Andy set to defend European surf kayak title

The 18-year-old will compete in Mundaka in northern Spain to defend both of his Euro titles in the High Performance and International Class.

Before he left, the Dominican College A level student received the Eric Greeves Trophy from the Canoe Association of Northern Ireland.

He was jointly presented with the trophy along with Chris Hobson from Dungannon for their progression, personal preparation, sportsmanship, effort and contribution to the sport of Surf Kayaking.

Andy is current World Champion in Junior International Class and is looking forward to competing in Spain in the challenging event where the world’s best surf kayakers will be competing on some of the top waves in the world.

The Portrush man has been training hard for this competition both on and off the water. He has recently been selected to train with The Sports Institute of NI.

He works one-to-one with strength and conditioning coaches who have designed a training programme specific to Andy’s sport.

Andy told the Times: “It was a great honour receiving the Eric Greeves Trophy and it is nice to be recognised alongside Chris who is one of the top kayakers in the world.

“Training with the Sports Institute has been a great help in the lead up to the European Championships, I have been enjoying my surfing recently and I am looking forward to competing again in Spain next week in the first major competition of the season.”