TWENTY of Britain's hottest young surfers enjoyed a training camp, organised by the governing body for the sport, the British Surfing Association, and sponsored by Rip Curl.

Although the surf wasn't pumping, the youngsters in the Rip Curl British Junior Surf squad were put through their paces in a series of fitness tests and workshops on goal setting, heat strategy and media presentation.

One of the most popular aspects of the event was a yoga lesson led by Mara Luke, which focused on the surfing muscle groups and balance.

The weekend finished with a team task of abseiling down the cliff face at Lusty Glaze beach, near Newquay, where the squad was based for the duration.

The British Surfing Association's Director of Coaching Baz Hall described the weekend as a great success.

He said: 'The coaches were able to gauge the various levels of fitness of squad members and start to build a relationship with them for the future.

'The various activities were designed to bond the squad together and establish sound training principles.'

BSA Operations Director Dave Reed said that the aims of building a squad were 'to start the conveyor belt rolling.'

He said: 'We want to support our best young surfers and wish to express our thanks to Rip Curl for supporting the system in its first year.'

The BSA coaches taking part were Baz Hall, Ester Spears, Tyson Greenaway, Keiron Evans, Lee Ryan (Longboards) and Rob Barber (Bodyboards).

Squad members present were Christian Swanson (Newquay), Tom Berry (Newquay), Josh Ward (St Agnes), Jordan Reed (Westward Ho!), Douglas Richards (Isle of Wight), Sam Burkett (Swansea), Harry Cromwell (Pembroke), Adam Thornton (Croyde), Mitchell Corbett (Newquay), Ryan Houghton (Plymouth), Jo Lewis (Swansea), Craig Bright (Swansea), Tom Butler (Newquay), Glen Welsh (Cornwall), Billy Norways (St. Ives), Marcus Lascalles (St. Agnes), Jayce Robinson (St. Ives), Elliott Dudley (Swansea), Joe Howell (St Agnes), Sophie Hellyer (Westward Ho!), Megan Chapman (Penzance) and Alex Winkworth (Portreath).

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Dateline: Friday, April 25, 2003