RNLI staff to compete in Paddleboard World Championship in China
RNLI staff to compete in Paddleboard World Championship in China
Lifeguards News Release
Nick Ayers, RNLI Community Safety Partner, and Elle Veale, RNLI lifeguard, will represent the UK on the Great Britain SUP & Paddleboard Team in the Surfing Federation (ISA) World Championships in China.
Nick and Elle are part of a team of 12 who were selected from the top riders in Great Britain and they will compete in the categories distance and technical SUP (stand up paddle board), distance and technical paddleboard, SUP sprints, and SUP surfing.
Nick, 27 from Suffolk, swam competitively until he was 18, gaining regional, national and Olympic trials. At 18, he became a RNLI lifeguard and took up paddling where he spent UK winters in Australia and New Zealand as a swim coach and lifeguard and retuning to the English coastline in every summer.
Throughout his adult life, he has remained fiercely competitive regularly taking part in endurance races in the UK and internationally. In 2016, he paddled across the English Channel in 5.5 hours raising funds for the RNLI, following a gruelling training schedule. As well as his full time role leading drowning preventions initiatives at the RNLI, he volunteers for the Waveney Surf Lifesaving Club, coaching the young and old in how to stay safe in the water.
Nick said: ‘I’m really proud to be part of the team representing the UK in China and have taken every opportunity to prepare over the past few months. I travel the country as community safety partner for the RNLI so my paddleboard has been packed and I’m training in the water every chance I get. China will be an incredible experience and I can’t wait for the competition.’
Elle Veale, 17 from Cornwall, started paddleboarding when she was 14, borrowing a board from a fellow lifeguard to take part in a competition in Carbis Bay. She has been competing ever since and this year won the under 18’s technical paddleboard at the UK championships, qualifying for the World championships in China. She is currently training five times a week in the sea, with further land based training too.
Elle said; ‘I love being part of the paddleboarding community. I compete in both the racing and surfing elements and enjoy them both, they both give something different to the experience. My main goal for China is to do the best I can and make the most of every minute while I’m out there. It’s an opportunity in a lifetime.’
The championships run from 23 November to 2 December 2018 and the UK team includes some internationally established riders and some young sports man and women eager to make their mark on the international scene.
END
References
• Footage of Nick paddling across the English channel:
For more information, contact Nicola Quinn RNLI Regional Media Manager on 07810 658 072 or
[email protected], Emma Haines, RNLI Regional Media Officer on 07786 668847 or
[email protected], or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
