Splashdance

From the collection of

The Box
Established in 1992, the South West Film & Television Archive collection spans from 1893 to the present day containing more than 250,000 items. Formed from a variety of depositors, including broadcast news and programmes material from the Westward and TSW archive. In 2018 the archive collection transferred to The Box in Plymouth.

Splashdance


Newquay's Fistral Beach plays host to the Fosters Draught Euro-Pro and attracts top surfers.

Sixteen of the world's top surfing professionals have come to Fistral Beach in Newquay for the Fosters Draught Euro Pro Championships. This competition was for the first time A-rated on the world circuit of surfing's new governing body, the Association of Professional Surfers. Over eighty thousand people witnessed three hundred and sixty degree turns off-the-lips, cutbacks and on-the-face surfing with waves of three to six feet during the week-long tournament.

The professionals arrived for twenty thousand dollars and vital points towards the world crown. The competition is caught on film by Television South West (TSW) with an underwater cameraman, Slim Macdonald. Points for best four rides are added up for each competitor. Tom Carrol and Cheyne Horan made it an all-Australian final. The international stars include defending champion Richard Cram, Wayne Raddock, Shaun Thompson, Martin Potter, Joe Engel, David Bar and Rabbit Bartholemew. British surfers Steve Daniel and Nigel Semmens competed in the early rounds and ex-champion Rod Sumpter helped at the event. It's the first time that a computer had relayed the scores electronically to a watching public.

Elsewhere, a beauty contest is delayed due to a lack of participants. The presenter, describing surfing as "a feminist's nightmare", is presumably unaware that women have been surfing for centuries.


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