A Slamming Summer of Surf for Che Allan
When surfer, Ché Allan is not riding waves around the world with the Barbados Junior Surfing Team, this 12 year old student at St. Winifreds is no different from any other kid his age. You may find him at school where his favourite subjects art and math or on some occasions, you may even catch him playing table tennis, lawn tennis or football. But when those waves are breaking BIG, he’s definitely on his board.
Not surprising as Che is the grandson of David “Freight” Allan, who over 40 years ago started the first surf club in Barbados and held the first surfing competition ever at “Cotton House” bay, known today by locals and surfers alike as ‘Freights’ Bay. Freights Bay holds special meaning to Ché for that reason and also because it was where he won his first surfing contest, 2 years ago. Ché is the reigning champion in the Under 12 Barbados Surfing Associations, “Surfer of the year” and has won this category for 3 years consecutively. This year, he has travelled to represent Barbados on the National Junior Surf Team in the U16 & U18 categories in the International Surfing Association World Junior Games held in Peru in May, and in the Ron Jon Surf Fest where he place 3rd in the 12&U. He was endorsed by Quiksilver and now strives to represent them in everything he does.
This summer, Ché spent three weeks of August on the East Coast of America. This was the first year he attended multiple events, putting himself up against the best surfers in North America.
RIP CURL GROM SEARCH – OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA
Che started his charge in the Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina at the Rip Curl Grom Search. Here he had to learn to surf smaller shore breaks common along the coast. Adapting quickly and using his smaller board, he advanced to the final. Finishing 2nd in the 12 & under boys. He now has a shot at being invited to the Rip Curl Grand Final in San Francisco at the end of the year. He also surfed to a 5th place finish in the 14& under division at this competition.
EAST COAST SURF CHAMPIONSHIP, VIRGINIA BEACH
Photo by Mark Harris
Che was then off to the East Coast Surf Championships (ECSC) in Virginia Beach. Here he entered the Doc Taylor Mens Open Pro for fun. He surfed in his usual consistent and mature fashion, having wave scores between 7 and 8.5 to make it to the quarter finals finishing 9th out of the 64 entrants and narrowingly missing out on the semi-finals and the money round which was paid down to 8th place. His room -mate for much of the trip Dane Mackie finished 4th in this division.
In his age division (12-14 boys) the waves were building from the approaching hurricane Irene, and the conditions were more like home. Here he exceeded everyone’s expectations, winning every heat for the day, even beating the eventual winner in the semi’s . In the final, although he was the youngest, he surfed maturely, finishing 3rd. He overcame his older competition from Barbados getting the best of Joshua Burke in the finals with Josh eventually finishing 4th and Dane Mackie 5th.. This was the highest for any of the Bajan boys in this division, and the highlight of the trip, as the boys were much older than him.
NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION SURF FESTIVAL, COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA
It was then time to run from Hurricane Irene to Cocoa Beach Florida for the National Kidney Foundation Surf Festival (NKF). Here he was encouraged to enter the Under 17 junior pro and again surfed consistently to finish 9th in this pro. In his age category the 10-12 division, he once again won all his preliminary heats to advance to the final. In the final, with waves building from yet another hurricane, Che excelled on every wave making him the very dominant winner and wrapping up the summer with a first place.
CHE’S SUMMER INTERNATIONAL RESULTS
- 1st in 10-12 – NKF at Cocoa Beach, Florida
- 2nd in 12&U – Rip Curl Grom Search at Outer Banks, North Carolina
- 3rd in 12-14 - ECSC atVirginia Beach
- 5th in 14&U – Rip Curl Grom Search at Outer Banks, North Carolina
- 9th – Doc Taylor Mens Pro at Virginia Beach
- 9th in U17 Jr. Pro - NKF at Cocoa Beach
In the future Ché would like be a pro surfer and travel with the Quiksilver team to places like Hawaii and Indonesia. At 12 years old he has a lot of other dreams which range from from being a pro surfer, to owning a surf shop to being an architect.
CHE’S MOM, DEBRA, GIVES HIS PARENTS’ POINT OF VEIW
As parents it takes a lot of dedication. Ché surfs almost every day, which means transporting and waiting around for hours but we have learnt to make it a part of our family life and now make surfing a day at the beach where everyone can enjoy. Ché often teaches his sisters to surf in shallower waters. Our vacations have become surfing vacations, where we incorporate family activities that everyone can enjoy. The commitment pays off when we see his accomplishments and his perseverance in giving his best . It is stressful on contest days , but when you see his enjoyment it make it all worthwhile.
