Surfing England passes Stage One Application for Governing Body Recognition
- “Milestone moment” for English Surfing
- Invitation to meet with Sport England to progress to final stage of recognition
Surfing England is delighted to announce that it has achieved Stage One of its application for recognition as National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of Surfing in England. This follows successful delivery of a £15,000 Sport England funded legal grant to support the merging of Surfing GB and the English Surfing Federation, enabling the rebranded Surfing England to now apply for full recognition.
“At times it has seemed like there has been a mountain to climb” said Surfing England Chair of Directors, Bruce Daniel. “The stage one application has taken five months, but this is on the back of years of hard work. We have now been invited to submit stage two of our application, which is the final ascent to the summit”
Surfing in England has not had a formally recognised NGB since the demise of the British Surfing Association (BSA) in 2010, and as a result no Government funding for Surfing available to help grassroots projects, support surf clubs, coaches and schools, or assist with looking after the safety and enjoyment of all those who surf in England.
“It’s a milestone moment for our organisation” said Nick Rees, Operations Manager at Surfing England. “We now enter the final phase of the recognitions process and have been busy preparing for this. Robust and professional governance structures throughout Surfing England have secured stage one recognition. We aim to submit stage 2 in the coming months and are pushing for full recognition from Sport England in 2017”.
John Navin of Saints Boardriders in St.Ives “This is such an exciting development for clubs, opening the door to much needed funding. With a recognised NGB we can potentially develop facilities and support for the surfing community in our area. If you look at countries like France, every surf club has a decent clubhouse and facilities for its members. Surf clubs will now be able to aspire to facilities like that in England”
Gary King of Woolacombe Surf Centre “An NGB is so important to ensure that all Surf Schools are working to approved standards. As a Surf Schools we provide the first point of contact for people that are new to Surfing so it’s essential that Surfing England is given the tools it needs to support and regulate us. Being a part of a national network of accredited schools helps both the public and the schools to be confident that excellent standards are maintained nationwide”
Chris Jones, World Adaptive Championship Bronze Medallist “Adaptive surfing is growing and the positive impact that it can have on people is being realised, we hope that access to our sport will be easier and the support of Surfing England is vital to this so we hope their governance application is successful”
Lucy Campbell, elite surfer “English competitors have self-funded all training and international representation for years now. Though there have been some good results, we are excited to see what can be achieved if we can begin to access some really significant performance funding”
Surfing England is a not for profit organisation, successfully operating out of its fully staffed office alongside the British Surfing Museum in North Devon. The service offers surfer memberships and insurance, school accreditations and club affiliations, multiple national events, international team representation and a host of local, national and international initiatives. Surfing England is funded through sponsorship and membership.
“There are hundreds of thousands of surfers, surfing on an ever wider variety of boards. Surfing needs an NGB that understands its uniqueness, and is able to co-ordinate and lead at the highest level” said Matt Knight, Surfing England company secretary.
“This is great news” said Nick Hounsfield, one of the twelve volunteer directors of Surfing England, “but it’s also vital that we engage with the passionate surfers surrounding and inside our organisation to shape the future, being a member of Surfing England is the way to be a part of this movement”.
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