Hughes, Stuart Campbell and Josh Piper.

The final of the Under 14’s kicked off in excellent mid-tide Fistral surf. From the outset Leon Mansfield posted high scores and looked set to win the heat hands down. His high standard of surfing and wave selection was phenomenal and he was rewarded by the judges high scores, combo’ing his fellow competitors with a 16.00. When the hooter sounded for the end of the heat it was obvious who had won.

The final of the Under 16’s was the most competitive heat of the event with all 4 surfers working hard to claim the win. With some great surfing Toby almost had the final in the bag but in the dying moments of the heat Stuart Campbell rode an excellent wave from way outside, whacking it all the way through to the inside, and scored well for it, getting the score he needed to steal victory away from Toby.

The awards ceremony signaled the end of the 2 day event, with all finalists being awarded a mass of prizes from the event sponsors, including the latest sunglasses from Electric, clothing from Santa Cruz and Board bags and other goods from Globe.

With kids of all ages entering the event, the youngest competitor being 8 year old Angus Scotney from St Mawgan, the UK leg of the Moskito Tour was deemed a huge success. Phil Richardson, Marketing Manager for Electric Europe, said: “I’m really stoked with how the event went off, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions, the standard of kids surfing in the UK is as good as anywhere in Europe. I was really impressed with the way the kids attacked the surf and also with the UK surf scene.”

The Moskito Tour now heads to Santander in Spain to get the best out of the Spanish groms!

Final Results:

Under 16 Division

1. Stuart Campbell

2. Toby Donachie

3. Josh Hughes

4. Josh Piper

Under 14 Division

1. Leon Mansfield

2. Max Tucker

3. Chris Kelly

4. Tom Good

Under 12 Division

1. Harry Timson

2. Sam Harwood

3. Connor Swan

4. Dillon Scotney

Girls Division

1. Holly Donelly

2. Zoe Spears

3. Kathlean Spears

4. Tassy Swallow

The Moskito Tour – Europe schedule of events:

Portugal: Costa Da Caparica, Lisbon – 28-29 April

France: Les Sable d’Olonnes, Vendee – 5-6 May

France: La Torche, Brittany – 12-13 May

England: Fistral Beach, Cornwall – 2-3 June

Spain: Playa del Somo, Santander – 21-22 June

Spain: Zarautz Surf Club, Zarautz – 14-15 July

France: Seignosse, Landes – 11- 12 August

For more info, check out: www.myspace.com/moskitotour2007