About Us

Ben Powis

Chief Executive Officer

A passionate surfer since he first laid eyes on ridable waves during a college trip to Morrocco, the rest of his life has been shaped by surfing and in 2019 he jumped at the chance to bring his professional expertise to Surfing England and help grow the sport he loves.

For 20 years Ben has worked across the public and private sector, predominantly in clean technology and has been responsible for securing over £30 million of funding for a variety of development programmes. Ben has proven experience growing successful organisations, putting in place the right structures, people and revenue models to enable sustainable and long term growth.

He is responsible for Surfing England’s exec team, working to build a dynamic and progressive NGB to represent one of the world’s most exciting sports and lifestyles.

Hannah Brand

Operations Manager

In late teen years, Hannah cemented her passion for surfing working a summer season in Woolacombe. At University in Aberystwyth, she volunteered for Tonic Surf Therapy & wrote her undergraduate dissertation on surf therapy and blue health.

Post Uni, through a journey of many years travelling and working any job she could find, she built the skills to join Surfing England in 2018.

Hannah currently manages the Events Program, works on corporate partnerships, and uses her creative skills for social media and content writing.

Rachael Percival

Finance Manager

Originally from Bristol, Rachael moved to North Devon 20 years ago to be near the sea. She is often seen around the beaches and is passionate about time in the water and getting others in to enjoy it in any way possible. She gives back to the community, volunteering with Croyde Surf Club.

Rachael is Surfing England’s most long-standing employee – joining when it was Surfing GB. She is responsible for ensuring Surfing England meets the financial requirements to be a Not-for-Profit organisation. Rachael holds the AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting.

Rachael also is responsible for driving through many of the surfing initiatives within the team.

Lauren Tapscott

Events Manager

Lauren discovered her passion for surfing at the age of 12 when she had her first surf lesson at Tynemouth beach in the North East of England. This early experience ignited her love for the sport, propelling her towards instructing in renowned coastal destinations such as Cornwall, Devon, and Spain. 

In addition to her surfing background, Lauren has cultivated a robust professional portfolio, particularly in events management. Her journey includes valuable stints with organizations such as Plymouth University’s events department, Red Bull, and pivotal roles in staffing operations at major UK festivals. 

Lauren has dedicated her expertise to supporting mental health initiatives within the surfing community, contributing to esteemed charities like The Wave Project. 

Lauren has joined the Surfing England team Events Manager, applying her wealth of experience and passion for the sport to curate and execute impactful events. 

For Event related enquiries, please email Lauren on: Lauren@surfingengland.org

Nick Moffatt

Surf Coaching and Qualifications Lead

A highly experienced and qualified water sports coach and manager, having instructed and coached many varied seasons on home shores and worldwide: Surfing, rowing, swimming, windsurfing (including the necessary powerboat & lifesaving awards).

Over more recent years Nick focused work as a qualified strength & conditioning coach, to support and push juniors & adults alike, at recreational, national and some international competition level, for their sports in the gym. Alongside coaching, Nick gained his PGCE at Bath University and has a wealth of teaching experience, most recently through his role as Director of Rowing at Cheltenham College.

Nick is now responsible for leading the development of a new surf coaching offer at Surfing England, creating a coaching pathway that is open, inclusive, and progressive.  This sees Nick working with a range of industry experts and enables him to share his passion for great coaching and coach development.

For Surf Coaching and Qualification enquiries, please email Nick on: nick@surfingengland.org 

Max Palmer

Community and Membership Manager

Max’s passion for the surfing industry took root during his travels, particularly during his time spent in Australia. This experience ignited a deep appreciation for the sport and all it has to offer.

Since then, Max has pursued this interest by coaching surfing, benefiting both his mental and physical well-being. Recognizing the impact surfing had on his life, he completed a Mindfulness teaching qualification to share these benefits with others.

For many years, Max has been a dedicated surf coach, volunteered with the Wave Project and obtained his ISA Adaptive Surf Coach qualification, reflecting his commitment to making the sport accessible to all.

Keeping the welfare and safeguarding of participants as his highest priority, Max takes great pride in assisting surf clubs and schools in developing coaching environments of the utmost quality. His training and work with coaching bodies have equipped him with extensive experience in welfare and safeguarding practices.

Understanding the importance of strong local networks, Max values making meaningful connections and recognizing the invaluable contributions of clubs and volunteers, which are vital for the continued success of the sport he loves.

