We sometimes get questions on what our remit is, what we’re responsible for and how our work connects with other organisations like GB Surfing.
So here’s the run down on what it means to be the National Governing Body for surfing – what we do and what we don’t do!
What is a National Governing Body?
From the largest National Governing Body’s like the FA for football and the RFU in rugby to some of the smallest, like Surfing England, we all share the same overarching remit to act as custodians for our sport and to provide the necessary governance and administration for our sports to flourish
Typical duties of an NGB will include:
- Organising and hosting competitions
- Promoting and developing its sport and encouraging participation
- Managing rules and regulations such as antidoping, safeguarding and selection processes
- Developing and managing coaches, athletes, officials and participants
- Providing a supportive pathway for talented athletes and managing national teams
- Implementing and delivering governance frameworks across the sport
- Promoting and leading on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Supporting the sporting system – clubs, networks, leagues, regional committees etc
There is lots more beyond this list, depending on the specific needs of the sport.
Surfing England is at the smaller end of the NGB spectrum, but we punch well above our weight with the size and scope of the delivery programme we provide to surfing.
What is Surfing England’s remit?
We are responsible for supporting the development of surfing in England, with a focus on the grassroots of our sport. We work across all forms of wave riding, and our main work streams are:
Events:
We run the UKs largest event programme, with a mix of National level championships through to small junior series comps providing a super fun entry point into competitive surfing. You can check out our events programme here
Surf Schools and Coaches:
We run a surf school accreditation programme providing the industry benchmark standard for surf school operations and we have a developing coaching programme providing a range of awards and training for surf coaches. You can check out our coaching hub here:
Surf clubs:
The beating heart of the surfing community, we have a club affiliation programme and a club support officer to work with our surf clubs in areas like safeguarding and access local funding opportunities. Find a surf club
Talent:
We’re responsible for the talent pathway for junior and adaptive surfers. We’re halfway through our Talent Plan and have a well developed coaching and training programme in place
Team England:
We manage TEAM ENGLAND for international events across SUP, Shortboard, Longboard and Adaptive Surfing teams. Team England
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
Cutting through all our work streams, supporting inclusion within surfing is at the heart of all our work and led by our Inclusive Line Ups team. Shaping our delivery programme and running specific initiatives we’re on a mission to make sure surfing is a welcoming and inclusive sport regardless of your background. More here
Who is responsible for what across Surfing England and GB Surfing?
Surfing England is responsible for:
- National Championships for SUP, Junior, Shortboard, Longboard, Bodyboard and Para surfing
- All disciplines of wave riding, from body surfing to foiling
- Accreditation and professional standards for surf schools and coaching
- Team England at EuroSUP, ISA World Para and World SUP games
- Talent pathway for junior and adaptive disciplines
- Surf clubs and community
- Junior Surf Series
- Grom Squad
Where we overlap:
- Performance coach development
- Athlete transition from junior to progression squad
GB Surfing is responsible for:
- Olympic disciplines only (shortboard)
- GB Championships
- Team GB at ISA world shortboard championships
- GB Progression Squad programme
Do you fund surfers or competitors?
Surfing England does not directly fund surfers, but we do heavily subsidise the costs for Team England international competitions and we have built up a great support offer for talented young surfers. Backing-the-best-and-sportsaid-nominations-2024/
How can I get involved?
There are lots of ways to get involved. First step would be to become a member Join Today with all membership fees going straight back into surfing. If you want to do more we would always recommend contacting your local surf club as they community based organisations are always in need of willing volunteers. If you want to support us as a volunteer, we regularly have formal roles (like board directors and surf coaches) being advertised or you can send us a message at lineup@surfingengland.org
