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tel 01243 265 492
Surfboard Repair
Minature Boards
Outrigger Canoes
Driftwood Crafts
Make sure you check 'events' on the left regularly for upcoming events, their locations and application forms!
Dear All,
For those of you who took part in last years Sponsored Paddle,
you will recognise this as one of the most fun and worthwhile events we organise.
Hopefully you will all have it in your diaries already, but (just to confirm) the date this year is Saturday 28th June. Meeting at the end of Shore Road at 3pm, transport will take you and your board down to Bracklesham, and when we are all together we take the photo!
After that, we meander down to the water and set off. Now, it's not officially a race, but there is always a bit of a competition to see who crosses the line first!
Many of us are wondering if Mary will be able to keep the ever-improving Charley Clarke at bay this year!
What is important is that we remember that this is a charity event. The beneficiary, the Snowdrop Trust, depends on donations to keep providing its excellent services. Download the sponsorship form and get out there and find out who your generous friends are (every £1 can make a difference). Sponsor forms will also be made available in the Wittering Surf shop, Shore Watersports, and Bob's Fisherman's Hut (if I manage to catch him).
Below is a picture of the ladies from Snowdrop when they received their cheque for last year's paddle – just look at their smiles, they says it all really.
One final plea from me, please let me know on the day how much you (well, your supporters) have pledged so that I can submit a letter to the Chichester Observer.
Please come back to me if you need any help to get organised.
I look forward to seeing you on Saturday the 28th, 2:30–the bitter end.
Oh before I go, we will be providing a BBQ and a few nibbles for those who successfully complete the distance. But more on the BBQ later.
Cheers for now,
Graham
May Surf Club Newsletter
It's nearly the Bank Holiday weekend and I know you'll be looking for something to do… Why not come along to the Shore Inn on Saturday (8pm) and catch up with your fellow surfers?
We will be showing a surfing DVD, and Graham Taplin will be there with stories of the Southern Hemisphere. He'll also be touting for members wishing to go to Costa Rica next January.
Moving on to more serious stuff now... as I mentioned in my last message, there was discussion of the new concerns for the owners of the beaches at West Wittering (that run from the west side of Shore Road all the way down to, and including, the West Wittering car park).
As a result of these concerns, signs have been put up along the beaches.
The main points are:
- water sports have to be performed in a safe and responsible manner
- 3rd party insurance is now mandatory.
However, what is not as yet clear how these regulations are to be enforced, and indeed how this can / will be checked. There are a number of ways to get insurance for water sports, it is included in some household policies, but not many. Your options are:
- you can organise specialist insurance on your own
- you can join one of the watersports associations or you can join the SHORE SURF CLUB. Joining the Surf Club (at £10, for juniors, £20 for adults and £40 for families) is about the cheapest way to make sure you are covered. Please spread the word to anybody who you know who surfs at our beaches, and encourage them to join.
I’d also advise that, when you surf (if we ever get any waves!), try to make sure you have your current membership card in the car, just in case anybody asks.
If you haven't signed up for club membership yet this year, your insurance will expire at the end of the month (May). Do come along on Saturday and renew to make sure you continue to play safely in the waves – I've made up the cards in anticipation.
Competitions
We are planning the first competition of the year on Saturday 24 May. It is for the under 18's only, and entrants have to be Club members. The competition will be the first in a series of three that are to be run this year for junior members. The series will be judged as a league. We hope to add one more date in the summer, although we are very much subject to the will of the waves! For those who entered last year, you'll be pleased to hear registration is 10am!
Parties!
…something we all like! We’ve booked a party on the same day as the Junior Surf Club Competition (Saturday 24 May) at Itchenor Village Hall. Live music has also been booked, which should ensure a fun evening for all. It will be a bring your own drink (soft or hard), but we may provide a few nibbles here and there.
Tickets will be £3 for members and £100 for non-members! So get your bikes out of the shed this weekend and oil that chain.
Photography Competition
Don't forget to send us your photographs for the photo competition, currently we have had one entry (me) and the prizes look great!
I hope to see you on Saturday, but if not have a fabulous Bank Holiday!
Graham Priestley, Secretary Shore Surf Club
New Year Newsletter
Hello everybody,
Firstly let me wish you a belated Happy and prosperous New Year with success and lots of surfing for you all.
It’s at this time of the year that we start to think about the year ahead and the New Year’s resolutions we've all made. I’ll come back to the commitments that the Committee are making this year for the membership, but let me bring you up to speed on some of the changes within the club.
The AGM took place on Sunday 27th January in the Shore Inn with just 10 in attendance. Firstly there were a number of resignations:
- Craig Chennell resigned from the position of Chairman
- Brian Haugh resigned as Secretary, and
- Adrian Howell resigned as Competitions Director.
These were three major resignations and the club would like to thank all three for their efforts over the last 12 months.
New elections took place and here are the new people in their related positions:
- Brian Haugh was elected Chairman
- Graham Priestley was elected Secretary
- Laurie Fletcher was elected Treasurer
- Penny Pearson was elected Social Secretary
- Graham Taplin was elected Competitions Director, and
- Henry Churchill was elected Under 21 Secretary
Brian James and Tony Chennell pledged assistance to the Competitions' Director, and Laurie Fletcher and Sara Flippance pledged assistance to the Social Secretary.
