After a week of exceptional conditions in Bundoran, the final day will undoubtedly bring to a close the finest competition ever organised by the European Surfing Federation.

Not only were the waves perfect, but the Irish Surfing Federation’s organising team were also incredibly helpful and adaptable, providing the athletes and their support staff with a competition of a standard rarely experienced.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, but this final day will once again bring its share of highlights.

The surfing conditions are, as they have been since the start of the week, certainly smaller but still of the highest quality.

The left-hand break at The Peak offers two options: one further out with waves of 1m to 1.2m, and another closer to shore that is more intense, with steeper and faster walls than further out.

Most of the finalists will opt for the inside, but some will head out to sea to ‘give it a go’ before returning to the inside.

1/ Margaux Vieuge (FRA) 2/ Mare Robroch (NED) 3/ Julieta Rodriguez Villamil (ESP) 4/ Sylvie Puddiphatt (ENG)

Margaux Vieuge (FRA) is the 2026 European Junior Longboard U18 Champion.

The first to hit the water are the longboarders.

Sylvie Puddiphatt (ENG) [4th] opted for the outer break; unfortunately, she couldn’t find the right wave. Julieta Rodriguez Villamil (SPN) [3rd], surfing the inside break, fared no better.

Mare Robroch (NED) [2nd], also surfing the inside break, managed to find the wave that secured her second place at the last minute.

Manon Vieuge (FRA) [1st], for her part, continued to deliver a solid performance, just as she had done since the start of the competition, showcasing her typically elegant and effective surfing. She made the most of every section to move to the nose of her board with a cross-step and rack up the points. She was the only competitor in this final to achieve scores above the average (7+6.5 points).

1/ Martin Garcia (ESP) 2/ Reggie Roynon (ENG) 3/ Eduardo Caponera (ITA) 4/ David Fanning (IRL)

Martin Garcia (ESP) is the 2026 European Junior Longboard U18 Champion.

In the boys’ event, the longboard final was intense and, above all, thrilling.

David Fanning (IRL) [4th] also decided to head out to sea. This strategy still didn’t pay off; the wave didn’t offer sections long enough and David struggled to ride the wave to the end, meaning he couldn’t compete with the other three finalists.

The heat began with a head-to-head battle between Eduardo Caponera (ITA) [3rd] and Reggie Roynon (ENG) [2nd].

Already in the lead after two average opening waves, Reggie, planted firmly on the nose of his board, rode the wave all the way across the beach and scored a 9.

Eduardo remains in the running, but fails to find a section with a nose long enough to compete with Reggie.

Meanwhile, Martin Garcia is in a difficult position as he can’t find a wave with any potential.

With five minutes to go, England already sees itself on the top step of the longboard podium.

Martin Garcia catches his first wave and scores 8 points – he’s come a long way.

At the last minute, there he is, catching the nose, finishing his ride, and the wait begins. The English and Spanish teams are side by side on the beach, eyes glued to their phones to follow the scores; Martin needs 8.04 points to take the lead.

Two interminable minutes pass before the score of 8.50 points is announced, propelling the Spaniard to the top of the podium.

The Spanish team erupts with joy whilst disappointment takes hold of the English contingent.

1/ Mel Canhoto (POR) 2/ Vida Mendoça (POR) 3/ Isabel O’Reilly (IRL) 4/ Lila Skinner (ENG)

Mel Canhoto (POR) is the 2026 U16 European Junior Shortboard Champion.

The U16 girls also put on an intense heat. The ebbing tide changed the character of the spot. The outside break connected more easily with the inside, and, above all, the waves began to have more length and power.

Once again, England had a finalist, Lila Skinner [4th], as did Ireland with the ‘Queen of Bundoran’, Isabel O’Reilly [3rd], cheered on by the whole beach; her brilliant run had drawn a crowd to watch the finals.

Unfortunately, they were unlucky and failed to secure a second score – that second wave with the potential to rival the two Portuguese surfers.

Vida Mendoça (2nd) was brilliant (6.17/7.33 pts), whilst Mel Canhoto was dazzling (8.33/9.27 pts) (1st). Both surfing facing the wave, they strung together long rides, from the back to the shore, with rail work that delighted the crowd.

Mel sealed her title with a long left-hander where she strung together radical manoeuvres and, above all, displayed incredible flow.

1/ Kamiel Deraeve (BEL) 2/ Tiago Hanssen (SWE) 3/ Francisco Santos (POR) 4/ Francisco Anglani (ITA)

Kamiel Deraeve (BEL) is the 2026 U16 European Junior Shortboard Champion.

Italy’s Francisco Anglani (ITA) [4th] caught two decent waves right at the start of the heat but not enough to challenge for first place.

