Happy Anniversary To The Bristol Bodyboarders Club! We Celebrate With The 3-Year Bash at The Wave.
On Saturday, May 11th, 2024, we had the pleasure of joining the Bristol Bodyboarders Club for their exciting 3-year anniversary celebration at The Wave, Bristol—their manmade homebreak. Our team, including Bodyboard Holidays founder Rob Barber, along with 2017 World Champion Iain Campbell and Alex Clark, joined to celebrate and share waves at the innovative Wavegarden facility in Almondsbury.
Club Origins and Growth
Founded in 2021 by cousins Grant Britton and Paul Jones, the Bristol Bodyboarders Club has flourished over the years and now boasts a membership of around 100 passionate riders, establishing itself as the largest English Bodyboard Club. This inland bodyboarding club is a trailblazer, situated at the world’s first full-scale Wavegarden that uses their Cove technology.
Located on the edge of the city of Bristol, the wave pool is set against the backdrop of picturesque rural countryside on the edge of the River Severn. The wave quality at The Wave is akin to ocean waves, making it an ideal environment to hone bodyboarding skills and transfer to riding waves in the ocean.
Insights from Club Chairman Grant Britton
We caught up with club Chairman Grant Britton to ask his opinion on the club’s 3rd birthday. He told us, “It’s great to see the club doing as well as it is. It’s far surpassed our expectations, and we’re proud of where it’s at. What’s been most pleasing is to see how many like-minded bodyboarding enthusiasts have come together regularly to enjoy the sport. That’s why the club started… Our anniversary meet is testament to that.”
We then asked him about the state of the sport in the UK and where he thinks it’s heading. He said, “There’s no doubt that the sport’s on the up in the UK, with high-level riders from across the country inspiring those that are either just starting out or those that are just doing it for enjoyment. Everyone has a place within the sport, and we can’t wait to see how far it goes.”
Supporting the UK Bodyboarding Community
At Bodyboard Holidays, we have a strong commitment to supporting the UK bodyboarding community, including longstanding partnerships with the Welsh Bodyboard Club, Cornish Bodyboard Series, and British Bodyboard Club, among others. Naturally, we extended our support to the Bristol Bodyboarders Club from its inception, fostering a collaborative relationship aimed at nurturing the club’s growth and helping members progress in their riding skills—both in the ocean and in wave pools like The Wave.
We’ve had the pleasure of sharing waves with Bristol Bodyboarders Club members on many of our international bodyboard escapes and coaching weekends over the past few years. Additionally, we’ve contributed prizes, such as vouchers and free coaching weekends for members to join us and improve their bodyboarding.
Looking Ahead
When news of the club’s 3rd anniversary reached us, we were eager to reunite with friends who have joined us on past bodyboarding trips and bodyboard coaching events, as well as to meet new friends who are part of this growing community.
In the last 3 years alone we have had members join us in Southern Sumatra, Costa Rica, Portugal and Secret Morocco with many booked to join us in Nusa Lembongan with Iain Campbell later this year and Sumatra for another epic Indonesian bodyboard adventure.
It was a pleasure meeting up with the Bristol Bodyboarders Club, and we look forward to continuing our support and fostering the growth of bodyboarding across the UK and beyond. Here’s to many more years of waves, good times, and memorable bodyboard adventures!
