Australia has eight new longboard champions after a series of hotly contested finals at the Australian Surf Festival yesterday at Mullawarra Beach, Coffs Harbour.
Justin Redman (Dunsborough, WA) won his second Over-35 Australian Title in as many years, claiming an impressive win in the division. The goofy-footer got off to a flying start posting a solid score on the opening hooter to take the lead, which he held onto until the very end of the 25-minute affair. Consequently, Redman’s 17.00 heat total (out of a possible 20 points) left all his fellow finalists chasing two-wave combinations to take away his lead. Redman’s aforementioned performance saw him take out the bcu money turn, which will see him awarded a $100.00 bank account courtesy of bcu.
‘As soon as I got out there, I knew I should stick to catching the lefts’, said Redman.
‘This was a little bit of a consolation prize behind the Opens as it was a division I wanted to do well in, but it didn’t pan out that way, so I placed all my focus on this division. I’m stoked that Scotty [Trew]and I both got the top two spots.’
Emma Webb (Jan Juc, Vic) claimed her second title of 2015, taking out the Over-35 Womens final. After claiming the Open Womens division several days ago, Webb returned to the same form in the elder division posting a series of impressive scores and as a result got the upper-hand against runner-up Erika Oemke (Port Noarlunga South, SA).
‘This is a dream come true’, said Webb. ‘The 35s actually felt a lot harder than the Opens as the waves were slower and a bit more inconsistent.
‘You just had to get what you could and grovel away on it.’
Jason Livingston (Curl Curl, NSW) claimed a hat trick of titles, winning the Over-40 Mens final for the third year on the trot. Livingston returned to the same fine form, which saw him win the 2013 and 2014 titles, bagging a heat total of 14.00 and getting the edge over Damian Coulter (Mountain Creek, Qld), John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW) and Neil Thompson (Scarborough, WA), who claimed second, third and fourth respectively.
‘This is my third title in a row and something I’ve really been chasing’, said Livingston. ‘It really feels incredible, especially to get the win over the caliber of surfers who were in the heat.’
While John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW) was unable to get the edge over Jason Livingston (Curl Curl, NSW) in the Over-40 Mens final, the local goofy-footer managed to get the upper hand in the Over-45 Mens final, performing a variety of massive turns to post a heat total of 13.10 and get the win over Livingston, Trevor Skinner (Yamba, NSW) and Jason Russell (Port Noarlunga South, SA).
‘Conditions changed a lot since my Over-40 Mens final and it tended to work in my favour I think’, said Schmidenberg.
‘Jason is so incredible on his backhand, so to get the win feels amazing. Every title I’ve ever won is really special to me and they continue to feel better. I’m just proud to stand here alongside some of the guys competing in this event.’
Greg Brown (Jan Juc, Vic) added another Australian Title to his portfolio of results, claiming victory in the Over-50 Mens final (his fifth Australian Title). The Victorian natural-footer performed a variety of innovative hooks and carves to notch up a heat total of 12.35 and take the title.
John Lane (Torquay, Vic) performed a variety of traditional drop-knee carves and hooks to get the win in the Over-50s Men with a heat total of 13.10 points and get the upper hand against Brent Moss (Esperance, WA) who posted a total of 12.05.
John Ayton (Torquay, Vic) claimed another victory for Victoria, taking a win in the Over-60 Mens final. Despite slicing his foot throughout the course of the heat, Ayton was able to power through the final on the strength of a 12.50 heat total.
Alan Atkins (Byron Bay, NSW) dominated the Over-65 Mens final, performing a variety of giant turns to post a 15.75 heat total. The north coast surfer now hit double figures when it comes to claiming Australian Titles with approximately ten or 11 titles – across longboard and shortboard – to his name.
‘I was a bit anxious before my heat as the lineup continued to change so much’, said Atkins.
‘As I get older, I’m getting closer to the end of my Aussie Titles campaign, but I’ll be back next year and hopefully I can get another one.’
The Australian Surf Festival will resume tomorrow with the first rounds of the Australian Bodyboard Titles.
RESULTS
Over 35 Men
1 – Justin Redman (Dunsborough, WA)
2 – Scott Trew (Mullaloo, WA)
3 – Michael Pinney (Port Lonsdale, Vic)
4 – Benjamin Pitts (Mt Martha, Vic)
Over 35 Women
1 – Emma Webb (Jan Juc, Vic)
2 – Erika Oemke (Port Noarlunga South, SA)
3 – Di Ellis (Yamba, NSW)
4 – Debbie Allan (Noraville, NSW)
Over 40 Men
1 – Jason Livingston (Curl Curl, NSW)
2 – Damian Coulter (Mountain Creek, Qld)
3 – John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW)
4 – Neil Thompson (Scarborough, WA)
Over 45 Men
1 – John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW)
2 – Jason Livingston (Curl Curl, NSW)
3 – Trevor Skinner (Yamba, NSW)
4 – Jason Russell (Port Noarlunga, SA)
Over 50 Men
1 – Greg Brown (Jan Juc, Vic)
2 – Barney Fenasse (Warriewood, NSW)
3 – Terry Day (Coogee, NSW)
4 – George Haskas (Maroubra, NSW)
Over 55 Men
1 – John Lane (Torquay, Vic)
2 – Brent Moss (Esperance, WA)
3 – Brian Kuit (Torquay, Vic)
4 – Mike Neunuebel (Denmark, WA)
Over 60 Men
1 – John Ayton (Torquay, Vic)
2 – Peter Becker (Palmvale, NSW)
3 – Ric Chalmers (Pottsville, NSW)
4 – Bud White (Torquay, Vic)
Over 65 Men
1 – Alan Atkins (Byron Bay, NSW)
2 – Neville Smith (Coolangatta, Qld)
3 – John Amos (Seaford, SA)
4 – Bob Smith (Jan Juc, Vic)
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