Article courtesy of stateofsurfToday saw some great action at the Surfing SA State Titles round 1 held at Middleton Bay. A glassy overcast morning set the scene for contest director Luke Horlin-Smith to blow the heat siren and begin Surfing SA's 2012 competition calendar. As many have heard Surfing SA were let down by their previous management who sadly ran the organization into debt and turmoil during 2011 with the KI Pro. With many people unsure about entering State Titles and whether the event would still run in 2012 it was incredible to see a big turnout and Surfing SA's heart and soul come out to put on a great event.
The atmosphere was buzzing with many new juniors turning up and the dedicated Surfing SA judges, work crew and surfers all coming together in the name of competition!so hats off to Horlo, Cheryl, Longy, Tina and anyone else from surfing SA who picked up the ball and got it rolling again. State Titles are looking like they should once more and everyone, i'm sure, is stoked.
Time for details:
With only four heats in the Open Mens it was a small but entertaining crew who took to the tricky 3 foot dribbleton conditions first thing in the morning. A special mention going to Khai Adams for rocking up with 10 minutes left in his heat and still managing to get the scores he needed. Also was great to see that Brett Edwards can still surf after returning from a long and interesting holiday in the USA. There must have good waves in the US because Brett demonstrated why he has been a household name in South Australian surfing since he was a prepubescent grom by tearing apart the sloppy waves with his slick style and finesse progressing him through to the final.
The other standouts in the Men were the veteran David Steele and air master Mack Baddock who progressed to join Khai and Brett in the Final. The Final was a battle with each surfer attacking the waves hungry to win but it was Khai who came out on top linking up a big right hander with speed, power and flow and being rewarded for it by head judge Ben Hewett. Congrats to all the finalists for putting on a show. check out a little clip of the mens final below
The women were not to be outdone bythe Men with Longys and Cheryls training programs paying off already in 2012. It seems the judges have had to change their girls surfing criteria with the likes of Alice Gilbert and Ellie Francis laying down some huge maneuvers that had the crowd going whatttt???? did you see that?? Ellie's ability to smash a lip has some of the Open Men scared, and Alice did a floater in the Open Women final that was so long its rumored head judge Ben Hewett checked his watch in an attempt to time it.
Brinkley Davies proved shes still the one to beat coming up just short of winning the final with Alice taking it out. Cheryl Pete proved to everyone that she practices what she preaches by making the Open Women Final and showing her students how its done! also well done to Georgie who surfed impressive in her Open heats but couldnt quite put it together in the final
Ellie took out both the U16 Girls and U18 Girls but not without some tough competition from the likes of Georgie Thomas (2nd in U18) Taylor Hanak, Jamie Buchanan and Brinkley Davies who all put on a great show.
(sadly i did not manage to get all the girls waves from the Open Final, but on this wave Brinkley demonstrates how high the standard of all of Womens surfing in SA has become in the last few years)
Now to the Junior Boys. What can we say other than that we have two super stars in the making. Kyle Imgraben and Luke Sykora remind me of Khai Adams when he was a grom. They surf with flair and style and are always exciting to watch, whats more the two are best mates and they don't let the competition get in the way of their friendship. Luke, being the reigning champion from 2011, seemed pretty sad when Kyle beat him in the final but to his credit he takes it in his stride "ill get him back". Kyle just tore the place apart throwing fins and attacking every wave, just have a look in the gallery to see some photos.
A mention has to go to Zac Ryan who surfed unreal securing the "standout surfer of the event award" and picking up a new Skateboard deck from Fly Boardriding.
Also a mention to Sam Pike who surfed great during his earlier rounds posting some real high heat scores.
"I came in and they say Roger got Barreled...at Middleton"-Mark Longhurst
The Over 45 Mens final, or as I like to call it the Battle of The Legends, took place late in the afternoon. The bay seemed to sense it was hosting some of SA's greatest surfing legends and out of respect it turned on the inside for the 30 minute heat. Mark Longhurst and Roger Mathews locked horns going blow for blow on the inside left, with Rogers famous barrel hunting skills giving him the edge over Longy. Longy was surprised when he hit the beach "I came in and they say Roger got Barreled...at Middleton, some people could not believe it. I heard he just got a slap on the head by a closeout. He whipped my ass" Longy was not beaten as easily as he tried to let on, the Veteran can still rip and has a passion for coaching the states future champions. Well done to Roger and his mystical barrel riding.
Great work to everyone who competed.
The event would not have been possible without the ongoing support from the surfers favorite beer and our states top surf shops.
So a big thank you to:
CoopersCutloose Surf ShopPreece's South Port Surf Shopand Midcoast Surf Shop
Results
Open Mens: Open Womens U18 BoysKhai Adams, Alice Gilbert Kyle ImgrabenDave Steele, Brinkley Davies Hugh MargeryBrett Edwards, Cheryl Pete Sam PikeMack Baddock Georgie Thomas Josh Lindsay
U18 Girls U16 Boys U16 GirlsEllie Francis Kyle Imgraben Ellie FrancisGeorgie Thomas Luke Sykora Megan HeinJamie Buchanan Zac Ryan Tayla HanakTayla Hanak Jordan Green Hanna Madison
U14 Boys OVER 50 MENCooper Saunders Roger MathewsAlex Parker Mark LonghurstJosh Laka S CooteTim Hoyle
andy- STATEOFSURF.COM
Andy- STATEOFSURF.COM
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