On Labor Day Weekend, the Continental Surf Cup, one of the world’s largest surf competitions, concluded in Chelan, USA. Team Europe—featuring some of Germany’s top surfing talents—emerged victorious for the third consecutive time! Among the winners were Munich’s Eisbach professional Lennard Weinhold (23) and the 15-year-old Fabiana Klein, who both achieved the highest scores in their respective categories.

Today, Wednesday, September 4th, the team begins their journey home. “We hope that our successful performance here will help further raise the profile of surfing in Germany,” said Lennard Weinhold.

Indeed, surfing, which is now also an Olympic discipline, is becoming increasingly popular. In addition to river waves like the famous Eisbach in Munich, standing waves offer an ideal training area for surfers. One of the world’s largest standing waves served as the venue for the Continental Surf Cup: LakeSideSurf, with its arena-style design and 16-meter-wide citywave, provided a stunning backdrop overlooking Lake Chelan.

The international Team Europe consisted of 16 professional surfers from Germany, Austria, Spain, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Competition

On Saturday, August 31st, the competition began with the Team Heats, where two surfers from Team Europe competed against two surfers from Team USA. In this classic surf contest heat, not only are individual scores considered, but team points are awarded based on heat victories.

The first round began with a close battle between the two teams, ending in a 4:4 tie. This was followed by Round 2, “Surfing Classics.” Team Europe top surfers Lennard Weinhold (23) and Fabiana Klein (15) earned the highest scores. The excitement continued into the evening with the “Best Trick” round, a fan favorite. Team USA narrowly won the Best Trick finals for both men and women, earning a crucial team point. At the end of the first competition day, the score stood at 13:12 in favor of Team Europe.

The second day opened with additional Team Heats, allowing Team Europe to extend their lead. The competition culminated in the Team Finals, where the winners of the Team Heats in Round 6 competed against their teammates.

“We are impressed by the performance of all the surfers. The level of competition has been significantly increased in recent years, and even the youngest talents are keeping up effortlessly with experienced participants,” said Lenny Weinhold.

This was reflected in the finals, conducted in the classic heat format with standard judging criteria where Team Europe claimed victory in the Continental Surf Cup:

• The youngest participant of Team Europe, Fabiana Klein (15), secured second place among the women.
• Lennard Weinhold (23), the undefeated Continental Surf Cup winner of 2022 and 2023, once again clinched first place in the men’s division.
• Austria’s Kathi Hörhan (20) finished third, while 15-year-old Munich native Maximilian Lex took fourth place.

Team Europe Captain Reflects

Elias Kuhn, captain of Team Europe, praised the competition: “Day one of the Continental Surf Cup gave us an exciting head-to-head battle with Team USA. It’s clear that the Americans used the past year to train hard. Nevertheless, we once again brought together some of the best surfers from Europe and are thrilled about our third consecutive victory.”