The Channel Islands Surfing Federation has issued a public apology after admitting it published false allegations accusing a Jersey surfer of abusing competitors during the final of a national competition in Scotland.
In a statement released last night, the federation confirmed that claims circulated on its official social media channels – alleging that Ian Battrick had verbally and physically abused male and female surfers, threatened cameramen, and “dunked” a female competitor during the GB Surfing Cup in Thurso – were “untrue”.
The organisation acknowledged that it had not contacted Mr Battrick before publishing the allegations, which were subsequently picked up and repeated by international surf media and shared widely across social media platforms.
“Regrettably, we also called Mr Battrick ‘brainless’ in relation to the actions of which we accused him,” the Channel Islands Surfing Federation added.
The statement also confirmed that police are not taking action against Mr Battrick in relation to the event.
Police Scotland previously told Express that no arrests had been made following the disruption that forced the postponement of the GB Surfing Cup finals.
The apology comes after Mr Battrick issued his own public statement on social media, admitting that he “made a mistake” by paddling out to free surf while competition heats were still running.
“It was selfish and thoughtless,” he wrote. “I didn’t think about how that might affect the competitors or those who had worked hard to make the event happen. I take full responsibility for that choice.”
However, Mr Battrick strongly denied any abusive behaviour and said he had endured a wave of online hostility in the aftermath, describing hundreds of messages and comments – some of which were “cruel and deeply personal”.
The GB Surfing Cup finals were postponed after surfers competing in the women’s semi-final reported that several non-competitors had paddled into the line-up.
At the time, the governing body said it understood that there was “a police investigation proceeding into an alleged incident of abuse towards competitive surfers by ‘free’ surfers, initially directed towards female competitors in the GB Cup”.
Two Jersey surfers – Nathan Elms and Owen Graham – had both qualified for the men’s final and were left unable to compete when organisers called a halt.
Mr Battrick described the time since the event as “one of the most difficult and traumatic periods of my life”.
“To be falsely portrayed worldwide as someone who would abuse or harm fellow surfers was devastating,” he said.
“I am relieved that the truth is finally being recognised and that my name is being cleared.
“But the damage done – to my mental health and to my business – will take a long time to repair. I hope what happened to me makes people stop and think before they join an online pile‑on, or publish accusations without a single piece of evidence.”
Mr Battrick is calling for an internal review within the Channel Islands Surfing Federation to establish how the allegations were published.