HOME grown talent will be able to compete in the UK's biggest surfing festival for the first time, it has been announced.
In a major restructure, Boardmasters - the UK's biggest surfing event held at Fistral beach, Newquay - is stepping away from its conventional ASP surf competition format.
Since 1981 the cream of the world's surfing community has competed in the event, but this year it will open its doors to the local community and home grown talent.
This August's format includes:
- Men's Open
- Women's Open
- Men's Longboard
- Pro Junior (Under 20's)
- Under 16's mixed
- Air Show
Andrew Topham, festival director, said: "Although we have a long standing and amicable relationship with ASP, we felt we weren't representing the UK market comprehensively enough when it came to the actual event itself.
"We intend to introduce an eclectic range of competitive categories that everyone from pro riders to groms can be part of providing less of a showcase spectacle and instead supplying an excellent platform for an ever evolving UK market."
As well as the surfing competitions, Boardmasters also hosts a collection of the world's music stars who perform throughout the five-day event on a cliff top above Watergate Bay.
This year's headliners include Brit Award winner Ben Howard as well as indie kings, The Vaccines, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Grandmaster Flash and pop sensation Basement Jaxx.
Surf contest director, Dave Reed, said that the return of a women's event will help push development of the sport.
He said: "This year's Boardmasters will provide an opportunity to highlight the best surfers that compete on the UK Pro Surf Tour, in the open, women's, longboard, and junior divisions.
"It will be exciting to see the best of the Brit's go up against top international surf stars."
Boardmasters takes place between August 7 and 11. For full details visit http://www.boardmasters.co.uk/
