news release
    31st May 2005

Sas/Quiksilver Eco Grom Tour Success In St Ives

Young Surfers in St Ives benefit from environmental education by world’s best surfers!

Young surfers (groms!) in St Ives were taught key environmental protection messages by some of the World’s best surfers at Porthmeor Beach, St Ives over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

The ECO Grom Tour seeks to ensure surfing groms across the country know the key steps in protecting their beach from pollution. This includes how to spot pollution, organizing beach litter cleans and who to contact if they witness a pollution incident.

Over 20 St Ives Groms were given the chance to surf with and against some of the best surfers in the world during a fun tag team surf contest where they teamed up with some of their surfing heroes.

3 times world masters champion Gary Elkerton led a distinguished Quiksilver team that also includes Welsh ripper Nathan Phillips, Senior British Champ Gabe Davies, the UK’s hottest junior surfer Tom Butler and Roxy ripper Sarah Bentley. The Quiksilver team passed on their knowledge and experience in wave riding to the next generation but their core message of the day was all about the need to protect their watery playgrounds for the future.

SAS campaigners and the Quiksilver pro surfers will be cruising around the country in style with the new Quiksilver bus. The SAS/Quiksilver Eco Grom Tour will be stopping off at:

• St Ives 29th May
• Croyde 30th May
• Brighton (campaign stop only)
• 31st May Guernsey
• 1st June Llangennith
• 2nd June Bundoran (plus Quiksilver grom series)
  4th & 5th June

Each day starts with SAS teaching groms (aged 10-14) why their local beaches are so important and how best to protect them. Then a beach clean, with analysis of the litter and its’ potential impacts. Groms are shown what they can do when a pollution incident occurs and the power they have to bring about change. As with previous SAS tours, this year’s tour will be enjoyable as well as educational. All groms will receive an SAS Eco Grom Certificate and a Quiksilver goodie bag.

In the afternoon at Porthmeor the groms were divided into teams captained by Quiksilver pros to take part in a fun surf tag team event. Whilst surf was small all the groms threw off some cool manoevres with the girls team led by Srah Bentley deemed the overall winners. Prizes were awarded before the team sped off in the Quiksilver bus to the next beach. Each day starts at 8.30am and finishes at around 4pm depending on the surf!! If it goes flat then the Quiksilver team will be treating the groms to an insight into their training regime, so fun and education is guaranteed whatever the waves are like.

Andy Cummins, SAS Campaigns Assistant says: “The St Ives groms were a fantastic and enthusiastic group to educate and teach. The day was full of fun and they all really responded to learning about the dangers facing their waves from pollution.”

Nathan Phillips, Quiksilver pro surfer says: “We know how important these tours are for the groms. Learning about how to protect their waves from pollution is something they can draw on for the rest of their surfing lives!”

For further information please contact Andy Cummins or Richard Hardy on 01872 553001 / 07711 767548 or andy@sas.org.uk

Back