Pink line-up // The Big Surf Invitational

Last weekend was a long one here in France. Yesterday was national holiday for the Bastille Day, which meant no work from Saturday to Tuesday!!!

We decided to stay in Biarritz to chill, surf and take advantage of the warm summer weather.

These days a summer festival took place too and for the occasion the World Surf League (WSL) joined forces with the BIG Festival for a special surf invitational contest at the Côte des Basques.

Both men and women categories split in two teams who had to compete against each other. The prize money of the winning team was totally donated to the Handi Surf organisation, whose goal is to break down the disabilities barriers and stereotypes.

The great thing was that longboarders and shortboarders were in the same heats, competing in mixed teams. I never watched this kind of competition before, so it was good to see the differences between the two disciplines on the same waves.

The overall atmosphere in the water was super friendly and you could see the competitors having real fun together and sharing the waves. They also gathered all together around a table for a healthy lunch after the competition at the Big Village, all laughing and sharing the stoke.

I couldn't miss the opportunity of snapping some pics of the event and of the women's heats. Internationally recognised surfers such as Victoria Vergara, Justine Dupont, Pauline Ado and Coline Menard were such a beauty to watch, and such a lesson in humility for all of us, as their skill level was really high.

Overall it is always a great experience to watch more skilled surfers out there making it all really simple and smooth. And it gave me that extra push that motivates me to surf more and improve, so that one day I can maybe surf half as good as they do ;)



Credits // Author // Photography: Marta Tomasini