The first day of the 2025 European Surfing Championships was bathed in sunshine on Santa Cruz beach.
The competition kicked off with the first rounds of the men's and women's longboard events.
In the men's competition, Francisco Freitas (POR) delivered the best performance of the day, winning with a total of 14.67 points, including a wave worth 8.17 points.
The second-best performance of the morning came from Douwe Robroch (NED), who scored 7.90 points on the second wave of the day.
In the women's competition, Spain's Julieta Rodriguez-Villamil delivered the best performance of the first round with a total of 13.67 points from two waves out of a possible 20.
The day was also punctuated by the traditional parade of nations through the centre of Santa Cruz, much to the delight of the locals and the many tourists gathered on the seafront. The parade ended with the mixing of sands on the podium in the competition village.
Each participating country poured a little sand from one of its beaches into the Eurosurf vase, symbolising the sharing and mixing of cultures, origins and values shared by the surfing community across Europe.
Finally, everyone gathered to share dinner to the sound of Inês Bispo (former member of the Portuguese surfing team) and the warm atmosphere of Santa Cruz's incredible sunset.
EuroSurf 2025 is part of the Ocean Spirit Festival, a must-see event for board sports and music that has been taking place for over 17 years on the beach of Santa Cruz. The programme includes national and international competitions on the waves, with surfing, skimboarding, longboarding and bodysurfing promising thrills for those watching the events from the sand.
There is a strong focus on experimentation and training, both on the sand and in the pool integrated into the Aldeia Neptuno park.
Santa Cruz Ocean Spirit will once again invest heavily in night-time musical entertainment, with free admission every evening.
All pictures by Tiago Segurado / Ocean Spirit
Results and Live Eurosurf 2025 👈
👉 Ocean Spirit Festival website