The main event of European surfing is back in Portugal, having started today and running until Friday the 28th as the final deadline of its waiting period, featuring 111 surfers from 16 flags, from all over Europe.

In the spotlight we have some of the usual suspects: Italy, the reigning European champion, Spain the junior European champion, Portugal, the host country that seeks to regain the title that escapes them since 2017 and England, who has been growing at exponential speed in the last decade.

But also teams hailing from Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Channel Islands, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Israel, Belgium and the Nederlands.

Notable absence of France, one of the powerhouses of European and world surfing.

The president of the ESF, Jean-Luc Harassus underlined the importance of this event, especially in a key moment in the history of surfing with its integration in the Olympic movement:

“It is very rewarding to see this magnificent event unfold here in Santa Cruz, with 16 teams coming to Portugal and showing the strength and vitality of European surfing. This is of paramount importance in this moment where we want to present our events as an alternative in the Olympic qualifying process, already thinking ahead to Los Angeles 2028. And I would like to thank the Portuguese Surfing Federation, the municipality of Torres Vedras and the town of Santa Cruz for organizing the Eurosurf once again.”

Sporting wise, today the event started with longboarding men’s and women’s first round, with Italy, Spain and England all winning their heats in a show of force for the rest of the event.