The same went for Francisco Santos (POR) [3rd], whose scores were just average, meaning he couldn’t compete for the top spot.

The surprise came from Sweden’s Tiago Hanssen (SWE) [2nd], who made it to the final thanks to some excellent surfing throughout the week. Unfortunately, he took a while to get into his stride in the final and remained in 4th place for a long time.

Finally, he caught two waves towards the end of the 30-minute session and moved into second place.

Kamiel Deraeve (BEL) [1st], for his part, got off to a flying start with scores of 7 and 8 points; immediately leading the heat, he simply had to manage his lead and ensure the others didn’t catch up with him. He caught two more waves scoring 6.50 and 6.17 points, and there you have it: the very first Belgian European Champion in history!

1/ Julieta Rodriguez Villamil (ESP) 2/ Chiara Cuppone (ITA) 3/ Clémence Schorch (FRA) 4/ Diana Giorgie (ITA)

Julieta Rodriguez-Villamil (ESP) is the 2026 U18 European Junior Shortboard Champion.

In the U18 girls’ event, Diana Giorgi (ITA) [4th] struggled to find her rhythm. With only four waves scored between 3 and 4.83 points, she was never able to compete with the others. She has had an incredible run at this EuroSurf.

Clémence Schorsch (FRA) [3rd], however, got off to a flying start with a 7 on her first wave, which immediately put her at the top of the heat. But her subsequent waves did not exceed 5.43 points, and she saw her opponents catch up and then overtake her.

Chiara Cuppone (ITA) [2nd] took a while to get going, with her early waves scoring around 2 points. She picked up the pace with a 5.67 followed by a superb 7.50 – the highest score of the final. In the end, she fell 6.53 points short of claiming the top spot on the podium.

Julieta Rodriguez-Villamil (ESP) [1st] built her result steadily over time. She strung together a series of waves and secured her two best scores – a 6.83 and a 7.20 – at just the right moment. She won by the narrowest of margins, finishing 0.86 points ahead of her nearest rival. Coming third in the longboard event and crowned U18 champion, Julieta put in an incredible performance!

1/ Jaime Veselko (POR) 2/ Joshua Karbus (IRL) 3/ Fynn Lindsay Lange (GER) 4/ Michele Scoppa (ITA)

Jaime Veselko (POR) is the 2026 U18 European Junior Shortboard Champion.

To round off the 2026 EuroSurf Junior, it was the U18s’ turn to take to the water.

Michele Scoppa (ITA) [4th] caught plenty of waves – seven in total – but remained in the mid-range for a long time with scores of around 4 and 5 points. He finally scored a 7.37 which gave him a boost, but it was too late: he finished just 0.03 points short of third place.

Fynn Lindsay Lange (GER) [3rd] had a mixed session. After a quiet start, he scored a 6.73 and a 6.67, which secured him third place by the narrowest of margins, though not enough to trouble the top two.

They went on to produce an incredible session that will go down in the annals of European surfing.

Joshua Karbus (IRL) [2nd], the local, was the third and final Irishman to make it through to a final on home soil.

He got off to a flying start with an 8.50 that put him straight into the lead.

Just as with the longboarders, it was hard to see how victory could slip from his grasp, especially as he went on to score an 8.07 to boost his total. Unfortunately, the ‘Prince of Bundoran’ wasn’t expecting the scenario that was about to unfold.

Jaime Veselko (POR) [1st] only caught four waves, but they were all excellent.

He opened with a 7.17 followed by a 7.53, which wasn’t enough to overtake Joshua.

With five minutes to go, he caught a first left-hander and rode it to perfection; he needed 9.13 points, but the average came out at 9 – not enough.

Just as the contest seemed to be over, and Ireland looked set for its first title, he set off again in the final seconds on another left-hander and began stringing together radical manoeuvres with power and perfectly executed sequences.

This time it was the one – 9.13 points – and he clinched the title with a total of 18.13 points, the highest score of the competition.

Mal Canhoto and Vda Mendoça celebrate by friends !

Portugal are the 2026 European Junior Team Surfing Champions

In the overall standings, Portugal have been crowned the new 2026 European Junior Team Champions, finishing a comfortable way ahead of Spain thanks to the consistency of their squad throughout the competition.

Spain finished second; having been champions in 2024 in Portugal (Santa Cruz), they return from the World Championships in 7th place and are the top European nation in the International Surfing Association (ISA) rankings.

Italy achieved its best-ever result by securing third place, whilst England finished fourth ahead of France, which arrived with an incomplete team as it was missing three athletes (two in the U18 boys’ category and one in the U18 girls’ category).

Ireland, thanks to excellent performances from David Fanning, Isabel O’Reilly and Joshua Karbus, climbed to 6th place, improving on its 2024 result by three places.

Joshua Karbus - Ireland