The Wave Bristol to host the 2022 Adaptive Surfing Competition

Tomorrow (Thursday 7 July) marks an exciting day in the events calendar at Bristol 2022: What to expect from founder Nick Hounsfield with focus on expansion, blue health and community">The Wave Bristol, as they become host to the 2022 world-leading English Adaptive Surfing Open.

From 10 am until 7 pm, heats will be taking place on the unique inland surfing lake, with surfers being scored on their rides on both the left and right side of the lake.

It’s been an exciting week for the pioneering surf destination, with yesterday (5 July) seeing the Queen’s Baton Relay getting taken for a surf there.

The Wave is proud to host the highly-contested event and continue to build the case for national funding to be made available to support this rapidly growing para-sport, and lobby for inclusion in the Paralympic Games.

The team at the Bristol surfing destination has been working alongside Surfing England with adaptive surfing since the inception of The Wave.

The Wave is now the official high performance training centre for Team England, and the adaptive crew are often found training on the lake’s glassy waters.

The team at The Wave has also been instrumental in developing adaptive surfing in England, supporting Surfing England for the last five years to establish a contest which is now highly respected at a global level.

Nick Hounsfield, Founder of The Wave and Chair of Surfing England says: “We can’t wait to host the English Adaptive Surfing Open again this year – it is without a doubt an absolute highlight in our calendar!

“At The Wave, we are on a mission to bring the physical and mental health benefits of surfing to all, regardless of ability. We built accessibility into The Wave from the very beginning and it is wonderful to be able to support everyone discover the pure joy of surfing.

“Our UK adaptative surfing community have supported The Wave from the very beginning, developing plans with us and being the first to test the place out when we opened in late 2019.

“It’s massively important to us to support the growth of adaptive surfing and the fantastic athletes that train with us regularly. We’re excited to witness the highly-anticipated event this year and proud of the progress the sport continues to make.”

And growth is something that is definitely happening. Tomorrow’s competition is the sixth English Adaptive Open, and the event continues to grow exponentially each year.

This year, The Wave is set to welcome over 40 surfers from around the world, coming from as far afield as the USA so it will be the biggest competition to date.

The core contest heats of the 2022 English Adaptive Surfing Open will take place on the Advanced setting at The Wave, and, as mentioned, surfers will be scored on their rides on both the left and right side of the lake.

Ben Powis, CEO at Surfing England says: “Excitement levels at Surfing England are off the chart as we head into our biggest ever Adaptive Surfing Open - now recognised as one of the world’s foremost para surfing competitions.

“We’ll be bringing surfers together from all corners of the world in a celebration of surfing, friendship and the power of the human spirit.

“It’s also the best possible showcase to Sport England and the Government for the huge social value and impact adaptive surfing brings to people’s lives, which is essential as we continue to fight to bring funding to this unique and amazing sport.”

With accessibility built into its core, The Wave is particularly well suited to catering to those with adaptive needs. As well as its accessible design, the range, quality, and predictability of the waves produced by its wave-making technology also make for the perfect competition location.

For those who want to head down and watch this brilliant event, as well as cheer on the athletes, you need to purchase one of The Wave’s usual Spectator Passes (£2) in advance to enter the site.