For Surf Club or community related enquiries, email Max on: Max@surfingengland.org 

Frankie Hemery

Membership Lead

Frankie grew up on the South Dorset coast, and she has loved the sea ever since she can remember! Her dad taught her to surf on family camping trips, and she has been in the water as often as possible since moving to North Devon.

She studied languages at Cardiff University, and then went on to do a Masters in translation at Edinburgh University. She has been lucky enough to travel and work in France, Spain, Peru and Australia amongst others! She loves building community, and working with people who are passionate about creating positive change. This is why she enjoys working for Surfing England so much!

Frankie is a member of the Saunton Surf Sisters committee, as an Inclusion & Wellbeing Host, and she is also a qualified yoga teacher.

For membership enquiries, please contact Frankie on: membership@surfingengland.org

Jack Patching

Adaptive Pathway Manager

With a degree in Marine Science and Oceanography, Jack has spent the last decade developing his surf coaching and development skills in North Devon and beyond. With extensive experience supporting the English Adaptive Team that has most recently seen him at the ISA Adaptive World Championships as a lead coach. Jack’s experience is invaluable in the development of the Adaptive Surfing Pathway. Jack is the organiser and lead for the Para Surfing Roadshow – bringing new surfers with adaptive needs into the world of surfing for the first time.

For enquiries relating to Para/ Adaptive surfing, please email Jack on: Jack@surfingengland.org 

Andy Banks

Para Team Head Coach

Andy Banks as Head Coach of Team England’s Para Surfing squad, works with elite para-surfers as they prepare for major international events like the ISA World Para Surfing Championships.

Based in North Devon, Andy has worked as a full-time surf coach at Surf South West in Croyde for 20+ years, where he supports beginner and intermediate surf sessions, adaptive surfing and surf therapy sessions, including those with The Wave Project. His coaching style is described as ‘possibly the most stoked coach you will ever meet’—known for bringing a vibrant energy to every session.

Phil Williams

Para Team Manager

Phil is well known in the UK. Surfing scene having been involved in organising events for almost 40 years! Many will know him for role heading up Christian Surfers UK for over 30 years. He has been involved with Surfing England and before that Surfing GB and the BSA for well over 20 years and one of his passions is to help the development of Surfing at a local regional and national levels.
Currently, he has two roles within Surfing England, para Surfing team manager, and heading up the junior Surf series.
His local surf spot is the wave but can often be found riding muddier waters on the severn bore. Loves living life to the full, nature, photography and of course Surfing.

Beau Bromham

Junior Team Head Coach

Beau grew up and learnt to surf at Croyde and has been developing his skills ever since. As a junior, he represented club, county and progressed to represent GB as team captain at the world junior championships in New Zealand and Peru over a decade ago

His journey to GB team saw him gain exposure to a variety of different high level coaches, and he earnt a lot about different ways of training for surfing.

4 years ago he went back to study a foundation degree in sports coaching, health, and fitness, before finally going on to university graduating with a first-class honour’s degree in strength and conditioning.

“I am extremely grateful and excited to become Surfing England’s Junior head coach and dedicate more of my time into developing a pathway that supports the goals and aspirations of our junior surfers to take them to the top level of competition and become champions.”

Jamie Wride

Junior Team Manager

Roger Sheridan

Governance and Compliance Lead

Roger started surfing in Brighton when working as a Beach Lifeguard which was the start of a lifetime career in Sport and Leisure.  With a degree in Leisure Management Roger moved from working in the public leisure sector, set up a summer /winter holiday business in Morzine France and has for the past 20 years run his own Leisure Management Consultancy business. Working equally with public sector, third sector and National Agencies Roger brings a breadth of experience including governance, project/event management, and fundraising.

He is first to admit that he’s a lot more fussy now about when he surfs, and believes that the best surfer is the one having the most fun!

For Governance and Compliance enquiries, please email Roger on: Roger@surfingengland.org

Alex Barnes

Social and Content Lead

Rob Tibbles

Media

Based in North Devon, Rob Is a photographer and journalist who’s been involved in promoting surfing from grassroots to elite level for the last two decades. From capturing epic moments with his camera to all the creative and artistic designs and media campaigns created along the way he has helped fashion and promote the look of English surfing.

Piers Martin

Exec group, Performance and Governance

Piers is a performance leadership development specialist working across sport and business, currently the Head of Leadership for the Premier League and a Director of the Podium Performance Group. For over 25 years, Piers has led and advised a range of Olympic and Paralympic sports, supported businesses from small start-ups to larger, established companies and coached senior leaders. Piers is Chair of UK Deaf Sport, a Director/Trustee on several Boards, advisor to various performance programmes.

