Russell Winter, currently in 9th place on he prestigious world pro tour, holds the English title while the Welsh open crown was won last year by Greg Owen. Watergate Bay in Cornwall is hosting the English finals. The Welsh event is being staged Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire. With the European Championships in Portugal in October a good showing at both championships could mean a chance for surfers to represent their countries the international stage. Fifteen different disciplines, including several junior divisions for boys and girls, longboard, seniors, and the highly competitive men's and women's Open titles will be up for grabs at Watergate. Russell Winter starts as favourite in the Open after finishing in 25th place at the recent Vendee Pro in France. But Rip Curl team rider Mark Harris, currently ranked second on the British Professional Surfing Association circuit, will be pushing for a place on the podium.  | | Mark Harris has his sights set on English glory. |
"I'm really stoked to be able to come back to my home turf to surf against some of my best friends and the freshest new talent the country has to offer," said Harris, from Newquay. "The English is one of the biggest attended events for up and coming talent in the UK and a win here would be a great start to the contest season for me." South Devon surfer Chris Thomson will be competing in the longboard division. After a string of solid performances in last year's events, Thomson is looking forward to reaching new heights in 2005. The BSA qualified coach and RSLA beach lifeguard has surfed all over the world including Morocco, Mexico, Australia and Canary Islands. As well as working as a surf teacher for five years, Thompson has been selected to teach at many specialist coaching workshops around the country including the O'Neill Surf Academy in Croyde and the English Surf Federation All Girls Surf Day. "The English is always a really competitive event, it's a great warm-up for the rest of the year as it's the first contest when everyone is back from their winter travels," said Thomson. "I'm planning to compete in the European leg of the world longboard tour this summer and the English is going to be really good preparation." Adding an unique dimension to the event this year will be the Davidoff Cool Water Tag Team Event. Newquay surfers will also be competing for the Randall Davies and Dave Gent memorial trophies, which are awarded to the highest placed surfers from the town in the Open and Junior categories respectively. | 
