i)      invigorating, inspiring and connecting with the British surfing population, and increasing participation across all age and ability levels throughout the country, and

ii)    implementing performance development strategies with the view to producing a British World title contender within the next 10 years.

These are the aspirations of a new board of directors who have recently signed up to the re-branded Surfing Great Britain (SGB) organisation.

Leading the charge is new SGB chairman, former British and European Champion Nigel Semmens from Newquay.

Nigel says: “While we have a massive amount of surfing talent in this country, male and female, we haven't had someone competing internationally for a number of years.”

While the SGB’s new board of directors is determined to harness the array of talent among British surfers, they will also be actively looking to make surfing more socially inclusive - working at grassroots level with a view to increasing participation in the sport at a young age, supporting local clubs and schools throughout the UK and developing surfing within the PE curriculum where possible.

The board is comprised of individuals who have a history of surfing and industry experience, and, along with SGB’s newly constituted acting executive officers, the rebranded body amounts to the largest and most knowledgeable group of experts ever assembled for a British surfing organisation.  Athletes, coaches, environmentalists, media specialists and surf industry representatives have joined forces to breathe new life into SGB, with the aim of securing formal National Governing Body (NGB) status as soon as possible.

Some of the country's top surfers, including former British champions Gabe Davies and Sam Lamiroy from Newcastle, former Welsh champion Lloyd Cole and Scottish champion Chris Noble, are committee members and will be taking an active role in the progression of British surfing. Well-known surfing journalist and author of Surf Nation, Alex Wade, has also helped in the reshaping of the new body.  

Visit the website http://surfinggb.com/