Firmly a recreational surfer, less firm in his footing, his love for surfing began whilst playing water polo around the world and has been lucky to wipe-out on many of the world’s best breaks. Now, living in Cheshire, he likes to represent members from all over England, especially surfers who don’t easily get daily access to waves. He is passionate about adaptive surfing, equality, diversity and inclusion in the sport, and the benefits of blue health to our wellbeing.

Kim Vande Velde

Participation

Kim is an experienced, international lawyer, admitted as both a Solicitor in England/Wales and an Attorney in California. In her 15 year career in legal services, both in private practice and as an in-house counsel, Kim has assisted a diverse range of high profile organisations and individuals to achieve their commercial objectives, primarily in the sports, media and entertainment industries.

Formerly General Counsel of a professional golf tour, where she was part of the executive leadership team and was responsible for all legal aspects of risk, governance, operations and player regulation, as well as managing 200+ commercial agreements, Kim now serves as in-house counsel for beIN Media Group, where she advises on international sports media rights agreements, an area in which she has significant experience. Kim also serves as a Non-Executive Director for the governing body for surfing in England, where she works with her fellow Board-members to determine strategic objectives, improve investment in surfing and oversee operational delivery of surfing competitions, providing leadership, direction and support to the executive team. Kim is direct, thorough and solution-oriented.

Tina Beresford

Performance

Experienced Education and Project Coordinator with a demonstrated history of more than 18 years’ working in the sports and leisure industries.

Strong track record of achieving targets and a deep understanding of customer needs. Experience of serving volunteers and companies with a desire to help others and contribute to their success. Enjoy a challenge and consistently deliver.

Motivated by achieving great things with great people. Enjoy contributing to a positive and collaborative working culture where people care about each other and move the extra mile to create opportunities for everyone.

Active volunteer passionate about all sports with extra passion for ocean sports such as all forms of surfing and stand up paddle boarding. Competitive surfer having represented England & GB in Stand-up Paddle Surfing, plus compete in longboard and shortboard contests. Current holder of women’s’ National Sup Surfing title.

Kate Eddy

Performance

Kate Eddy works for British Sailing as Head of Performance Support. This has followed on from Kate’s successful career in UK high performance sport, supporting athletes through seven Olympic games cycles. Kate started as a strength and conditioning coach working across various different sports, including beach volleyball, judo and bobsleigh. She then moved onto working in leadership positions amongst sports science and sports medicine and has worked as Head of Performance support for Archery GB and Performance Manager and Team Leader for Wheelchair Fencing. Kate is a keen surfer and has also played hockey and rugby at a national level, as well as coaching semi-professionally.

Paul Ratcliffe

Performance

Paul Ratcliffe has been with British canoeing for over 17 years. Starting his career as an athlete, Paul was the first ever British athlete to win an Olympic Medal at the Sydney Games. After his retirement, Paul followed his success by moving into coaching, taking care of the podium potential programme in canoe slalom. He was also a key figure involved in building the Lee Valley White Water centre and was instrumental in preparing canoeing for the London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2013, Paul was appointed the head coach role for the slalom podium programme and then he went on to become the Performance Director for British Canoeing in 2017, stepping down from this role last year.

Harvey Alexander

Participation/Membership

Harvey is a highly experienced marketeer and inspirational leader. He is the Director of Marketing and Membership Services for the Caravan and Motorhome Club, the UK’s number one rated touring club.  In 2017 Harvey championed the rebrand of the Club as an inspirational and inclusive organisation representing like minded members who share a passion for the great outdoors.

Harvey continually explores innovative ways of recruiting and communicating across the digital landscape to attract and engage existing and next generation outdoor enthusiasts to enable them to make the most of the outdoors.

Harvey’s experience also includes seven years at Eurotunnel delivering award-winning digital sales and marketing strategies.  His early career was spent working in a digital marketing agency where he devised and implemented digital marketing strategies to improve website performance and optimise clients’ ecommerce journeys.

Harvey is passionate about all sports and outdoor pursuits and when he isn’t working you will find him in the great outdoors. Whether running or cycling, he loves nothing better than hurtling down mountains in Wales or climbing over mountains in the Lake District

Jonathan Allan

Commercial lead

Jonathan Allan is Channel 4’s Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for overseeing digital transformation strategy/execution and key operational functions.

