The Scottish National Surfing Championships secures funding from EventScotland’s National Programme Fund

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2019-Feb-24 — /Travel PR News/ — A competition which brings surfers from across Scotland to compete for a national title has been successful in securing funding from EventScotland’s National Programme Fund.

The Scottish National Surfing Championships, which take place from 19 – 22 April in Thurso, aim to bring surfers from across Scotland together to compete for the national title in the following divisions: U14, U16, U18 Boys, U18 Girls, Masters (35+) Open Men, Open Women and Longboards.

EventScotland’s National Programme Fund has given £5,000 to the event for the first time, to help implement their priority system and event delivery costs.

The first ever Scottish National Surfing Championships was held in 1973 in Bettyhill and was won by Bill Batten, who presented the Open Men’s trophy at the 2018 event.

This event, which could attract up to 1,000 spectators and around 55 Scottish competitors, is also used to select the Scottish national squad and provides a great spectacle of the best Scottish surfers on the some of the best waves in Europe.

This competition is now more important than ever, as, in 2016, the member nations of the Olympic Movement voted in favour of the inclusion of surfing in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020. Surfing was one of five new sports to be included and provides a platform for British surfing to excel on the world stage.

The championships often take place at the better-known surfing locations of Thurso East or Brimms Ness, along the north coast of Caithness, but the best conditions for last year’s competition were to be found at Sinclair’s Bay, on the east coast.

Last year’s Men’s Open winner was Thurso-based Mark Boyd – one of Scotland’s best competitive surfers; and Phoebe Strachan scooped the Women’s Open title.

VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director for the Highlands, Chris Taylor, said: “This is a popular competition on the Scottish surfing calendar and great opportunity for people to experience this exciting sport ahead of its debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.

“I am delighted the championships have been awarded funding to help make this event as successful as possible, as it is so important for the Highlands’ identity as a fantastic location for hosting all sorts of watersports events.

“Scotland is the perfect stage for events and our National programme plays a crucial role, not only in maintaining our vibrant and diverse portfolio but in developing domestic tourism and generating beneficial impacts to all areas of the country.”

Chris Clarke, of the North Shore Surf Club (NSSC) and contest director for the Scottish Surfing Federation (SSF) at the Scottish Nationals said: “The North Shore Surf Club (NSSC) look forward to once again hosting the biggest event on the Scottish Surfing Federation calendar, at Scotland’s premier reef break Thurso-East and welcoming Scotland’s best surfers back to Caithness.”

National programme funding supports the strategic development of events which occur outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the aim of driving domestic tourism, delivering economic impact for local communities and generating media profile for Scotland.

Building upon existing event activities, extending marketing reach and enhancing the on-site food and drink offer are just some of the ways National programme funds are often put to use.

For more information about the championships, visit www.thessf.com

Notes to Editors

• Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
• VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
• The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
• This will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.

• The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
• Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
• For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
• Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
• For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
• For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com

Scotland’s Themed Years

• • Following an industry consultation, the Themed Years will now take place every second year to enable more time for planning and opportunities for collaboration.
  • 2020 has been designated as a year in which Scotland’s Coasts and Waters will be showcased and celebrated with a programme of activity designed to support the nation’s tourism and events sectors.
  • The year, led by VisitScotland will sustain and build upon the momentum of Scotland’s preceding Themed Years to spotlight, celebrate and promote opportunities to experience and enjoy Scotland’s unrivalled Coasts and Waters, encouraging responsible engagement and participation from the people of Scotland and our visitors.
  • A year-long programme of events, activities and ideas will shine a spotlight on the impact our waters have had on Scotland, from the formation of beautiful natural features to the creation of our national drink – whisky.
  • Join the conversation using #YCW2020
  • 2022 will be the Year of Scotland’s Stories – a celebration of our rich literature, film, oral traditions and myths and legends.

Contact:
Chelsea Charles
Scotland’s Themed Years Communications & Engagement Manager
Chelsea.Charles@Eventscotland.org
0131 472 2067

Contact for media enquiries on: Scotland’s Themed Years (i.e. 2018 Year of Young People; 2020 Year of Scotland’s Coast and Waters; 2022 Year of Scotland’s Stories)

Source: VisitScotland

###

Subscribe to Notifications