Biarritz Welcomes Professional Longboarding

Photo: WSL / Julien Binch Binet
 

From June 7-10, 2018 at la Côte des Basques,Biarritz
 

The Longboard Pro Biarritz will bring Europe’s best longboarders to the iconic Côte des Basques in Biarritz.

Biarritz is the birth place of surfing in Europe. It arrived here over 60 years ago when the film crew from ‘The Sun Also Rises’ brought a surfboard from California and started showing it to the locals.

It has since then supported the lifestyle and business of surfing, creating a whole economy in the region. Biarritz actually embraces the image of France’s very own California with a laid back lifestyle and friendly atmosphere.

It has also hosted several WSL events in the past, including the women’s World Longboard Championship at the Roxy Jam, the women’s CT Roxy Pro which crowned Carissa Moore as the 2011 World Champion and Stephanie Gilmore the 2012 World Champion, and more recently the Big Surf Invitational, a specialty event in a team format.

It will be the third stop on this year’s European Longboard Qualifying Series, and help decide the 2018 European Champions as well as the surfers qualifying for the prestigious World Longboard Championship next year.

Brothers Edouard and Antoine Delpero have won everything there is to win in the region, but surprisingly this year they’re not leading the rankings. An event on home turf will be the perfect opportunity to try to claim back the top spots while representing the local crowds as best as they can.

“I am extremely happy to see an event like this come back to Biarritz,” Edouard stated. “We’re going to see some of the best surfers in the world participate, and all the top Europeans for sure. It hasn’t happened since the Biarritz Surf Festival and I was only 15 back then. I’m stoked to be a part of it this time.”

The event will also run in conjunction with the BTZ Belza Classic, a 32-surfer format, men and women combined. Riding classic single-fin logs with no leash, the BTZ Belza Classic is a showcase of traditional longboarding in its purest essence and rewards style and grace over performance.

This longboard festival in Biarritz wouldn’t be complete without entertainment for everyone and the organizers have put together a selection of sunset parties with LIVE music from 6-9 p.m.

Funk, Hip-Hop and Groove Dj Bass-Ka will play Thursday night. Odd Lights, a local punk-rock band will take the stage on Friday and Sunset Stereo Sound System will rock the Saturday night party with their Jamaican and Caribbean vibes at the event site. The Standart Collective and their surprise guests will then light up the rooftop of the bar de la côte, for a free party from 6pm – 2am with donations going to local non-for-profit associations Water Family and Keep a Breast.
 
 

For more Information: worldsurfleague.com