Australian Surf Festival Wraps up with National Title Winners Crowned at Open Surfmasters Titles
NEW Australian surfing champions have been crowned at Port Macquarie today, with the last day of the Australian Open Surfmasters Titles heralding the completion of the two-week Australian Surf Festival.
In clean 3ft (1-metre) waves at North Haven, the country’s top amateur surfers put it all on the line with prestigious national titles up for grabs.
Team NSW dominated proceedings, claiming all eight titles on the final day of competition.
Port Macquarie star Matt Banting is Australia’s newest Open Men’s champion, after beating Sam Lendrum (Nord’s Wharf), Tim MacDonald (Nth Stradbroke Island) and Dale Lovelock (Sunshine Coast) in a one-sided final.
“To say I’ve got an open Australian title is pretty awesome,” said Bating.
“It’s been a goal of mine to win a big event in Port Macquarie in front of my friends and family. It’s a great achievement for me.”
Banting, 17, led from start to finish in the 25 minute finale, netting a 7.75 on his first wave to setup a commanding lead.
And, the local lad wasn’t finished there. With just under 5 minutes to go, Banting took off on a set wave before busting out an explosive aerial move, which he followed by a powerful carve and then another aerial move to jag a 9.65.
“I started with that 7 and I knew I had a good shot of winning,” he said.
“I knew I just had to settle and seal it with a good wave. It all went pretty well for me. I’m stoked.”
Banting finishing with a two-wave combined total of 17.40 (out of a possible 20), 6-points clear of Lendrum, with MacDonald and Lovelock rounding out the final placings.
The 35 men’s finale was a talented affair with Wollongong surfer Jake Spooner defeating Mark Richardson (Currumbin), Paul Patterson (WA) and Paul Moffatt (Maroubra) with a 17.75 two-wave total, which included an 8.25 and a near perfect 9.50.
Former World Tour surfer John Shimooka (Cronulla) was triumphant in the 40 men’s final, dispatching of Mark Cameron (NSW), David Hammond (NSW) and Chris Brooks (Qld).
Shimooka; aka ‘Shmoo’ notching a 6.00 and a 8.50 to take the win with a 14.50 total.
In the 45 men’s, John Schmidenberg (NSW) took a convincing win, posting a 11.75 total.
Surfing’s ‘old salts’ were also rippin’ with Rod Baldwin (Copacabana, NSW) taking the over 50’s men’s vision and Mark Phelan (Central Coast) triumphant in the over 55’s.
The over 35 women’s division was dominated by Sandra English (Norah Head), while the Australian Single Fin title went to North Haven local Ian Bell.
In the morning’s VB State Teams event, WA accrued a heat winning total of 39.50 to hold off NSW (37.20) for the title.
Today’s action represented the close to this year’s festival, with over 350 surfers competing across 5 respective disciplines (Longboard, Open Surfmasters, Stand Up Paddleboard, Alaia and Single Fin).
FINAL RESULTS:
OPEN WOMEN’S
1st Brittani Nicholl NSW
2nd Phillipa Anderson NSW
3rd Skye Burgess NSW
4th Eden Putland QLD
OPEN MEN’s
1st Matt Banting NSW
2nd Sam Lendrum NSW
3rd Tim Macdonald QLD
4th Dale Lovelock QLD
OVER 35 MEN
1st Jake Spooner NSW
2nd Mark Richardson QLD
3rd Paul Paterson WA
4th Paul Moffatt NSW
OVER 35 WOMEN
1st Sandra English NSW
2nd Yvonne Lamont NSW
3rd Cheryl Peat SA
OVER 40 MEN
1st John Shimooka NSW
2nd Mark Cameron NSW
3rd David Hammond NSW
4th Chris Brooks QLD
OVER 45 MEN
1st John Schmidenberg NSW
2nd Scott Weinreich TAS
3rd Scott Baxter NSW
4th Dave Rust NSW
OVER 50 MEN
1st Rod Baldwin NSW
2nd Dave McDonald QLD
3rd Peter McNamara QLD
4th Peter Buckley QLD
OVER 55 MEN
1st Mark Phelan NSW
2nd Peter Buckley QLD
3rd Glenn Sharrock NSW
4th John Jenkins QLD
WOMEN’S SUP
1st Shakira Westdrop QLD
2nd Emma Webb VIC
3rd Jenny Ryan QLD
4th Erin Dark NSW
MEN’S SUP
1st Justin Holland QLD
2nd Jackson Close QLD
3rd Keahi De Aboitiz QLD
4th Michael Davies NSW
SINGLE FIN
1st Ian Bell NSW
2nd Rob Page NSW
3rd Jarrad Davies WA
4th Rob Hazelwood NSW
ALAIA
1st Barney Quinlan NSW
2nd Matt Cook NSW
3rd Ian Bell NSW
4th Jarrad Davies WA
The festival isn’t just about the surfing; it will tickle the taste buds of entertainment buffs with live music, surf art, surfing education courses and the Essential Energy Indigenous Surfing Program confirmed for the two-week event.
One of Australia’s leading indigenous artists, Vernon Ah Kee has taken centre stage at the Glasshouse Regional Gallery with his Cant Chant Exhibition, which will opened during the festival waiting period.
Ah Kee is known for his incisive critiques of White Australian culture. In the Cant Chant exhibition he takes on the iconic subject of the beach and casts a critical eye on its special role in forming Australian identity.
Cant Chant includes surfboards painted with North Queensland rainforest shield designs as well as a video installation featuring dead boards (waterlogged surfboards) blasted by guns, and Aboriginal surfers.
As an added benefit to this year’s festival, an exciting live music program, including six shows, will be staged at the Blue Water Bar and Restaurant.
For more information about the Australian Surf Festival please visit –www.surfingaustralia.com
For the latest updates and live scores visit: www.australiansurffestival.com
The 2011 Australian Surf Festival is proudly presented by Surfing Australia and Surfing NSW and proudly supported by Events NSW, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park, Blue Water Bar and Restaurant, Glasshouse Regional Gallery, Suncorp, VB, Australian Sports Commission, Coastalwatch, NBN Television, Port Macquarie News, Star FM, 2MC FM, Surfing World Magazine and Pacific Longboarder Magazine.
The Australian Surf Festival Program:
Australian Longboard Titles – 14-20 August, 2011
Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Titles – 21-24 August, 2011
Australian Surfmasters Titles – 21-27 August, 2011
Australian Alaia Titles - 24-27 August, 2011
Australian Single Fin Titles – 26-27 August, 2011
About Events NSW:
Events NSW, a part of Destination NSW is committed to developing and building a world class NSW Events Calendar. All events on the NSW Events Calendar including the Australian Surf Festival are exclusive to Sydney and NSW and deliver significant economic, marketing and community benefits to the State. Events NSW partners with both the public and private sector to deliver the best event experiences in Australia and the world.
www.eventsnsw.com.au
About Port Macquarie:
The NSW North coast – from the Hunter to the Northern Rivers, attracts over 60 per cent of all overnight trips during which visitors went surfing (source Tourism NSW). Port Macquarie is strategically located in the heart of this popular surf region. With our accessible surfing coastline for all skill levels, and our long established urban beach culture, we are in the perfect position to continue to grow our reputation as a premier surf destination, and securing the Australian Surf Festival for the next three years is testament to this.
www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au
