Euro Surf Junior standard is ‘phenomenal’ says Ireland surfing director
Gavin McCrea gave updates on competition held in Bundoran and local star Isabella O’Reilly’s performance
The Performance and Strategy Director for Surfing Ireland, Rossnowlagh resident Gavin McCrea, has told Donegal Live that the standard of surfing was “phenomenal” at the Euro Surf Junior 2026 championships, held in Bundoran.
The official opening ceremony took place on Saturday, September 26, kickstarting 10 days of fine competition from some of the best young surfers from across Europe, including Ballyshannon hope, Isabella O’Reilly.
Speaking of O’Reilly’s performance so far, McCrea said: “She surfed in the good waves and came first. On Monday, she had a really strong heat.
“She got a high-scoring wave straight away, and then she had a good end wave. We are still in the main round of the competition, and she is still progressing.”
Regarding the competition in general, McCrea stated: “The competition is really good. We had challenging days yesterday with the wind. We had to cancel one podium, but we had really good waves at podium two.
“Some of the waves were really good. The standard is really high across the board. All the teams have gone up hugely.
“The standard of surfing is phenomenal, and everyone is raving about the quality of the waves we have in Bundoran.”