By Alice Wilson Summer sunshine and sparkling clear warm water were a saviour for Sunday’s pointscore held at Kianga main beach. In conjunction with our 2022 presentation day, the February pointscore was the first competition for the 2023 season. Mother nature had decided on a small 1-2 foot easterly swell and unfortunately the onshore wind decided to settle in early. Club president Matt Hoar acknowledged the lack of decent waves and offshore winds “weren't the worst conditions we’ve had for a competition” but this was certainly a challenging situation for our surfers to showcase their skills.
The Under 14 boys were in the drink first with a straight final. Goofy Oscar Jackson took a convincing lead over the Banks brothers, Joey and Finn. In the first heat of the Under 18 boys Matt Driscoll impressed head judge Andrew Johnson with his speed, power and flow earning him 7.67 points from four turns on a left hander. Jet Lange warmed up for his bumper day by winning the second heat. Will Tiffen managed to generate some speed and stay in control as he zoomed down the line with a few touches on the crumbly lip. Silas Smithers showed continued improvement and style. Mr consistent, Matt Driscoll took out the final.
As the tide continued to rise the Open Men hit the water. Although there were still some promising sets rolling through, the larger of these waves continued to close out. Ray Lawrence took to the lineup on a board half as long as his usual weapon of choice. This did not distract Matt Hoar who sat on his lonesome down the beach picking off the right handers - snapping, slashing and floating his way down the line to milk each wave of every last drop. In the second heat of the Open Mens Matt Driscoll won with his usual patience, eventually picking off a speedy right hander that offered up some rippable sections.
The Open Men final had some of the best conditions we saw for the day. Brandon Feledyk’s return to competition didn’t disappoint as he smashed out an impressive array of turns, a slash and fin slide scoring a 6.27. The judges were not sure how Matt Hoar managed to lay out vertical snap after vertical snap and even a straight air on waves that were too small for most of us to even catch.
The Over 45 men had some of the bigger waves for the day. Steven Beach rolled down the line on some right handers with smooth flowing turns. Dean Lange sat down the beach away from the pack. Luke Waters lurked where he felt comfortable waiting for his treasured lefts, offering only one frustrating opportunity for a turn on each of his waves. Justin Black also traded his long board for a shorter piece of foam, this seemed to work well as he won his heat and then final in this division.
The open women saw several of the younger women scoring the top points. Newly dubbed “Most Improved DBR surfer of 2022” and winner of Andrew Johnson’s custom made Black Diamond Design surfboard, Ruby Davis, took out her heat but finished second place in the final to Marley Eaton who found a nice closeout for a tidy backside snap.
The Longboard division was full of entertainment. Brandon Feledyk oozed style with some grab rail cutbacks whilst Will Tiffen surfed switch stance and even went for a wobbly headstand on his board. Ray Lawrence, light as a feather, tippy toed to the nose and oh-so-elegantly provided the spectators with some smooth frontside and backside snap floaters. Both heats were full of novelty surfing, with Matty Hoar and Mitchell Loudoun both taking off with their boards back to front, surfing switch stance and attempting head stands. Mitchell Loudoun and the ballerina Simon Brown displayed friendly rivalry with paddle-battles and comically splashing one another as they surfed past each other. Jet Lange was on fire, spending more time with his toes on the nose than on the tail of his board with two hang fives on one wave, almost completed perfectly until he was bucked off by the sidewash on the almost-dry sandbar. Justin Black and Nina Lange shared a wave, both surfing with good flow but it was the unstoppable Ray Lawrence who took the win in the final.
The Assisted Groms division stole the limelight. Lilah “Long Ride” Lawrence and Ayla “High Line” Hoar really stepped it up with a tie for wave of the day. These two youngsters were catching some of the biggest waves we have seen the Assisted Groms surf in our competitions. Both girls managing to trim effortlessly and stylishly along the waves earning excellent scores of 7 or more points! Mali brown made her debut in the Under 8s, she was popping up quickly and riding the wash all the way in.
The Under 18 girls were neck and neck. Ruby Davis solidified her lead early with Pearl Eaton sitting in second place for most of the heat. Pearl was impressively navigating the difficult waves and almost pipped her older sister Marley. It wasn’t until the back end of the final that Marley found a 4 point ride to bring her into second place.
Final results for February point score:
Under 8s - Mali Brown
Under 13s - Lilah Lawrence and Ayla Hoar
Under 14 boys - Oscar Jackson
Under 18 boys - Matt Driscoll
Under 18 girls - Ruby Davis
Over 45 men - Justin Black
Open mens - Matt Hoar
Open women - Marley Eaton
Longboards - Ray Lawrence
Halfway through the day we broke from the surfing to hold the presentation for the 2022 season. The president’s report highlighted the successes of the previous season, the positive growth of the club and aspirations for the year to come. Kristen Guseli was the entertainment as MC for the day with huge raffles being drawn hourly. Cameron Ryan was lucky enough to score a $400 voucher from Offshore Surf Shop amongst other prizes!
Luke Waters had been busy on the tools making our beautiful trophies, as had Andrew Johnson shaping a Black Diamond surfboard for most improved. Our incredible sponsors certainly showed their support and generosity over the last year. All members scored a bottle of We Are Feel Good sunscreen and Ocean and Earth bucket hats for the kids!
Wipeout of the year went to Flinder Black and Silas Smithers. Club person of the year was awarded to the very deserving and quietly achieving Jodie Hoar. Jodie goes above and beyond her committee role and was described by previous winner Therese Craner as the “epitome of club person of the year”.
2022 Division Winners:
Assisted Groms - Flinder Black
Under 14 - Hamish White
Under 18 boys - Matt Driscoll
Under 18 girls - Marley Eaton
Over 45 men - Andrew Johnson
Open Women - Alice Mood
Open men - Matt Hoar
Longboard - Matt Hoar
As always it is exciting to see many new faces and returning members to the club. Chat to our friendly club members if you are interested in becoming a member or visit our fresh new website at www.dalmenyboardriders.com.au for information and club updates!
Keep an eye out - Dalmeny Boardriders love hosting fun social events, educational and inspirational courses as well as interclub competitions with other board riders clubs.
Next competition: Sunday 5th March
Above: - Jet Lange mid-trot down to the nose
- Ayla Hoar racking up her massive score
- Longboard division Jet Lange, Matt Hoar, Mitchell Loudoun, Cameron Ryan and Nina Lange - Ray Lawrence carving up a half foot high wave
- Under 13 division Flinder Black, Ayla Hoar, Abi Black, Winter Lange, Lilah Lawrence, Lily Jones, Asher Hoar
- Andrew Johnson presenting Ruby Davis with his Black Diamond Design surfboard and trophy for Most Improved Surfer - Clubperson of the year, Most Improved and Luke Water's beautiful trophies
- Presentation and raffle time - The Capital Chemist rashvests are as colourful as as our club members
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