Day seven of the 2013 Australian Surf Festival resumed today at North Haven with some of Australia’s best amateur longboarders hitting the three-to-four foot waves.
The Under-18 Boys got their campaign underway first thing this morning with a solid portion of competitors locking in solid heat scores.
Kai Ellice-Flint, Jared Eason, Declan Wyton and Joel Skinner all locked in heat totals in excess of 12.00 in their first round heats and as a result, all surfers booked their spot into round two.
The semi-finals of the Open Men proved to be two of the most exciting heats of the event thus far with eight of Australia’s most talented longboarders duking it out in an attempt to qualify for the final. Queensland’s Nic Jones went on to lock in the only perfect ten-point ride of the event so far in his semi-final and as a result earned his spot into the final alongside Jared Neal, Ian Bell and Nick Farago.
Jason Livingston became the first winner of the Australian Surf Festival, netting himself a win in the Over-35 Men final. The NSW surfer locked in a heat total of 14.75 to take the win ahead of Michael Pinney, Kane Tankard and Steve Mills who finished second, third and fourth respectively.
“I feel awesome,” said Jason. “This is my first time back at the Australian Titles in 16 years. I’m glad to be back. I won an eight-foot title in 1996, which was the last year of the eight-foot division and that was the last time I competed in the event.”
Richard Smith added his seventh Australian Title to his mantelpiece when he took down John Schmidenberg, Hayden Swan and Rob Page to claim the Over-45 Australian Longboard Title. The Sawtell goofy-footer notched up a heat total of 14.50 to claim the win, with John Schmidenberg finishing in second and Hayden Swan in third.
“I’m really happy to surf with all these guys,” said Richard. “They were just gentlemen in the water and everyone stuck to their guns and we just enjoyed ourselves. The feeling of winning an Australian Title just keeps getting better and better. It’s great to see some of these guys come over to the event from shortboards and it’s just lifted the performance level. Every heat could have been a final.”
Debbie Allan claimed victory in the Over-35 Women final after fighting a tight battle with West Australian surfer Sam Vanderford. Both women locked in a heat total of 10.40, but after a countback Debbie got the nod and took the top spot with Sam in second.
“I didn’t have a gameplan really, my coach just told me to get out there and catch waves,” said Debbie. “The vibe in the water was unreal, especially for Vivienne as it was her first time in the final. I was almost more stoked for her.”
The Nikon Wave of the Day award was awarded to Buderim’s Nic Jones for his previously mentioned ten-point ride. Nic won an Nikon Coolpix Aw110 camera for his efforts.
A strong northerly wind is expected to increase over tonight and into tomorrow morning.
All heat results, event highlight clips, images and news is available at www.australiansurffestival.com
All competitors are advised to ring the event hotline (0458 247 212) by 6.45am on the days of competition to confirm location and running order.
The main base for the Australian Surf Festival will be Town Beach, which is located in the heart of Port Macquarie, however the event is mobile with numerous beach break options available between Port Macquarie and North Haven (20 minutes drive south of Port Macquarie CBD) including Flynns Beach, Lighthouse Beach, Rainbow Beach at Bonny Hills and Grants Beach at North Haven.
This year’s event will feature a busy schedule out of the water with live music and surf education courses, including Surfing NSW’s free CPR and board rescue course, Surfers Rescue 24/7. Town Green Inn is the official headquarters for all functions and courses.
The Australian Surf Festival is a key regional event on the NSW Events Calendar, and is supported by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
The Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by the NSW Government, Destination NSW, Port Macquarie Tourism, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Be the Influence, Harley-Davidson Australia, Town Green Inn, Nikon, Suncorp, Australian Sports Commission, Coastalwatch, NBN, Port Macquarie News, 2MC, Star FM, Surfing World Magazine and Pacific Longboarder Magazine.
RESULTS:
Over-35 Men Final
1 – Jason Livingston (North Curl Curl, NSW)
2 – Michael Pinney (Port Lonsdale, Victoria)
3 – Kane Tankard (Dromana, Vic)
4 – Steve Mills (Byron Bay, NSW)
Over-45 Men Final
1 – Richard Smith (Sawtell, NSW)
2 – John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW)
3 – Hayden Swan (Yamba Waters, NSW)
4 – Rob Page (Verges Creek, NSW)
Over-35 Women Final
1 – Debbie Allan (Canton Beach, NSW)
2 – Samantha Vanderford (Scarborough, WA)
3 – Jo Goldfinch (Clifton Beach, TAS)
4 – Vivienne Cresswell (Collaroy Plateau, NSW)
2013 AUSTRALIAN SURF FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
10-18 August – Australian Longboard Titles
16-18 August – Australian Logger Titles
16-18 August – Australian Longboard Titles – Under 18 Boys and Girls
19-23 August – Australian Surfmasters Titles
21-23 August – Australian Single Fin Titles
