The 2025 surfing season in Wales closed on a high, with the WSF Junior Surf Series presentation night, held on Sunday 14th December at Rest Bay Café Bar, Porthcawl.

Huge thanks goes to Rest Bay Café Bar for hosting the evening which brought together groms, families, clubs and supporters to celebrate a very successful year for junior surfing in Wales.

After some very tasty food and a few beverages, the stoke was flowing ready for the presentation of a range of awards, as well as a generous haul of raffle prizes very kindly donated by Puravida Boardriders, C-MONSTA, Porthcawl Surf Shop, WSF Director Mark Vaughan, and Sophie Moore of Welsh Coast Surf Club.

The turnout was superb and we had a real celebration of the community spirit and energy that have always been at the heart of Welsh surfing.

Most importantly, the spotlight was on our young shredders whose performances, committment and perpetual stoke throughout the year made the inaugural Junior Surf Series a banging success. The future of surfing in Wales is in safe hands!

Three Stops, One Standout Junior Series

The 2025 Welsh Junior Surf Series was built around three brilliant events, each delivering high-quality competition and showcasing the depth of junior talent across the country.

The Series opened at Coney Beach, Porthcawl where clean, contestable surf set the tone for the season and saw strong performances across all age groups. Hosted by Welsh Coast Surf Club, the comp provided early momentum and crucial ranking points for those chasing overall Series honours.

The second stop was the Pembs Grom Comp at Whitesands Bay, hosted by Pembrokeshire Surf Club, where we were blessed with solid 2–4ft surf and cross-shore winds. The early morning brought overhead waves on the push up to high, giving competitors plenty to get their fins stuck into. Spirits remained high on the beach and lifeguard slip too despite heavy showers that had everyone taking cover. But with the bacon butties flowing and the weather brightening, the groms shone through to produce committed performances in great waves that pumped throughout the day.

The Series concluded in ferocious style with Gromageddon at Langland Bay, hosted by Langland Board Riders. It was a classic showdown with the groms going all-out to secure their final standings in the Surf Series league tables. Josie Hawke (PSC) and Tomos O'Leary (WCSC) took top honours in the U18s, but local U12s shredder Katrina Roth Gale (LBR) stole the show with a display of technique and athleticism beyond her years. Perhaps the biggest cheers came for the U10s who hunted down and destroyed the inshore waves with monster-sized enthusiasm.

WSF Junior Surf Series final rankings

Welsh groms took their surfing to the next level in 2025. Their achievements were recognised with special awards at the presentation night.

A Year in Review

International

The year kicked off with our groms swapping snow for sunshine as they jetted off to the Algarve, Portugal. Their Team Wales training took place under the expert guidance of coaches Phil Sadler and Emily Williams.

Later that month, Elliot Barton, Seth Morris, and Patrick Langdon-Dark were among our seniors representing Wales in Morocco at the World Surf League Pro Taghazout Bay QS 3,000.

March saw Wales' first world surfing champion, Llywelyn "Sponge" Williams stamp his authority on the global adaptive sport scene with an emphatic win at the Adaptive Surfing Professionals World Tour at the Australian Pro in Byron Bay. 

Our loggers took centre stage in April when Georgina Lewtas, Evan Rogers and Blake Jones flew the Welsh dragon at the ISA World Longboard Championships in El Salvador.

Patrick Langdon-Dark's participation in April's Caparica Surf Fest in Portugal capped off an exciting spring for Welsh surfers overeseas. The LBR shred king went into the comp ranked 7th in Europe in the Men's QS league tables. It's the highest placing a Welsh surfer has achieved to date in the WSL world rankings, showing we have the talent to mix it up with the world's elite.

In June we saw Men's Welsh champion, Eli Perrins-Davies surfing into the Euro spotlight. The Channel Coast Surf Club star did us proud at the GADIS Junior Pro Ferrol in Galicia, Spain, building valuable international experience.

July began with PLD repping at the Caraïbos Lacanau Pro, France. He then teamed up with Eli and Logan Nicol to compete at the EuroSurf European Championships at Santa Cruz, Portugal. Longboarding for Team Wales were Saltburn's cruise guru, Evan Rogers, and Amelia Dickinson who had her first taste of competition in foreign froth.

Pat took the reins in Spain in August at the WSL QS ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro, before turning out again with Logan as part of Team GB at the ISA World Championships in El Salvador.

