Puravida Boardriders – #MiPost Power-2GO Welsh National Surfing Championships 2021: Day 2 Update
The sun shone all day but surf quality deteriorated on the second day of the Welsh Nationals.

With persistent onshores and the swell dropping to around shoulder height, competitors remained stoked and did well to get every drop of potential out of the waves on offer.

Spectators and judges enjoyed a great display of surfing as the contest progressed into its final stages.

The U14 Boys category was first to be settled with Sol Williams taking the title. Luca Owen took second place, while Ted Owen and Tomos O’leary took third and fourth respectively.

As the tide pushed off low, Eli Perrins Davies’ efforts were rewarded with a 12.70 from the judges, a score that secured Eli the crown in the U16 Boys division. Euan Buick finished second, Blake Jones third, and Tom Sheldon fourth.

Josie Hawke came out triumphant in the U16 Girls category, narrowly beating Mali MacDuff to the top spot. Freya Lynch and Betsy Owen came in third and fourth; each entrant did exceptionally well to hunt down scoring waves.

Capping off a superb day’s work, Josie then came out top in the U18 Girls category – an outstanding achievement for the ten-year-old who looks to have a big future in the sport. Poppy Owen took second, falling short by the smallest of margins, Katie David came in third, and Indi Lynch claimed the final place on the podium.

Eli Perrins Davies also pulled off an impressive double by securing victory in the U18 Boys event, in front of second-placed Ollie Evans. Jed Wood took third place just ahead of Euan Buick in fourth.

Blake Jones built on his earlier third place in the U16s by being crowned U18 Boys Longboard champion. Stylish cruising saw Seth Reed and Aurthur Buick take second and third place.

Anna-Rose Merchant’s accomplished performance landed her the title in the U18 Girls Longboard. Indie-Daisy Thomas came in second place; Evelyn Reed third; Nell Sadler fourth, and Eliza Gough fifth. Once again, each finalist did superbly well to manage the less-than-perfect waves and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Indie-Daisy Thomas’s achievements were also recognised in her winning of the PSR Award, set up in memory of Pembrokeshire surf legend Paul “Spyder” Ryder.

The Men’s Longboard category saw a great battle fought by some of Wales’ top logging talent. Evan Rogers’ score of 9.20 went unbeaten, however, guaranteeing Rogers top perch on the podium. Narrowly missing out were Raife Gaskell (second), Josh Hocking (third), and Arran Bright (fourth).

Spray flew left right and centre in the eagerly-anticipated final Masters event. Llantwit charger Nathan Phillips tore up his share of the crumbly ramps to register a 10.20 – enough to take the trophy back up the M4. Evergreen shredders Greg Owen took second place, Chris Fowler came in third, while a wave-starved Mark Vaughan took fourth.
Commenting on his win, Nathan said: 

"It was a fun heat with a great crew of people – Vaughany, Greg, and Chris. The heat before actually looked really fun, it was around head high, super fun lefts and rights and then as soon as we paddled out it just kind of changed.
I saw Greg rattling off a few rights and Vaughany had one wave, and it was a bit tricky. I managed to snag a couple of scoring rights and got a little left. I wasn’t particularly happy with the waves but it was enough to get the win given the conditions.”

The Welsh came to a spectacular high-tide close as Logan Nicol, Patrick Langdon-Dark, Nathan Phillips and Joseph Morris scrapped it out for the prestigious title of Men’s Open champion.
Logan Nicol took the lead early on in the final, a position the Cardiff surfer held onto until the hooter despite the ever-present threat of fellow ripper Pat Dark who came in second. Close behind were Nathan Phillips (third) and Joseph Morris (fourth).

Huge congratulations go out to Logan Nicol, champion of the Men’s Open 2021.

Logan said:
“It was a really good contest. I came into it with a bit of an injury – I had a really bad knee yesterday, but I managed to get through the weekend fairly pain-free and surprised myself to make the final, and managed to win it. I’m really happy, just stoked.”

Commenting on the conditions in the final, Logan said:

“I was gutted at first but on the final somehow the wind dropped and it was two-to-three foot and super fun and it kind of turned on for us. We were really lucky, and it turned out in my favour. I can’t complain at all.”

More reaction from our competitors to follow.
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The Welsh Surfing Federation would like to say a huge thank you to all of our competitors, supporters and to our headline sponsors Puravida Boardriders #MiPost and Power-2GO
We could not have done it without your fantastic support, and we look forward to seeing you next year.