Lee Bartlett : photo Lucia Griggi
Rip Curl Boardmasters
ASP WQS 5 Star Men's Event
ASP WQS 5 Star Women's Event
Fistral Beach Newquay England
4 - 9 August 2008
Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc
Lee Bartlett flies in for Rip Curl Boardmasters commentary
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 4 August, 2008 : - - This week sees the Rip Curl Boardmasters hitting the beach hard and as an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 5-Star event, the contest gets surfers of all ages and levels involved. Various local people pick-up part time jobs as part of the Boardmasters team but arguably one of the most high profile is that of Newquay’s best respected surfers, Lee Bartlett.
Lee usually works fulltime at Newquay Airport but during the Boardmasters week he swaps loading up planes for a global communication role as the main Rip Curl Boardmasters online surf commentator, keeping fans, family and friends of the surfers updated on their progress in the waves.
Thirty seven year old Lee is the 6 times British Open Champion and current British Masters Champion. After over 20 years of surfing experience he was asked by Rip Curl to take up their commentary position and thanks to the flexibility of Newquay Airport, he can put his surfing skills and knowledge to use for the global audience tuning in to keep up to date with the Boardmasters surf action.
Born in Newquay, Lee has worked on the airport team for almost 8 years and is now an Airside Service Officer Shift Leader. One of the reasons for him wanting the airport is that the daily shift blocks mean that he can surf every day if the conditions are good. As he’s always working outdoors and the job involves a number of physical aspects, he can also stay surf fit and healthy whilst he earns his living.
As a competitive surfer for many years, Lee’s insider track on the industry and his technical knowledge of the sport meant that when the Rip Curl Boardmasters team was on the hunt for an online live commentator, Lee was the obvious choice. Rip Curl’s Marketing Manager, James Hendy, actually approached him on his way to board a flight at Newquay Cornwall Airport and Lee agreed straight away.
As a result, for the last three years, Lee has been in the online commentary box and the airport has always granted him the time off to be able to juggle the two jobs. Since he started on the Boardmasters job he’s also been invited to commentate for other events such as the O’Neil Highland Open and Europsport.
Lee says, “It’s a brilliant week down at the beach each day and it’s a dream job for me to be watching and talking about some of the world’s best surfers every day. People from all over the world are logged in to watch and listen to the commentary all the time family and friends email through messages for their surfers and we get them out there for them. There’s lots of banter and it’s brilliant that I can mix my year round job at Newquay Cornwall Airport with this surf industry work and keep my hand in the profession that I’m really passionate about.”
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WQS Contests - Surfersvillage
