Bodysurfers in the U.K.

Firstly, we have to say a big thank you to you all for your patience, largely due to our aim to insure that insurance cover for members was included in the price! It has been a frustrating time for us.

We are very pleased to announce that the U.K. Bodysurfing Association C.I.C. Membership scheme is officially up and running. The first Meet Up (for paid up members) will be announced soon, to be run by Jack Middleton and myself. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Jack Middleton –

Born and raised in Cornwall with its rugged cliffs, powerful waves, secret coves and beautiful sandy beaches, surfing has always been in my blood. This, combined with a background of competitive swimming, and bodysurfing was the obvious progression! After a friend introduced me and my girlfriend, Brogen, to this alternative form of wave riding, we were hooked!

Becoming a bit of a hoarder for handplanes and fins, and helped no end by Dave at Garage Handplanes, bodysurfing became all consuming. After a recent trip to the World Bodysurfing Championships at Oceanside, California, we were blown away with how big bodysurfing was in the many countries represented there and how unified it was within them with several competitions a year, regular meet-ups and even bodysurfing clubs.

With this in mind, Frogslegz was born. A place for all things bodysurfing in the UK; clothing, handplanes, fins, photos, stories…

We are very excited to be working with the UK Bodysurfing Championships C.I.C. to bring together the hardcore group of underground charging bodysurfers in the UK by organising monthly meet ups and, of course, the UK Bodysurfing Championships!

Happy Slyding!

Andy Bodenham –

An experienced bodysurfer, I have bodysurfed in many countries around the world, over a good many years.

I gained my avid interest in the sport from an early age whilst growing up in San Diego, where I started to hone my skills. Over the years I have continued to bodysurf whenever opportunities arise, anywhere, anytime there have been decent swell and sizable waves, gradually gaining more expertise.

To compliment this early interest in the sport I became very interested in weather forecasting and joined the UK Met Office. Over a long career I steadily advanced to become an experienced weather forecaster within the Operations Centre, Exeter, forecasting all aspects of the weather – on a  global scale! During this career I spent time as the UK Shipping Forecaster, also working for a period within the Storm Tides monitoring section. HI have also been heavily involved with the prediction and tracking of tropical cyclones – in both hemispheres.

I am passionate about the sport of bodysurfing, and avidly want to raise the profile of it internationally, but especially here in the U.K.! To that end I established Bodysurfing, which has proved crucial in being able to advance bodysurfing to the next level.

This is all very exciting for the sport of bodysurfing and we encourage you all to join as soon as possible. It will be great to get some friendships going, and get some bodysurfing in before sea temperatures dip too much!

There will be regular Meet Ups during the coming months with the intention to short list those who are interested for entry into the U.K. Bodysurfing Championships 2017. There will be more about this aspect as we get closer to the event!

The insurance has now been agreed, the details of which will be published within the website very soon. As well as regular Meet Ups and insurance cover, we anticipate that further benefits for members will follow soon.

A good, strong membership will be crucial to keep bodysurfing alive in the U.K., and to maintain yearly Championships. We hope you agree.