GB Surfing Selects Lost Shore Near Edinburgh as Olympic Training Facility
British surfers aiming for the Olympics now have a training base near Edinburgh.
GB Surfing has selected Lost Shore Surf Resort, close to Edinburgh Airport, as one of its National Performance Centres and Olympic Training Facilities. The partnership gives British athletes year-round access to the resort’s wave pool and wider performance facilities.
For a sport normally tied to tides, swell and weather, that matters. A wave pool can produce the same wave repeatedly, allowing coaches and athletes to work on specific manoeuvres without waiting for the sea to cooperate.
Building towards LA and Brisbane
GB Surfing is preparing athletes for the LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. The governing body has secured £1.525 million in UK Sport funding across the LA cycle, including an additional £150,000 in 2026.
The announcement names athletes including Lukas Skinner and Charlotte Mulley.
Lost Shore founder Andy Hadden described the deal as a major vote of confidence in what the resort has built, and a chance to help British surfers prepare for international competition without leaving Scotland.
A clearer route for Scottish surfers
Lost Shore was already the National Performance Centre for Scottish Surfing before GB Surfing came on board.
The new partnership is intended to link Scotland’s young talent more closely with the British performance programme, giving promising Scottish surfers a clearer route towards national-level training and support.
Ireland and Norway already using Lost Shore
GB Surfing joins Irish and Norwegian Surfing in choosing the resort for national performance training.
Irish Surfing has established its National Performance Centre for Surfing and National Olympic Training Facility at Lost Shore, while Norwegian Surfing, Brettforbundet, has also named it as a National Performance Centre.
Norway’s team has already trained there. Head coach Scott Erlandsen highlighted two practical benefits: coaches can give feedback between waves, and the squad can fly into Edinburgh Airport and be in the water soon after landing.
That location is a big part of the appeal. Visiting teams can stay on site, use the recovery facilities and eat at the resort, reducing travel time between hotel, training and recovery.
There is a research side too. Surf Lab, set up with Edinburgh Napier University, carries out applied research into high-performance surfing, sports science and athlete development.
More than an elite venue
Much of Lost Shore’s work since opening in November 2024 has nothing to do with medals.
In 2026, the resort won the Surf Park Community Impact Award at the Surf Park Summit in Virginia Beach, USA. The award recognised its efforts to open surfing up to more people and use it for social good.
Two partners do much of that work. In 2025, The Wave Project ran a six-week Surf Therapy programme at the resort for 62 young people aged eight to 18 from Fife, Edinburgh, Lanarkshire, the Lothians and Glasgow. More than 400 hours of follow-on Surf Club support came after it.
Inclusive Surfing Scotland also delivered 76 sessions for 79 adaptive surfers.
Being inland helps. Families in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, West Lothian and parts of inner-city Edinburgh can struggle to reach the coast regularly. A wave pool within easier reach changes that.
Research from The Wave Project supports the inland approach. Its evaluation of 360 young people, across 22 coastal sites plus inland programmes at Lost Shore and The Wave in Bristol, found improvements in every outcome measured: wellbeing, self-belief, perseverance, pride in achievements and connection to others.
Four of those five outcomes improved by similar amounts whether sessions took place at sea or in a pool.
Wooden boards on show this weekend
For anyone curious to see the resort, the timing works well. The European Wooden Surfboard Meet returns to Lost Shore from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 October 2026.
The event’s Scottish debut set a record, bringing together around 30 makers and 82 wooden surfcraft. This year’s four-day programme includes wooden-board-only surf sessions, workshops, films, talks and exhibitions, with a focus on craftsmanship, surf culture and more sustainable board design.
You do not need to surf to go along. Members of the public can see the boards up close, and some intermediate surfers can try one out during Wooden Hour sessions.
Visitors travelling from the city can also reach the resort by public transport, with the Service 67 bus linking Edinburgh, Ratho and Lost Shore.
Event details, bookings and other listings are available on Lost Shore’s What’s On page.