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VEE-EVENTS: Deaf surfer boys

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Harry Hilliar
Surfer Harry is 18 and from Harbertonford near Totnes in Devon. He's also a swimmer – representing the UK at the 2005 Deaflympics in Australia last January. His ambition is to become a photographer. Right now though, he's thinking of studying surfing at Plymouth University (the only British university to offer such a course).

His parents, Mike and Sue, took him on holiday when he was nine years old and that's where he first learnt to surf. He's now been surfing for nine years, but, he says, it took him three to master it. He has surfed in Cornwall, Devon, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and Australia. His favourite spot is Australia, where the waves are good and the water is warm enough to leave your wetsuit behind.

Harry is planning to go to Japan in 2007 for the World Deaf Surf Championships – he missed the last one in Australia because it clashed with the Deaflympics.

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Jake and Toby Clemence
Surfing brothers Jake, 15, and Toby, 13, are from Hayle in Cornwall. They have a surfing father, and that's how they learnt. It obviously runs in the family, as their 11-year-old brother is also a surfer.

They live close to the beach so they get plenty of practice. One day they'd like to put their skills to the test in the World Deaf Surf Championships.

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Aidan Green
Aidan is a 22-year-old bodyboarder from Torquay in Devon. He first saw surfers on the TV when he was 13 years old, and it made him want to try for himself.

His mother, Judith, bought him a surfboard for his 14th birthday along with a surf lesson, but it wasn't easy communicating with the instructor. Luckily his mother was on-hand to interpret for Aidan. He then went on to improve, but still had a problem with balancing – so he took to bodyboarding.

He's been lucky enough to have ridden waves in Hawaii, where the surf is always a bit more promising than in his hometown of Torquay.

Aidan works with Harry's mother, Sue, supporting deaf children, and he's a BSL tutor.

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Steven John Johnson
Bodyboarding Steven is 23 and from Torquay. His deaf sister, who he says is a fantastic bodyboarder, got him in to the sport. He has been riding the waves since he was 14, mainly in Newquay and Croyde, but he's also bodyboarded in Australia. Right now Steven is looking for a job, but one day he'd like to travel around the world.

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