GB Surfing has announced the 2024/25 Progression Squad.
Alys Barton
Patrick Langdon-Dark
Charlotte Mulley
Stanley Norman
Lauren Sandland
Lukas Skinner
Ellie Turner
All six Progression Squad members from 2023/24 have been retained, with Lauren Sandland also receiving a six-month probationary offer. Lauren has demonstrated huge skill and ability over the last two years, most noticeably with back-to-back GB Cup wins. At the recent 2024 event, Lauren also achieved the double, winning the Girls U18s and the Women’s Open.
The retained athletes have been monitored over the past 12 months, and they have all shown clear progress aligned with development goals for becoming potential Olympic athletes in 2028.
Additionally, Belle Betteridge has been offered a six-month invitational place on the Progression Squad due to extenuating circumstance. GB Surfing will support Belle in her attempts to meet the selection criteria by inviting her to Progression Squad training camps in early 2025.
Chair of selection and GB Surfing Executive Performance Director, Dan Hunt, said:
“We are thrilled to retain all of our current Progression Squad and to strengthen the depth of the team with new arrivals.
“Having just completed the first year of our development programme, it’s been fantastic to see the level of commitment and drive from our surfers, and we have all been delighted with their progress.
“Looking ahead to the Olympics in Los Angeles and Brisbane, we remain dedicated to providing promising surfers with valuable opportunities, and our approach to selection has been to remain flexible in our decisions to ensure we are fair and supportive.”
As a Progression Squad athlete, surfers will have regular access to GB Surfing’s coach, Luke Dillon, be invited on training camps where they will work with coaching consultants such as Mick Cain, Andy King and Richard ‘Dog’ Marsh, and be given access to kit and equipment. Where possible GB Surfing will also support surfers at competitions.
Progression Squad winter plans are currently being finalised, with the next official training camp taking place in Australia in January.