GB Surfing is the new home of elite level surfing in Great Britain, building a team of athletes capable of winning Olympic medals. Previously British Surfing, the organisation recently rebranded to GB Surfing to better represent its Olympic aspirations.
British Surfing was formed by the Surfing Federations of England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands in 2016 following the inclusion of shortboard surfing to the Olympic Games from Tokyo 2020. The organisation will select and manage any Great Britain surfing team competing in ISA and/or Olympic qualifying linked events.
GB Surfing is only responsible for elite surfing with the aim of developing world-class athletes capable of winning Olympic medals by Brisbane 2032. Each individual Home Nation will continue to manage and develop grassroots surfing in their own jurisdiction.
In December 2020, GB Surfing received Progression Sport funding from UK Sport. This funding is judged by future success and has led to the development of the GB Surfing Progression Squad. The Progression Squad will be made up of male and female athletes identified by GB Surfing as potential future Olympic medal surfers. The selection criteria for athletes to be considered for the Progression Squad is available on the website and the final squad will be selected by an expert selection committee in the coming weeks.
Through the Progression Squad, GB Surfing aims to build a sustainable development programme that ensures systematic development of high-performance surfers representing the UK and enhances the existing Home Nations framework. There will however be a separate Selection Criteria for ISA and Olympic Qualifying events, meaning any British qualified surfer is still able to qualify for the Team GB Olympic Squad. Details of Selection Criteria can be found on the website.
Leading the team will be Chair, Victoria Gosling OBE, who was CEO of the Invictus Games in 2016 and is the current CEO of GB Snowsport. Executive Performance Director, Dan Hunt who previously held senior performance roles at GB Cycling, Team Sky, Team INEOS and the Premier League. Performance Coach, Luke Dillon, who is a 2x British National Champion and a 4x English National Champion.
The team also includes Joel Gray, Performance Pathway Manager and Gwen Spurlock, Development Pathway Lead.