What a hectic week weather wise and I hope that you all came through it unscathed. You go back one week and we were blessed with awesome weather for comp 2. . Ok the waves might have been on the smallish side but there were still plenty of rippable ones coming through. When we were setting up at 6.30 I was calling that we cancel the day due to lack of waves but our fearless leader Matt Lawson stuck to his guns said the waves will improve as the tide runs out. And in the end he made the call (the right call too) to run the event.
The Cadet and Junior Boys kicked things off and these kids turned it on. Some great surfing throughout all the early heats and by now many of you would of seen the photos on social media showing these kids ripping. The Open A’s and GM entered the fray mid morning as the tide started running out and these guys really put on a show. All the Opens including Joey M and Monty T were ripping and in his first comp @Wayneeatsfruit (Wayne O’Neil) found some great waves in their heats.
With so many people still away on holidays we made the call to run the Micro Girls and Boys and the cadet girls in the main area. Obviously a very big thrill for these youngsters as they are very often forced to surf down the beach a little in front of parents and officials. But now they were surfing in front of the whole club and these kids were ripping. There is nothing better than seeing the thrill on these kids faces after they get a bunch of good waves with their mates. Congrats to Mia Johnston for taking her 1st win this year in the Micro Girls Division and to young Ed Steggall who took out the Micro Boys in his 1st ever comp at Southend. The Cadets girls got some great waves in their final and it was Shira Arakkawa who took out the win in a very competitive final over Baylei McGuigan.
Cadet Boys – How many waves can kids get in 15 minutes. Avg is abt 8. Yes you read it correctly. These groms are wave catching machines. In the final all the boys had a 4 or a 5 point score as their best wave but needed a back up score to nail the win. In the end it was Tye Koolis who held his nerve and waited for the right one to post a mid 4 score and take the win. Jordan Fitz 2nd, Jason O’Rouke 3rd, Stevie Ray 4th, Conor Fitz 5th and Rory was 6th. Well done to all your grommies. You have all been surfing well. Keep frothing and stay focused.
Junior Boys – There was some great surfing in the earlier heats by the all the junior boys and the road to the final was not an easy one for anybody. The final itself was an epic battle with Max McGuigan, Oscar Elfman, Cory B, Paolo Cignetti, Liam Rayner and Zac Michael tearing every wave apart. In the end only 3 points separated 1 to 6 with Max taking the win over Liam, Cory, Zac, paolo and Oscar.
Open Women – Fin and Emma got off to a good start both getting nice waves early and posted a couple of mid range scores. Luck wasn’t with the other girls as they just couldn’t find the right ones. With 5 min to go Emma got the wave of the heat pulling off some nice turns to skip out to a solid lead. Fin had one last chance as a nice set approached but the set closed out and Emma held on to take the victory. Well done Emma. You have been ripping and look the early favourite for the title with 2 wins from 2 comps this year.
A Grade – Max McGuigan and Joey Michael were going for broke in the final. Hitting every lip at every opportunity. Jackson B paddled out 5 min late to join the fun. After a helter skelter opening 10 min there was only 0.4 splitting the 3. But with 2 minutes to go Max was in the right spot at the right time and ripped apart a perfect little peak to take the lead. No further waves came through so Max took out his 2nd final of the day and 2nd Opens event in a row. Joey came in 2nd, Jackson 3rd.
B Grade – In the tightest final all afternoon Andy Athenios nailed the win with a flurry of waves midway through. Jordan and Myles were within striking distance but couldn’t find that mid range score to take the lead. Congrats to Andy. 2 in a row and a clear leader in both the B Grade standings and the Souvlaki Cup Standings (A new trophy dedicated to all our Greek brothers).
GM – In my opinion had the best waves of the day for their heat. The tide had dropped and the wind was still light NW and that left in front of stormy started doing it’s thing. Wayne O’Neil got some cracking waves ripping the lefts to bits and the judges rewarded Wayne with some solid scores in the excellent range. He was on fire and the boys could not peg him back. Brad K and Tommy tried but couldn’t. Congrats to Wayne for the win.
The Results Click here -> Comp 2 Results
We would like to thank our New Sponsors Maroubra Surf & Sk8 helping out with the prizes for the comp. As we mentioned in our newsletter Maroubra Surf & Sk8 have come onboard as a major sponsor for Southend this year. Kylie and Lito have agreed to help us out in whole heap of ways throughout the year and we’re immensely grateful for their support. So head on down to their shop on McKeon St for all your surfing and skating needs.
I’d also like to thank everyone who helped through the day. Setting up / packing / judging / BBQ / kids that cleaned up. Many hands make light work. Thank you again.
Also big props to all the photogs there snapping away on the weekend. There is a bunch of great pics already on our FB page so go and check that out. Also if you want to add any good pics to our FB page email them through to mail@southendboardriders.com.au and we will add them into our comp 2 folder. Some of you more techy kids prob know how to bypass and add your pics straight into FB page so this is for the older crew who still don’t know what a smartphone is.
Our next comp is on the 16 May. We will hand out all tees at that comp and also take the club photo then too. So if there is anyone who wants a tee just join up as a social member in the next week and we will make sure we place an order so you receive your tee in time for next comp.
Until then keep it real.