UK Surf Contest Canceled After Female Competitors Abused

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 11:59 AM ET

On Sunday, a surf contest in Scotland was canceled when a group of non-competitors reportedly stormed the designated lineup, dropped in on female participants, and lobbed verbal abuse towards the partaking surfers. A police investigation is underway.

The GB Cup – a contest hosting teams across the UK, from England to Wales to Scotland to the Channel Islands – was taking place at Thurso in Scotland, a heaving righthander, and considered by many to be one of the UK’s best barreling waves.

During the women’s semi-finals on Sunday, amidst pumping conditions according to reports, a crew of free-surfers paddled out and disrupted the event. As such, contest organizers announced: “In the interest of competitor safety, GB Surfing and Scottish Surfing have made the decision to postpone the final heats of the GB Cup.”

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Following the incident, the Scottish Surfing Board issued a statement:

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. Our community has been overwhelmingly supportive of the GB Cup and has played an instrumental role in its planning and delivery. This event was an opportunity to celebrate surfing in Scotland and to bring positive benefits to the local economy.

The Scottish Surfing Board stands firmly with the athletes, volunteers, and local partners who have worked tirelessly to make this event a success, and we remain committed to ensuring that surfing is a safe and welcoming sport.

The good news is, it appears The GB Cup will resume competition where it left off. In a post from GB Surfing, they confirmed: “The decision has been made to rerun the Open Women’s semi-finals. We will then run the Women’s Final and Men’s Open Final.”

A date and venue have yet to be announced for the competition’s return.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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