"Toxic, territorial behaviour."
You’ll find, if you come to Scotland, that it’s generally a welcoming country, with a warm people, who perhaps drink a little too much, and have never quite shaken the shadow of persecution by English overlords.
Shock then, this weekend, when a competition at Thurso East was postponed because a group of surfers – all men in the 40-50 age bracket – paddled out to launch an (alleged) pre-meditated attack on young women competing in the GB Cup.
The (alleged) incident took place during the semi-finals of the competition. It has been reported that the young women were subjected to verbal and physical abuse whilst trying to compete, deliberately intimidated and told to “fuck off”.
One young competitor was reported to be run over and pushed under the water.
Per Carve Magazine: “One of the surfers named as Ian Battrick, a Jersey resident who visits the area, also ran over a 15-year-old girl mid heat, landing on top of her and pinning her to the reef. The young surfer was unable to reach the surface and was highly traumatised.”
This group purporting to be “locals” was comprised of at least two Englishmen, a South African and only one verifiable Scot. The latter habitually rides a soft-top at Thurso East, and his raison d’etre is dropping in on as many people as he can in every session.
Little surprise that four of the names reported to be involved are unequivocally the least pleasant people you could encunter (sic) in Scottish surfing. Combined, they’ve ruined the days of hundreds of surfers, locals and visitors alike, with aggressive and intimidating line-up behaviour. Lots of shouting, lots of chest-puffing, lots of swearing. And general behaviours which suggest deep insecurities and habitual, frenetic cry-wanking.
At least three of them are resident in Thurso, but they are no more Scottish than fly in the air.
The wider story is that this behaviour is not reserved for visiting surfers, but exhibited regularly towards young Scottish surfers, too. Particularly if they happen to be talented.
The current incident has been picked up by national press and a police investigation is pending.
Both GB Surfing and Scottish Surfing have issued statements condemning the actions of these angry middle-aged men in the strongest possible (legally safe and sanitised) terms.
GB Surfing said: “We understand that there is a police investigation proceeding into an alleged incident of abuse towards competitive surfers by ‘free’ surfers, initially directed towards female competitors in the GB Cup. The board of GB Surfing is deeply concerned by the news of the incident, which has brought the event to an abrupt end. We recognise that surfers in the final will be disappointed by the premature termination of the competition following an incident, but we are grateful to the event delivery team for acting promptly and their cooperation with the Police in this matter.”
Per Scottish Surfing: “The Scottish Surfing Board condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the actions of a small group of individuals who sought to deliberately disrupt the GB Cup held this weekend in Thurso. Abuse directed at female competitors led to the premature suspension of the event on safety grounds, and event organisers were forced to seek assistance from Police Scotland. Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and runs counter to Scottish Surfing’s values of Innovation, Care, Inclusion and Excellence.We wish to make clear that these disruptive actions were not carried out by, or represent, the Scottish surfing community.”
Some notable Scottish and UK surf personalities were less circumspect on social media, calling the offenders a “bunch of dicks” for intimidating younger surfers.
One post invited @ianbattrick to “have a look at yourself in the mirror mate your (sic) a fucking fool”, before clamping down a hard lip to the head with “Hope all this was worth the one close out you had. You fucking kook”.