Julius Koppenhöfer

The team from Karlsruhe, consisting of surfers Damian Gentner, Stefan Scheuble, Benedikt Sell and Julius Koppenhöfer, was back on the French Atlantic coast this year from 25.05. to 01.06. to represent the KIT in surfing. After the waves were far too small and barely surfable last year, expectations were high this time. Preparations in Portugal and Bali as well as paddle training at Grötzinger Badesee were on the training program.

After the forecast looked good, the anticipation was huge. Not only the contest, but also the reunion with all the other surfers from the other universities, who had gotten to know over the years, made the event special. The contest started with the newly created Team Contest, in which Team KIT was only beaten by a team from Kiel and achieved a well-deserved 2nd place.

In the Open Class, Damian and Stefan both reached the third round, but were then unfortunately eliminated in difficult conditions. Stefan's wave score of 7 with a single wave (max. 10) was one of the highlights of the first rounds. In the longboard class, Julius surfed his way through to the quarter-finals, but then had to admit defeat in high waves.

Overall, the event was great fun, and the more than 20 fans from Karlsruhe were also able to keep spirits high and actively support their team. They also had fun with concerts, parties, games on the beach, beach volleyball, roundnet and the odd surf session. The ADH Open Surfing 2024 was an unforgettable experience for both the participants and the spectators. The Karlsruhe team can be proud of its performance and will certainly be highly motivated to compete again next year. We would also like to thank KIT University Sports for their support.