The seaside resort of Bundoran in Co Donegal is to receive a major publicity boost this week when it hosts the Quicksilver Masters Surfing Competition. The competition will see 15 former world champions competing for $100,000 in prize money. A £200,000 "surf village" has already been constructed in the town.
The 10-day contest will bring international surf media to the town, with no fewer than 53 television channels having already bought rights to footage of the event.
Surfers from all over Ireland are expected to cheer on the only two Irish competitors, Grant Robinson, from Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal and Henry Moore, from Tramore, Co Waterford, who were given "wild card" invitations to the competition. According to Mr Phil Jarret of Quicksilver, the sponsor of the event, £500,000 has been spent on staging the competition.
"Donegal in particular has the cultural balance we were looking for in this event, which has competitors that are a little bit older, 35 and up. These guys have seen a lot of life and are looking for new experiences, and I think in Donegal we have both culture and great surf," he said.
Previous locations for the competition include Fiji, Mexico and France. The arrival of the 450-strong Quicksilver entourage has been warmly welcomed by the people of the town. Cllr Michael McMahon, chairman of Bundoran Urban District Council, said the event would give great coverage to the town and much-needed off-season revenue.
According to Mr Matt Britton, the local facilitator for Quicksilver, "the longterm benefits of this competition are incalculable. You couldn't put a price on the positive coverage the town is going to get on an international platform, but if you had to, it would be worth millions in marketing alone," he said.
The competition got under way yesterday with some preliminary heats in largely windy conditions.
Good waves have been forecast for the rest of the week. However, as Mr Jarret pointed out, "it all depends on when the surf comes. We have a hotline number 072-29255 which people can ring to see when the competition is on, and we will make a decision at 8 a.m. each day," he said.
On Saturday a number of events will be staged separately from the competition, including a demonstration of Hawaiian outrigger canoe surfing and a display by some of the hottest young surfers in Ireland and England.