No Pro 2026
Clear your diaries for the 19th of September!
Down the Line Surf Co, Prosper House Camping, the Red River Inn, St Ives Brewery and the National Trust have joined us once again to put on this amazing surfing comp.
The competition is for non sponsored surfers and is a grass roots event aimed at unleashing our competitive spirits in a relaxed environment. The event will be taking place over the weekend of the 19th of September and once again we have a Mens, Women’s, U16 Mens and U16 Women’s categories.
Final entries for the comp is on Sunday 13th of September so that we can make the draw in the Red River Inn at 7pm on the evening of Friday 18th of September.
There will be a band playing on both the Friday and Saturday nights.
We are aiming to have the first heat in the water by 8am on Saturday 19th.
We should have the comp all wrapped up by 6ish on the Saturday and after the finals the prize-giving will be at the Red River Inn at around 7pm. Food will be available for all competitors before Saturday evenings entertainment begins.
Prosper House Camping are offering camping for Friday and Saturday night free of charge for competitors so you can make a weekend of it if you want to. There is only a limited amount of camping pitches so it is advised to get your entry in early and don’t forget to tick the ‘Camping’ tickbox on your entry form.
Download an entry form here and bring it in to Down the Line Surf Co or Gwithian Academy of Surfing with your entry fee before the end of Sunday 13th of September.
n.b: A surfer is sponsored if they receive money, free equipment, discounted equipment, paid expenses, services, or other material benefits from a surf-related brand/business in return for representing, promoting or endorsing that brand.
Thanks!
The NoPro 2026: A Weekend Built for the Grassroots
The 2026 NoPro surf competition, run by Gwithian Academy of Surfing in collaboration with Down the Line Surf, St Ives Brewery and the Red River Inn, landed on the last full weekend of September like a proper community session: equal parts anticipation, drizzle, and stoke.
Friday: The Draw, the Music, the Calm Before
On Friday 18th September, the Red River Inn became the unofficial HQ. Competitors gathered to find out who’d be in which heat, with the draw done the old-school way: names in a hat, pulled round by the athletes themselves so it felt fair and transparent.
Once the nerves of the draw were out of the way, Angus the Wave Machine kicked off the weekend with live music, setting the tone for what was always going to be more than just a contest. Free camping through Prosper House Camping was offered to all competitors for the weekend, turning the whole thing into a proper surf-camp vibe before a single wave was ridden.
Saturday: Gwithian, Drizzle, and 100 Athletes in the Line-up
By 8am on Saturday, the beach at Gwithian was already buzzing. The surf was questionable — head high, onshore, with pretty inclement weather holding all day, but that didn’t thin the crowd.
Around 100 athletes turned up throughout the day, huddled in the drizzle, supporting each other, anxious to get in the water and just surf.
Heats ran from 8am through to 4:30pm, and by all accounts the event couldn’t have gone smoother. Hours of prep and set-up beforehand meant organisers were on site early, everything was marked, timed and ready, so the day flowed despite the conditions.
This is the point of NoPro: it’s aimed squarely at grassroots surfing. Anyone sponsored, or who’s received money through surfing in the last 10 years, is out. That rule keeps the playing field level and makes the event accessible, inviting people who might never step into a “proper” comp to give it a go.
St Ives Brewery backed the whole day, rolling out a massive cooler of beers and soft drinks for anyone on the beach. It wasn’t just competitors enjoying it; it felt like a beach-day party with a contest running through the middle of it.
Evening: Prizes, Prizes, and More Music
Once the last heat wrapped, everyone drifted back to the Red River Inn for the prize giving around 6pm. Down the Line Surf generously donated prizes for the top four in every category: men’s, ladies, and boys’ and girls’ U16.With the awards done, Baby Brew took the stage to round off the weekend with live music, closing out two days built around surfing, community and local spirit rather than rankings and sponsorships.
In the end, the 2026 NoPro wasn’t about perfect waves or slick production; it was about a community turning up in the drizzle, drawing names from a hat, and sharing a day of messy, head-high Gwithian surf because that’s what they love. From the music at the Red River Inn to the free camping, the beachside cooler from St Ives Brewery and the prizes from Down the Line Surf, every piece felt local, grounded and made by surfers for surfers. By the time Baby Brew finished their set on Saturday night, the weekend had already done what it set out to do: remind everyone why grassroots contests matter, and why the heart of Cornish surfing still beats strongest when the barriers are low and the stoke is high.
We got heaps of photos of the day – if you would like to see them head to the following link. https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1uFZvLxJ5sCtF89sVnQjFnZ1Ed6Er3BPq?q=sharedwith:public%20parent:1uFZvLxJ5sCtF89sVnQjFnZ1Ed6Er3BPq
Feel free to download them but if you use them on your social media could you credit Ollie Birch @oframess
