Newquay's Watergate Bay announces 2012 beach events

Two new events that feature in Watergate Bay's action-packed 2012 calendar have been unveiled. Alongside the new kitesurf and powerboat racing events, English surfers will be celebrating an anniversary year as they compete in the 40th edition of the English National Surfing Championships.

Kitesurfers will be showing off their wave-riding skills with the addition of a new Wavejam competition to the British Kitesurfing Association's season-opening course racing championships.

Then spray will fly as a new surf powerboat race series comes to Cornwall for the first time, with the Extreme Academy hosting the opening rounds of the Thundercat Racing Series in May.

Will Ashworth, managing director of The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, said: "We are really excited to be hosting Thundercat racing at the Extreme Academy for the first time in 2012. It's a fantastic sport to watch and with a bit of luck Watergate Bay will be throwing up some challenging conditions in the surf for the competitors.

"It's great to be able to celebrate four decades of top level surfing – Watergate Bay first held a national championship event in the 1960s and it's quite something to see how surfing has evolved to today's high performance levels."

The Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay has confirmed ten events in their exciting line up, including the return of the award-winning Veuve Clicquot Polo on the Beach.

Famous for it's surf, the beach will also see some of the country's best stand-up paddle (SUP) surfers, longboarders and surf boat rowers take to the waves.

For more information on all the events taking place at Watergate Bay in 2012 please visit:www.watergatebay.co.uk/extremeacademy