Moray surfer Catriona MacDonald vies for GB surfing team place in Olympic debut for sport
AN ELGIN surfer is among those vying for a place at the Olympics as it was confirmed that Thurso will be hosting the postponed qualification event for the GB surfing team.
The Scottish Surfing Federation (SSF) has given the green light for the selection to go ahead this weekend, April 10-11, with the chosen surfers going forward to the Olympic qualifiers in May.
Four north surfers are among the contingent from Scotland vying for a place at the Olympics – Mark Boyd, Iona McLachlan, Phoebe Strachan and Shoana Blackadder, all from Thurso. The other Scottish male athletes taking part are Mark Cameron, Jamie Bain and George Watt, all from Fraserburgh, while the final competitor in the women's team is Catriona MacDonald, from Elgin.
The event will bring the home nation surfing federations of England, Scotland and Wales together as their surfers – four men and four women from each federation – battle it out for the six spots on the GB team going to the Olympic qualifier in May ahead of surfing making its long-awaited debut at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer.
It will be the first time British Surfing Championships have taken place in Caithness since the 1980s and the first time it has been back in Scotland since 1992. The event will be hosted by the SSF with support from the local North Shore Surf Club.
One of the first fixtures to take place this year as part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020/21, the event will follow government guidance and will be subject to stringent Covid-19 protocols.
The 16 athletes competing for England and Wales – eight from each country – will be under strict quarantine guidelines before they travel and on arrival. There will be testing before and during the competition for these surfers and the eight competing for Scotland.
Paul Bush OBE, director of events at VisitScotland, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the British Surfing Championships and British Cup as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020/21. Scotland offers the perfect stage for sport and the Thurso coastline will provide a dramatic backdrop to this Team GB qualifying event."
The elite sport event will be closed to spectators but the surfing action will be broadcast via a live stream on the SSF website at www.thessf.com.
Event organiser Pat Kieran MBE said: "This event will be unlike any other in previous years with the new normal we are now living in.
"However, we are delighted to be able to offer surfers across the UK this opportunity and have been working very closely with the Sport Scotland Institute of Sport who are guiding us through the very stringent path for government approval to allow this to happen."