In his previous role as Chief Commercial Officer At Channel 4, Jonathan transformed Channel 4 Sales into an industry leader in delivering commercial innovation by working with brands and agencies to adapt and evolve in the face of unprecedented technological advances.

Prior to joining Channel 4, Jonathan worked at major London media agency OMD UK, progressing from a graduate position to Managing Director in January 2007.

Steve Price

Audit and risk sub committee chair and Director for safeguarding

Stephen brings over 20 years of transformational leadership experience in banking and business strategy, having held senior roles at HSBC and Barclays across the UK and Europe. In 2017, he founded Emerge Surf, with a mission to make high-quality, sustainable wave parks accessible in urban areas. A passionate advocate for surfing and its growth, Stephen combines deep commercial acumen with a love for the sport, holding ISA surf judge credentials and championing participation through innovation and inclusivity.

Julian Topham

Chair

Stephanie Smailes

Chair

Stephanie Smailes is an avid longboarder and advocate for social justice. Her love for surf sport, expertise in equity, diversity and inclusion, and lived experience come together in her role as Vice Chair where she is committed to helping create a sense of belonging in the lineup for underrepresented surfers.

In the realm of education, Stephanie brings over a decade of experience, having taught and led in both the UK and internationally. She currently holds the position of Curriculum Design Manager at educational charity Teach First, an organisation dedicated to building a fair education for all.

Stephanie is deeply committed to EDI in education and beyond. She’s currently pursuing an MA in Race, Education, and Decolonial Thought, reflecting her dedication to fostering inclusivity. Stephanie also serves as the Vice President of ‘Channel Women Surf’, a grassroots women’s surf collective in South Wales. In addition, she is a speaker and panellist on anti-racism, a trained yoga instructor and a certified Active Bystander Training Facilitator.

Jo Deagle

Jo Deagle brings her passion for the ocean and determination to ensure everyone can feel the benefits of catching a wave. She is a Trustee for City Kids Surfing, a charity that enables children from London to become “ocean urbaneers” and feel the transformative power of the sea. Jo also contributes her vast experience in diversity and inclusion in sport having led CAFE, an international NGO which seeks to empower disabled spectators, volunteers and employees through football. She has written and advised on accessibility standards, policies, strategies, and procedures for international and national sports governing bodies, ensuring marginalised voices are integrated throughout. Jo has built a strong network of leaders in inclusion and sport having recently graduated from the Executive Masters in Global Sports Governance and co-founding the Disability in Football Alliance and the Sport and Social Change Alliance, recognising that collaboration is key to achieving impact.

Suzanne Edwards

I have always loved surfing and spent my summers in Devon and Cornwall growing up. Whilst working in a surf camp in Morocco in 2011, I had an accident that left me paralysed from the waist down and a full time wheelchair user. I immediately learnt how difficult accessing the beach and surfing could be, and it took me a few years to want to get in the water again. I rediscovered surfing in 2018 as a prone surfer, joined the English Adaptive Surf Team and won a bronze medal in the 2018 World Adaptive Surf Champs.

I am the accessibility lead at Airbnb, so my job focuses on helping to make travel more accessible for people with disabilities – something I am incredibly passionate about. Having reluctantly moved to London for work in 2017, I relocated to Braunton 3 years ago and have never been happier! I have started getting in the water more often (swimming, paddleboarding or surfing) and hope to represent England in the World Adaptive Surf Champs again this year.

Lara Hayward

Lara is a social impact entrepreneur, wellbeing specialist, ex-medical/sports lawyer, facilitator and speaker in the arts, sports and higher education sectors. She is passionate about community building and creating spaces where people feel seen. Her particular interests are in how to create cultures of belonging, enabling safe spaces in sport for those who have experienced trauma, and in facilitating access to the sea for underserved communities and groups. Her portfolio career currently consists of:

• Championing diversity and inclusion in surfing/the outdoors as a member of this Committee and as co-founder of Home Counties Surf Club, a surf club for landlocked surfers;

• Leading the design, delivery, and implementation of Skateboard GB’s EDI, safeguarding, welfare and wellbeing strategy;

• Freelance consultancy to organisations on bespoke staff and community wellbeing programmes.

Lara has undertaken Surf Therapy for Trauma training with Groundswell Community Project, is a qualified Mental Health First Aider and triathlon coach and regularly volunteers as a Surf Mentor for The Wave Project in Bristol at The Wave.

She’s a passionate advocate for sport, arts and creativity, building thriving communities and keeping nature at the forefront of everything we do; definitely at her happiest when working at the intersect of all three!