Malcolm Pearcey - Team Manager Malcolm has a very high profile within the kayak surfing world as he is the manufacturer of the world winning surf kayaks that all serious competitors are now using. Also Malcolm won the Santa Cruz kayak surf festival mens International class in California this year. Bringing the sport forward with his manufacturing of radical new kayaks Malcolm now feels ready to take the England team on to a second victory.

 

Chris Bray - Team Captain  Second on last years ranking list and British masters winner not only is Chris our Captain he is also one of the hot favourites to win the individual event at the Worlds this year. Chris spends most of his spare time training both on and off the water and it must be said that he has to be one of the fittest and most skilled men in the competitive surf scene at present. A black belt in Karate also ensures good discipline within the team!

Carl Coombs   Only recently entering the competition scene Carl soon became known due to the fact he was the first newcomer to reach a final in his first national competition for a long while. Carl mad his debut at the British Championships finishing 2nd and staggered the regular competitors with this amazing achievement. Being in the RAF has helped Carl with training time being given and time off to compete in National events. His background comes from surf skiing where he was European Champion in 92 and World number five in South Africa 96. Carl also has won the first national event this year held in Polzeath and the recent masters event this year.

Pete Blenkinsop  Pete started his competition years on wave skis and this proved to be an excellent training ground when he moved into kayak competitions in 1995. Pete represented England in Costa Rica on his wave ski and with these now no longer eligible Pete is now one of the favourites to be picked for the team as last year he finished 7th in the national ranking list.

Robbie Lines  Introduced to surfing at a young age Robbie has been competing since 1993 and will be representing England once again having helped the team to victory in the last Worlds. This year Robbie has already won a national competition and placed third in a further two. These results have given Robbie an early lead in the 1997 rankings. Also taking part in the Santa Cruz kayak surf festival International class this year he finished 4th, Being the BCU Surf Publicity officer, England Surf Committee Secretary, and organiser of a national competition and holding down a demanding job gives Robbie a very hectic lifestyle where regular training is also very important to him.

Tim Rowe   Tim is the current Army Surf Kayak champion and has held this titile for the past four years. Also Tim has held the inter service championships title for the past two years. He is currently leading the masters ranking list with two firsts and represents the Army in both sprint marathom and wild water racing. Tim also competes in the international 125 mile canoe race finishing second in his class last year. With these results Tim is a strong squad member.

 

Mick Bousfield   For two years being reserve for the England team Mick will be part of the squad at Scotland thiw year. Having come into the sport only recently Mick has this year started to see results coming through, finishing second in a national competition and 7th in another. Mick also finished 7th in the International class at this years Santa Cruz kayak surf festival. He will be looking to help the team to another victory and to also finish ranked with the top paddlers nationally.

 Dave Kensdale  Dave also came into the sport recently and has been a reserve for the England team twice and made his team debute at Jersey 96. In the world ranking at Costa Rica Dave finished 9th overall, which was an excellent result for a newcomer at an International level competition. Dave will be another strong squad member.

 

Ian Plumridge  With his first competition over eleven years ago Ian is the most experienced member of the squad. He has also represented his country for the past eight years. The titles won include British Champion and World champion in Freestyle. Ian will also have the advantage of already having competed at Thurso in Scotland and therefore be a strong contender for the Individual event.

Sue Davey - Team Secretary Over the past two years Sue has won the, 1997 Santa Cruz kayak surf festival Internatioanl Ladies, British Championships (twice) and the ladies ranking list. Also this year Sue jointly leads the national rankings with two winds already. A very strong contender for the Individuals Ladies event at Thurso this year having come second at the last World event. Sue is also a strong team member having represented her country over the past three years and winning every heat for the team so far. Sue was also the only Lady to qualify for the open British championships last year.

Lesley Harker    Hot on the heels of Sue, Lesley has been second on the ranking for the past two years and also second in the British championships twice. Lesley came third in the last world event and is another strong contender for the title this year being joint holder in the 1997 national rankings so far.  As Lesley is a P.E. teacher keen on swimming and mountain biking fitness has helped her in competitive surf kayaking. Lesley is a very strong team member who will be representing her country once again this year.

 Theresa Moss & Gillian Bee  Both new to the competition side of kayaking both women have shown great promise. Gillian recently finished 4th at the British event with Theresa taking 5th place. They will both be competing in the Individual event at Thurso hoping to bring in some good results, being part of the squad will also give them some welcome experience in competing at top level events.

 James Hawker - Junior  Finishing fourth on the juniors ranking list last year James being a relative newcomer to competition has turned in some very good performances. He took a third in the Junior British Championships and also finished a commendable 14th in the open ranking last year competing against top adult paddlers. James will be a very capable team member this year.