JERSEY’S Clint Loake won the Drop-Knee Open 2008 at Kempt Tower in St Ouen’s Bay at the weekend.

Loake fought off a strong challenge from French bodyboarder Olivier Brosson (pictured) to win the Alvin’s Hot Stuff Pizza sponsored event.

The specialist type of board riding bodyboard contest was organised by the Jersey Bodyboarders and took place in three to four-foot surf, which had choppy wave faces due to a light onshore breeze.

In the first round there was some good drop-kneeing, with strong performances from Andy De La Mare, who performed a powerful carving top-turn on a nice left hand wave, and Brosson, an annual visitor for this event from Normandy, who specialises in this form of bodyboard riding.

The unluckiest competitor was Steve Pinzari as he just missed out on a semi-final place after tying his heat and then being eliminated by the narrowest of margins on a countback of the judges’ score cards.