A YOUNG surfer from Broad Haven proved himself against the best in the world at the 2017 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surf Championships in Japan.

Seth Morris, 16, returned from two weeks in Hyuga after reaching the quarter finals of the under 16s category and finishing 17th in the world.

This made him the highest placed European in the competition and he took the record for the highest placed British junior ever at a World Surfing Championships.

Seth, who has been a member of the GB squad for the last three years, competed for Surfing England with a record breaking 41 countries taking part.

His incredible achievement tops a great year which has seen Seth, currently ranked as the No 1 Under 16 surfer in the UK, become British Schools Champion and a double Welsh Champion in both the Under 16 and 18 categories at the National Championships in April.

He also took part in his first World Surf League QS event at the Boardmasters in Cornwall in August, when he was the youngest British surfer to make the final 25 in a senior event.

“I was so happy to finish in the top 20 in the world this year,” Seth told Telegraph Sport.

“It was such a incredible experience, both the surfing and the great hospitality of the Japanese people.

“I couldn’t have done any of it without the support of my family back home and my coaches Damon Beverage and Chris Brown and I was really grateful for the opportunity.”

Seth added he now hoped to build on the experience: “I’m very excited to step up into the Under 18s category now and push forward with international competition”

Seth started surfing with his dad, Paul, at the age of nine, before his early talent was spotted by Pete Bounds of Masterclass Surfing.
Soon Seth was a regular competitor on the UK surf circuit, winning a host of national titles.

The life of a surfer inevitably means travel which means that Seth, currently a student at Sir Thomas Picton School and Pembrokeshire College, spends all his free time in Cornwall, Devon and Europe of where he competes in the WSL European Pro Junior series during the summer months.

However, in between his trips he spends his training time closer to home at Freshwater West and Whitesands.

He is sponsored by Rip Curl Europe, JP Surfboards and SurfSkateUK.