The SLSGB Surf Series Round 2 welcomed the biggest international event in surf lifesaving right now – the World Ocean Series!
The opening round of the 2026/27 World Ocean Series season landed on British shores and SLSGB was proud to host the event alongside Newquay Surf Life Saving Club.
From the very first barrier hitting the sand to the final champagne pop, the event showcased everything that makes surf life saving special – world-class racing, incredible volunteers, and an atmosphere that will live long in the memory.
A huge thank you must go to the army of volunteers from Newquay SLSC, whose hard work made the event possible. From constructing the spectacular branded World Ocean Series gantry to keeping athletes, officials, volunteers and spectators fuelled for almost 12 hours, their dedication was simply outstanding. Behind the scenes, our highly skilled officials, water safety crews, event water safety management team and volunteers ensured the competition ran like clockwork. Events of this scale don’t happen by chance, and we cannot thank every single volunteer enough. Your passion and commitment continue to inspire us.
Before the elite racing even began, history was made as SLSGB hosted its first Nipper Clinic alongside a Surf Series event.
Fifty lucky nippers spent the morning learning from some of the very best. World Ocean Series Manager Ben Cochrane was joined by Australian professional Ironman Henry Simpson, alongside SLSGB’s own George Haynes, delivering an unforgettable coaching session.
The youngsters learned the finer details of wading, dolphin diving, bodysurfing and board paddling positioning before experiencing the thrill of running through the professionally built World Ocean Series finish gantry, giving them a taste of what it’s like to cross the line as an elite athlete. A massive thank you also goes to the fantastic water safety teams from Newquayand Lusty SLSC for making the session safe and enjoyable.
With the clinics complete, attention turned to the racing. Next Gen and Open heats delivered exciting action throughout the afternoon, with incredibly tight finishes and sprint races to secure places in the finals.
As the tide pushed in, Fistral Beach transformed into a natural amphitheatre. Spectators lined the shoreline, creating an electric atmosphere worthy of the world-class racing that followed.
Next Gen Boys Surf Race
The Next Gen Boys Surf Race delivered one of the performances of the day as Hayle SLSC completed an impressive one-two finish. After sitting patiently in the chasing pack, teammates Zak Martin and Bradley Hughes timed their move to perfection, launching their attack around 75 metres from shore. Working together through the surf, they reeled in the early leaders from Woolacombe and Penybont before Zak edged ahead in the wave zone to claim victory. Bradley crossed shortly after in second, while Indi Jones of Penybont secured a well-earned third place.
Next Gen Girls Surf Race
The girls’ final quickly developed into a thrilling three-way battle between Elise Trotter (Portreath), Isla Sandbach(Woolacombe) and Ella Jones (Saunton). Ella made the strongest start, but once the waves came into play it was Elise’s exceptional surf skills that made the difference. A perfectly timed bodysurf carried her to shore ahead of the field, allowing her to hit the sand first with a smile that said it all. Isla finished second, with Ella completing the podium in third.
Open Men’s Surf Race
The Open Men’s Surf Race had surf sports fans glued to the action. Fresh from an incredible Australian Championships campaign, where he claimed silver in the Open Men’s Surf Race while still eligible for Under-19 competition, Australian professional Henry Simpson faced one of Britain’s very best in Kiran Gammon of Woolacombe. The pair were inseparable throughout much of the race, with British star Bob Whittaker never far behind. A thrilling sprint along the shoreline saw Henry narrowly take his first World Ocean Series victory of the day, ahead of Kiran in second and Bob in third. Special mention also goes to Portreath’s exciting youngster Will Davies, who finished fourth, while rising talent Williams Watkins rounded out the top five with another impressive performance.
Open Women’s Surf Race
The Open Women’s Surf Race saw Sash Hemmens, representing California State, stamp her authority on the field from the outset. Despite determined pressure from Molly Roodhouse of Gyllyngvase, the South African-born American held her composure through the surf and onto the beach to secure victory. Molly crossed in second, while exciting young athlete Grace James of Rest Bay completed the podium with an excellent third-place finish.
Next Gen Board Race
The Next Gen Board Race produced another outstanding spectacle as athletes negotiated challenging bumps and fast-changing conditions throughout the course. From the opening sprint to the final run home, the race remained fiercely competitive in both boys and girls with several lead changes keeping spectators on the edge of their seats.
In the boys it was Rudy Rosenbaum from Woolacombe who impressed most with a win, Ted Buscombe from Holywell with a fantastic start finished in second and Stanley Rowe from Gyllyngvase in third.
The girls saw Jess Postlethwaite from Hayle take out her first title of the Surf Series campaign, with ‘on cloud 9’ Elise Trotter from Portreath after her win in the swim, completed second place with Kitty Connelly in third from Woolacombe.
