It had been a long two months for the Dalmeny Boardriders as the August competition was cancelled due to poor conditions. This was not the case on Sunday the 4th of September - some fresh offshore South West winds were puffing with 2.5 - 3 foot sets rolling in at Kianga main beach. There were two peaks to surf, predominantly left handers and the occasional right.
Mother nature treated us with hints of spring as the sun periodically poked its way through the gloomy clouds - showing off the notorious crystal clear waters of the south coast.
First in the water were the Under 18 boys. The waves were difficult to paddle onto with the strong offshore winds, once up and riding however the lads were then faced with the challenge of negotiating the wave to the inside in order to finish at the coveted end section and claim maximum points. Hamish White managed to complete a few longer waves to win his heat with a big margin. In the second heat of the under 18 boys, Jet Lange wowed the judges with an eye-pleasing and powerful snap - getting the nose of his board rotated 180 degrees back to the foam ball, this finished him in second place, following closely behind heat winner Oscar Jackson.
Hamish White and Oscar Jackson were nipping at each other’s heels in both the Under 18 and the Under 14 boys final. Hamish won the Under 18s, while Oscar demonstrated speed, power and flow when he took out the Under 14 boys - completing an impressive layback hack under the lip. President and recently crowned ‘Over 35 Australian Champion’ Matt Hoar excitedly claimed Oscar’s display as “Turn of the day”.
The over 45 men had a few slow heats. Goofy footer Luke Waters sat patiently out the back waiting for the bigger sets of left hand waves - this found him with a low wave count and allowed Andrew Johnson to tear apart a few smaller waves with re-entries and cutbacks on repeat to take out first place.
The open women had two heats and as the tide had risen the backwash was beginning to make things interesting. Therese Craner was in fine form picking off a few bombs in her heat, but it was Melissa Hoar however who stole the limelight - the ex-olympian recently returned home from California made a statement in her debut competition by winning both her heat and the final by a very convincing margin.
Head judge, Andrew Johnson, was impressed with Marley Eaton’s final wave in the Under 18 girls final - two tight critical snaps earned her an 8 point ride to finish on top.
Ex vice-president Brent Gresty made a return to the jersey as he took to the water in the Open Mens. Matt Hoar won the heat convincingly by milking a long right hander all the way into shore, committing to the lip at every opportunity - extending his lead with a backup score earnt by throwing buckets of spray on a wally left hander. Luke Waters finished second with a buzzer beater - wiggling his way backside on a right hander with a few cutbacks and a snap or two, earning him a 6.2 point ride.
Mitchell Loudoun was a lonesome legend in the longboards - the only competitor to brave the conditions on his log. Mitchell made the most of an empty lineup in this solo surf.
The assisted groms were on fire. Many of these surfers were sitting far out the back where their assistants (in the form of a parent) couldn't even touch the bottom to give them their much needed boost onto the waves. Penny Fletcher and Flinder Black battled it out showing constant improvement. Lilah Lawrence and Lucas Heinemann deserve special mention for their commitment and control on the speedy waves in their heat. Kaia Mullens absolutely dominated the final with a 7 and 7.5 point ride! Summing up what the day is all about was watching Winter Lange and mother Nina walking hand in hand up the beach after Winter’s heat smiling from ear to ear.
Let’s not play this down, something has to be said about the food tent this month. The BBQ masters Jim, Helen and Megan were hard at work dishing out fresh locally caught yellowfin tuna wraps for all. How many sporting events offer that sort of delicious cuisine? And the cakes, the apple crumble cupcakes, cheesecakes and brownies were the stuff dreams are made of. It’s worth coming down to our events just to check out the spread!
Final results:
Assisted Groms/Under 13s - Kaia Mullens
Under 14 boys - Oscar Jackson
Under 18 boys - Hamish White
Over 45 men - Andrew Johnson
Open mens - Matt Hoar
Under 18 girls - Marley Eaton
Open women - Melissa Hoar
Longboards - Mitchell Loudoun
It was exciting seeing so many new competitors and smiling families joining in the fun. The club is holding a ‘Come and try day’ at our next competition on Sunday November 6th. There will be two additional time slots; one for first time surfers (with pre-surf briefing and support in the water), and an expression session for surfers who want to try competing for the first time. Come along, bring your friends and hop on a board!
Next Competition: Sunday November 6th
Above: Andrew Johnson enjoying a clean glassy wall : Debutant Melissa Hoar;
Jim and Helen the BBQ masters; Jet Lange and Alex Cook filling in time between heats;
Look for our tents and stop by for a mingle
