Irish Surfing has designated Lost Shore Surf Resort in Edinburgh as its National Performance Centre for Surfing and Irish National Surfing Olympic Training Facility under a partnership aimed at supporting athlete development ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The agreement gives Irish Surfing’s elite athletes, coaches and performance teams access to Lost Shore, which the organization describes as Europe’s largest wave pool. The facility will serve as the primary training base for Ireland’s elite surfing programme, including Olympic pathway athletes, Senior and Junior EuroSurf squads and adaptive surfing competitors.
Athletes will also have access to Lost Shore’s High Performance Room and SurfLab, a surfing research and innovation facility developed in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University.
The designation comes as Irish Surfing prepares for the ISA World Surfing Games in November and EuroSurf 2026, both of which are part of its Olympic qualification pathway. Multiple-time Irish Senior National Surfing Champion Gearóid McDaid became the first Irish surfer to win the European Open Men’s title at EuroSurf 2025 in Santa Cruz, Portugal, and is scheduled to defend the title at EuroSurf 2026.
Lost Shore has already been used by members of the Irish team. McDaid trained at the facility before EuroSurf 2025, where Ireland also secured third place in the team competition. Ruby Knox won bronze in the Women’s Longboard competition and helped Ireland achieve its first team podium finish at the championships.
“We’re incredibly proud to be selected as the National Performance Centre for Surfing and Olympic Training Facility for Irish Surfing,” said Andy Hadden, Founder of Lost Shore Surf Resort. “This partnership is a significant endorsement of the world-class surfing, facilities and expertise that have been brought together at Lost Shore, as well as Scotland’s growing reputation as a destination for surfing and athlete development. To play a role in helping Irish surfers pursue success on a global stage, including their journey towards LA 2028, is hugely exciting.”
Gavin McCrea, Head Coach of the Irish Surf Team said the agreement with Lost Shore makes training for the team more focused and efficient.
“We want to give Irish surfers the very best training facilities as we continue to develop our high performance development pathway programme,” said Gavin. “What makes Lost Shore particularly valuable is that it brings together world-class surfing, on-site accommodation,SurfLab and excellent international connectivity through nearby Edinburgh Airport, all in a single location. There are very few facilities anywhere in the world that can offer that combination, and it creates an environment where athletes can maximise every minute of a training camp.”
Irish surfer du jour Gearóid McDaid, who charges both massive waves and can mix it up in the air with the best of them, says that training here will help build confidence.
“Having access to Lost Shore is a huge advantage for competitive surfers,” said Gearóid McDaid. “The ability to repeat specific waves, focus on technical progression and train in a high-performance environment helps accelerate development and build confidence heading into competition. I know how much it helped me ahead of EuroSurf last year and I’m excited that future Irish teams can reap the benefits too.”
Irish Surfing said the partnership is intended to support athlete development, Olympic preparation and participation growth across the sport. The programme will also include support from coach Glenn “Micro” Hall, who represented Ireland during his professional surfing career and has worked with surfers including Kelly Slater, Tyler Wright and Matt Wilkinson.
More information about Lost Shore in the video below.
