Over the weekend, most of Western Europe was kissed with a winter-like swell pulse in the heart of the glorious spring swell season. Coastlines from Scotland to Morocco picked up the brunt of a North Atlantic juggernaut – and amidst all that, the English National Championships were called on at Fistral.
That’s a change away from the billed venue of Newquay’s Watergate Bay – and for good reason. Fistral was a bit more ability to translate those swells into contestable waves. What followed was some crazy surfing, back-to-back barrels, power turns under the grunt of a throwing, North Fistral tube-generating sandbar. Ultimately, your new English champions were crowned in Fynn Gillespie and Belle Betteridge, both 19, both grown up surfing Croyde, Fynn then moving in Newquay.
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We checked in with the newly-minted power duo, chatting all things comp, life and everything else we could ping their way.
Belle Betteridge
Belle, finding her own way through Fistral’s conditions.
“The last year or so of comps has been a bit rough, so I went into nationals with the mindset that this was just heat practise. Nationals wasn’t a big goal of mine this year, so I wanted to take it as an opportunity to try some new things and just enjoy surfing some heats.
“To be honest, I more had expectations of how I wanted to surf and approach each heat rather than what result would come from it.
“During the heat, there was a lot of water moving and quite a few close outs which made it tricky to find the decent ones. During the final, there was a game plan, I definitely did not execute said plan, but there was a plan. It wasn’t my finest heat but I was relived to have caught those two towards the end. I just added a little more stress than necessary.
“I’m obviously happy to get the title, it feels like a bit of a monkey off the back. I’m also taking it as a reset before the comp season fully starts up again.
“Competing can sometimes make it difficult to get away from the feeling that you should be constantly performing, even when you’re just free-surfing. And when I’m free-surfing, I’m in both competitive and fun mode. I’ll usually do a least one 20 minute heat within a free-surf, either on my own or against my brother. I like having some sort of focus when I’m surfing.
“Next up is the pro junior in Morocco in May and then I’ll carry on doing the Pro Juniors and QS this year. I’ve got a few other fun things coming up as well so I’m excited for it all to kick-off.”
Fynn Gillespie
Fynn, applying loft to heat strategy theory.
Even though I learned to surf in Croyde, I have lived in Newquay since I was 10-years-old, so know it well. My game plan was to take a heat at a time, have fun and enjoy the conditions. I get into that competitive mindset of winning – so to become champ, especially at my local is sick. During the comp, the surf was quite big so the paddle out was hectic.
“But being the open champ means a lot, I put in so much work, so it shows it all pays off. I try not to think about who is in the final and just try and relax and enjoy it, try and get on the best waves and get two solid scores early as possible as that paddle out… you really didn’t want to be chasing scores out there with not much time left on the clock.
“In terms of competition and what it’s done to my surfing, it’s definitely made me try and read the conditions and state of tide, winds, to see how it effects the waves and work out where the best places are to sit. Mostly, I love to surf, so I surf to have fun, I don’t want to take the enjoyment out of my free-surfs. Next up, Morocco for first Pro Junior in May, I will try and do a few QS events and hopefully a bit of travelling.”
Fynn and Belle, your 2026 English National Champs.
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