Event 2 - Frostbite Sessions Results
"Clean conditions for the second in the Frostbite Session series" Event images
Josh Piper showed his true potential last weekend, by reaching the finals of both the under 16 and 18 divisions of the South to South Frostbite sessions, held at Portreath. 15 year old Josh from Newquay was the clear winner in the under 18's and was narrowly defeated in the under 16's by Jack Whitefield from St Ives.
The second event of the Frostbite series was scheduled to take place at Praa Sands, but as the surf was looking small and blown out, organiser Tyson Greenaway decided to move across to the north coast, which was looking to be a much better option. Following a cross country ramble, the competitors were greeted by clean highly contestable surf at a sun bathed, if somewhat frosty Portreath.
The first heat of the day saw the youngest surfer of the series, 9 year old Harry de Roth from St Ives put in a great effort, but against such seasoned youngsters as Sennen's Seb Smart, he had to be content with fourth position. Many of the surfers had opted to enter both divisions, meaning that some surfed as many as six heats throughout the day. Quite an achievement given the freezing conditions.
The under 18's final was a tight fought affair between eventual winner Jack Whitefield, finding long smooth rides, and the powerful style of Josh Piper, going for bigger moves. Bert Wright from Penzance had easily won his semi, scoring a 7.6 with the only barrel of the day, but couldn't find his form in the final. Rob Webster Blythe who had travelled all the way down from Newport in Gwent, was milking the small waves for all he was worth, but it wasn't to be enough.
With the two finals back to back, both Jack and Josh stayed in the water for the under 16's final, with Josh immediately taking a solid wave on the hooter blast. Jack stuck to his formula of taking as many waves as possible; Seb Smart was trying hard to find some air; Newquay's Alex Piper just couldn't find the waves, and Josh Piper powered his way through again to win convincingly.
Following a good result at the first event at Gwithian, Josh now leads the series ratings in both divisions, as well as overall. With the best two results from the three events counting, all could change next week, when the event moves to Porthmeor, St Ives on Sunday Feb 24th.
The organisers would like to thank Richard Allen at Kerrier District Council The series consists of three, one-day contests, for surfers in categories 16 and under, and 18 and under, and based on the best two results, the top four surfers from the series will compete in a mobile Grand Final on March 15th to coincide with the opening of the new South to South store in Newquay . They will be taken to the best waves available on the day, be it Porthleven, Bude or Aggie, to battle for the chance to win a lucrative sponsorship deal with event sponsors, South to South. The package will include two seasonal clothing packs, photo shoots, and a vital stepping stone onto a future surfing career.
South to South was launched in the UK in June 2007. It is the first time that their surf inspired clothing has been available outside of Brazil. Every item of stock is imported in a strictly limited edition, often as few as 50 items, and is only available from South to South stores in the UK, and online at www.southtosouth.co.uk. The first store was opened in Church Street, Falmouth, Cornwall, and the next one is due to open in Newquay in March 2008. Several more are planned to open in the South West in the coming years.
Results
Under -16
1st Jack Whitefield
2nd Josh Piper
3rd Alex Piper
4th Seb Smart
Under -18
1st Josh Piper
2nd Rob Webster Blythe
3rd Jack Whitefield
4th Bert Wright
Check out images of the event