Boscombe reef to host first surf contest

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Bad weather delayed the construction of the artificial surf reef

Europe's only artificial reef will play host to its first surf contest next month.

Organisers hope some of the best international surfers and bodyboarders will come and test out the underwater construction, in Boscombe, Dorset.

The Sorted Surf Festival will feature a number of categories for professional surfers on 20 and 21 March.

The £3m construction opened in November after a delay of more than a year and at nearly double the proposed cost.

Football pitch

The festival will also play host to the first leg of the British Bodyboarding Annual Championships.

The contest will be a chance to silence critics who say the reef does not work and is in the wrong place.

The reef, created to put Boscombe on the international surfing map and improve tourism, was built by New Zealand-based ASR to enhance waves and is part of an £11m regeneration of the seafront.

It was created to improve surfing conditions using 55 sand-filled geotextile bags which are 225m (740ft) out to sea and cover the size of a football pitch.

It is one of a handful of other artificial reefs across the world, which include Narrowneck, Australia and Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.