Open Men’s Board Race
If you are going to beat Woolacombes Bob Whittaker on a board, you’ve got to do something phenomenal. That’s exactly what Henry Simpson did. Bob, did what he does best which is pull away from the field from the last bouy, but with no assistance in the last part of the race, a decision needed to be made – get off and ‘bunny hop’ or stay on and risk being caught up from the incoming pack on a smaller wave, Bob made his decision, he was off bunny hopping his way to victory, the water though was deep, slightly too deep. Henry Simpson, like a fox, licking his lips as he watched a vulnerable bounding bob was ready to attack his helpless prey. Bob was off and raring to go but with huge excursion saw lactate overcome and the galloping Simpson from Alexander Headland SLSC, Australia took out 2 from 2. A gladiator performance from Bob in second with Portreath’s Piran Phillips rounding off an impressive third.
Open Ladies Board Race
She’s hard to beat when she’s on form and she continued that reputation after this race, ‘Ellie McCloy is a board champion’ is a statement Rest Bays SLSCs Ellie won’t get bored of hearing, she’s consistently picking up solid result in this discipline and added another to her resume. From the start, Ellie dominated in a field of strong board paddlers. One of the most surprising results was a ski specialist, Evie Wong showing us all she’s a fighter, as she secured a solid second place and South African Sash Hemmens in third.
Open Men’s Ski Race
There was one person with a target on his back, that was Piran Phillips – he lead for most of the World Ocean Series last year and known around the world for his surf ski paddling. He was the one the paddlers wanted to beat, but it wasn’t their day, Piran had what he described as a ‘rubbish start’ but quickly put things right getting to the first bouy in the lead, it was dad of 2, Lewis Rosewell from Portreath who had the inside line at the first bouy and managed to sneak his nose in with Simpson and Clements from Germany going to longer way. Clements a previous European Ski champion has had many battles with Piran but it was the Portreath boy who started to pull away, Simpson and Rosewell worked hard to pull down a little wave which almost caught the leader but Piran with enough had the finishing tape in his hands, Rosewell with a sneaky dip for the line managed to grab a joint second with the Aussie, Henry Simpson.
Open Ladies Ski Race
It was the one we were looking forward too. A world Surf Ski runner up in Rhooses Evie Wong and an Ocean Ski U21 World Champion in Rosie Edwards. Both girls taking slightly different paths with Wong into flat water Kayaking and Edwards in long distance ocean paddling, stick them in the middle and what do you get – an incredible spectacle! Evie, having the better start started to pull away with her phenomenal two footed start, Rosie holding on. The ‘holding on’ quickly changed to ‘levelled up’ as together the girls went around the cans with a bees whisker in it, and now the runners came into play. Rosie a runner lover with her Ocean paddling passion started to link them beautifully but Evie wasn’t giving it, it was the showdown we all wanted. Rosie managing to pull down a tiny wave which Evie unfortunately did not have gave Rosie the opportunity to take the first head to head showdown of the 2026 season. – we hope more to see more between these two class athletes. Rosie Edwards from Gyllyngvase in first, Evie Wong from Rhoose in second and up and coming Wong sister, Ava rounding up the top three.
Oceanman & Oceanwoman
The feature endurance races of the day lived up to expectations, combining swimming, board paddling and ski paddling into the ultimate test of surf life saving fitness.
Athletes battled not only each other but also the constantly changing ocean conditions, producing tactical racing across every discipline. In the mens field momentum swung several times, with Phillips having his share of the lead after the first leg of Ski, Simpson then taking the lead after the swim, with a gap of atleast 30, 40metres before a determined Bob Whittaker paddled his way on the final board leg to a joint first position. Unfortunately the monstrous effort was not rewarded as a hungry Henry charged his way to victory, Bob Whittaker in second and a result that will stay in his memory for a long time – Jim Turner from Woolacombe in third place.
The ladies, slightly different. Professional Ironwomen, Emily Doyle from BMD Northcliffe finally graced us with a textbook masterclass, showing us Brits how good she is. With a dominate performance Emily won her maiden international race comfortably. This did not shadow the brilliant performance from Sash Hemmens from South Africa in second and Ellie McCloy in third.
Round 2 of the SLSGB Surf Series will be remembered as a landmark event for British surf life saving. Hosting the opening round of the World Ocean Series showcased not only the incredible standard of international racing, but also the strength of our clubs, volunteers and community.
To every athlete, official, volunteer, supporter and spectator—thank you for making this such a special weekend.
We now look forward to the next round of the SLSGB Surf Series, OceanPerf Challenge UK in Portreath on the 25th July and can’t wait to bring the World Ocean Series back to our shores in 2027!
