The third day of action at the Eurosurf 2023 that is running in Santa Cruz, Portugal, until next Friday, the 28th, was underlined by competitiveness and balance, with all the potential candidates to the European title having someone to lose in the repechage rounds.
After Portugal started things with the wrong foot in the opening act of the shortboard competition yesterday, losing Afonso Antunes and Guilherme Fonseca and England also losing Lukas Skinner for the repechage rounds, today every other European powerhouse with aspirations to the final victory saw at least one of its surfers emulate that route. Germany, Italy, and Spain also have now surfers at risk, which balances the competitive math in Santa Cruz.
Meanwhile, Lukas Skinner, Afonso Antunes and Guilherme Fonseca survived their heats with ease and showed surfing talent that promises very good surfing for the next few dramatic round of repechage.
Among all the competitive strife that colours these first spectacular days of surfing, some curious human stories stand out. Like the one of Portuguese João Antunes. Former multiple times national champion and living legend of European surfing, at 50 years old, Antunes, father of Portuguese top surfer Afonso Antunes, now has embraced the challenge of coaching the Scottish surfing team.
João recalls how it all came about: “I was already coaching a Scottish surfer who ended up suggesting my name to coach the team, and when they invited me, although it was a complete surprise, I couldn’t say no. I was deeply honored to accept, and I’ve been working closely with them in preparation for this Eurosurf. I have been to Scotland a couple of times, but I must admit that I haven’t found the courage to surf there. I live here in Santa Cruz and the water here feels very warm in comparison [laughing]. The Scottish surfing has been developing very well and I try to play my part in the process. Competing in this event is very important in that evolution and I believe we can do some interesting things here. I am really stoked to help.”
The Eurosurf returns tomorrow at 8h30 GMT and all the live action and results are available here at www.eurosurfing.org