The Committee reflected on a good year in 2007, with highly successful competitions, thank you Shag (Adrian Howell), and three great parties, thank you Penny and Laurie. It was also a year during which the membership rose to a new high of 160 and, for the first time in years, reflects the growth in surfing as a sport and pastime. We hope you will all re-join again this year and encourage fellow surfers to support the club so that we can break the 200 member mark and be the biggest independent surf club in the UK!
We aim to make 2008 an even better year, in preparation our 40th anniversary in 2009. Here's a list of some of the main events planned for 2008:
- Annual beach clean: March
- Three parties: April, August and December
- Sponsored paddle and BBQ: June
- Cinema nights: April (and October if successful)
- Surfing competitions: Club Open in October; Mike Ruinet Memorial Long Board Classic in November / December (there will be more if there are waves)
These events are all subsidised by the club, but your attendance is essential if they are to continue into 2009.
The joining fee this year have risen for the first time in three years. The Committee has asked for an above-inflation increase in order to prepare for the 40th anniversary party. Out of each membership fee paid, £2 will be ring-fenced to put towards the cost of a venue and the booking of anniversary bands.
In 2008 we hope to make www.shoresurfclub.co.uk a site worth visiting on a regular basis. Not only will there be regular news updates, but there will also be an improved gallery feature on the website.
Competitions
Last year was a great year for competitions, in spite our efforts being blighted by poor waves for most of the year. In an attempt to help raise more interest, this year we are planning to try something new.
We have provided a list of calendar dates upfront on which we hope to run the competitions. Please put these in your diary. Confirmation of whether the event will go ahead will be sent out on the Thursday before the competition day. "Go Ahead!" notification will be sent out by text, so this year we need people to register (along with their mobile number) in advance of the day please. More details will be provided as we go along.
The Junior Surf Scheme was a huge success last year, in no small part due to the efforts of Adrian Howell. However, Adrian has decided to resign and is going to take the Junior Surf Scheme away from the club so that he can run it on his own. Despite this, the Club has decided to continue running the junior surf competitions so that we can keep our new, young members entertained.
All those involved in 2007 will be pleased to note that we have taken on board some of the comments from the juniors (and parents). We have scheduled three competitions for the year ahead, which will take place on 24th May, 9th September and15th November. We have chosen days where (hopefully) there will be waves, but have also taken into account where the tide is on those days. This means that check-in will be at 10am – I am sure all involved will be happy about this.
It will be important to watch the website as we hope to run at least one extra event in the summer holidays, if there are waves at the weekend. As in 2007, there will be a league and the winners of each category will receive their prizes in December.
The Shore Surf Club Open is currently scheduled for 9th September, with a back up date of the 20th. Please try to keep these dates free as we would like to see as big an entry as possible. We will decide closer to the time if Stand-Up Paddling (SUP) has a great enough presence within the club to merit a category in the Open.
Snowdrop Sponsored Paddle
Once again we will be running a sponsored paddle from Bracklesham to East Wittering. The date chosen is 28th June, so put this date in your diary as well. As the paddle is a charity and fun event, we are encouraging everyone taking part to do so in fancy dress. Sponsorship forms will be available 8 weeks ahead of the day, which should give you plenty of time to raise lots of money for this valuable charity. Last year we raised in excess of £1100, so let’s try to beat that this year. Refreshments will be provided and one of our members, Nick “The Chef”, will be there to cook up some local delicacies. Pictures from last year are in the gallery.
This a great fun event that we hope will grow year on year. For those who can’t make it on the day, we are aware that there is an alternative being run at the West Wittering Car park in August which I can give you more details of if you're interested.
Beach Clean
Once again we will be organising a beach clean. Last year's events saw us collect over 50 sacks of rubbish from the area. This is our beach and it’s not only a good opportunity to make it look its best, but it also give us a hance to make it safer for both ourselves and our. Weather permitting, this year's beach clean will be held on 29th March, but please check the website a few days before to make sure the date hasn't been moved.
Photography Competition
We also plan to run a photograph competition this year. The judging will be led by one of our members, professional photographer Matt Simmons (www.mattsimmonsphotography.co.uk) . Entries should be submitted to this email: shoresurf@gmail.com and suitable entries will be posted on the website.
Finalists' entries will be chosen and displayed at the Christmas party and prize giving. Members will be invited to vote for their favourite picture and the winners will be announced during the evening. We know there are a number of budding action photographers out there submitting pictures to other websites, so "Come on, get involved!"
Categories will include: Best Action, Best Witterings Wave, Best Scenic, Best Under 18’s.
From these categories an overall winner will also be chosen for a significant prize (to be announced later). All photographs must be of our beaches and taken in 2008 by a member of the club.
Parties
We all enjoy a good party so here are this year's diary dates:
- Meet and Greet Party: 26th April
- Sponsored Paddle Party: 28th June
- Shore Surf Club BBQ: 23rd or 24th August
- Prize Giving: 13th December
Quarterly Newsletter
In response to requests for a printed update of Club events, we have made the commitment to produce a quarterly newsletter. Writing of the first few won’t be difficult (as there’s lots to catch up on), but please do start sending me letters, anecdotes, complaints, in fact anything that you feel may be of interest to the other members.
Disclaimer
We hope to keep all the dates above as they are, but events (and the British weather) may force us to change them. What I do promise is that we will let you know if events do need to be rescheduled.
Here’s to a fantastic 2008!
Graham Priestley, Secretary Shore Surf Club
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Turn Left at the Fridge and Mattress!
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