The autumn undoubtedly belonged to our adaptive surf legend, Llywelyn Williams who underlined his dominance in the Men's Kneel category of global adaptive surfing when he was crowned AASP World Tour Champion for the first time. In October, Sponge backed up this epic win by grabbing European Para Surfing gold in Vigo, Spain by just 0.20 points! The Abersoch legend travelled to Oceanside, California in November to claim the ISA World Para Surf championship title for the fourth year in a row. 

Wales has the brains as well as the brawn, as proven by contest judge Tim Aylett was chosen as a judge for November's ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championships in El Salvador. 

But the best was left until last with our groms stealing the show in the winter sunshine in Tenerife. Going up against some of Europe's best juniors, Monty Cole grabbed U12 silver at the Spring Surfest Las Américas Pro 2025 EuroKids. A stunning campaign from Katrina Roth Gale saw her reach 15.50 to take the gold mdeal in the U12 Girls final. Future Welsh champions in the making!

Domestic

We saw fresh talent emerge and silverware lifted in an exciting year, both on Welsh shores and throughout the UK.

The competitive calendar opened in March with Wales' prestigious inter-club comp, the Wilkinson Sword, held this year at Fresh West. After a day of epic shredding, febrile partisan support and damp cheeseburgers, hosts Pembrokeshire Surf Club came out on top to wield the Wilky for another 12-month stretch.

In April, brothers Colin and Gwyn Bright put in a strong showing at the Jesus Longboard Classic in Polzeath, with Colin taking first place and Gwyn taking 4th in their age group.

SUP success followed in the shape of Emily Evans' bronze medal at the Head of the Dart SUP Challenge in South Devon. Team-mate Joe Jones clinched third place in the Men’s Distance race against a highly competitive field. Emily King dominated the inflatable board category, securing first place in the Women’s iSUP Distance class.

Following a number of rearranged dates, the Welsh Nationals got underway in May at Fresh West where competitors enjoyed clean head-high surf throughout the day. The one-day swell window allowed U14, U16, Men's Masters, and Grand Masters age categories to be finalised.

The showcase event was concluded in June at Llantwit Major, where Emily Williams took the Women's title and Eli Perrins-Davies stepped deservedly to the top of the Men's podium for the first time amid rapturous applause.

Around the same time just across the Bristol Channel, Pembrokeshire's Josie Hawke recorded a major victory at the Rip Curl GromSearch at Croyde Bay. Battling hard in a close-cut final, the multiple Welsh nationals title holder used her skills and experience to hunt down the heat's best wave, nail a critical 6.17, and bring the gold medal back to Wales.

Josie led the Welsh charge further down England's south west coast in August. The Pembs super grom had an amazing campaign at the WSL QS 2000 Boardmasters Juniors, finishing in second place. Also donning Boardmasters rashvests were Elliot Barton, Seth Morris, Eli Perrins-Davies, Logan Nicol, Luca Owen, Coby Jon Williams, Elijah Jones, Amelia Dickinson, Katie David, Indi Lynch, and Poppy Owen. With expertise of Tom Anderson and Rob Blythe on commentary, there was fantastic representation for Y Ddraig Goch down in Kernow!

Dunes cooled and late summer leaves darkened beneath September's crisp blue skies, though the autumnal transition had nothing on the elegance of Channel Coast longboarder Elliot Dudley, who cross-stepped into silver at Saunton Sands Log Jam UK.

It was less silverware, more silver screen for Welsh bodyboarders, as Channel 5's Coastal Adventure caught up with our boogers for a fun weekend of waves.

Team Wales put in some superb performances in the GB Cup held at the end of October in Thurso. Pembrokeshire's Euan Buick was our stand-out performer in thumping Scottish surf, ensuring Welsh representation in the Men's final. The Women's and Men's finals are due to be held in 2026, date tbc. Check out the GB Cup highlights clip below to see Euan getting a birthday baz.

Wales' competitive calendar closed on a golden note thanks to SUP queen Emily Evans who stroked into first place in the International Women's SUP event at the SUP Surf Championships at East Sands, St Andrews in Scotland.

Looking Ahead

From groms ripping at Langland, Whitesands and Rest Bay, to Welsh surfers excelling at national championships, international events and SUP competitions, 2025 has been a landmark year for the Welsh Surfing Federation.

The Junior Series was a resounding success, with its presentation night not just a celebration of results, but a reflection of the energy, commitment and community driving Welsh surfing forward. With strong foundations in place and talent emerging across all disciplines, momentum is firmly on our side as we look ahead to 2026.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda to all our surfers!

Happy New Year!