GBR CONTEST RESULTS

Geraldton Board Riders Club Press Release and Contest Results:

Sunday July 27^th  2003

Rodd scores perfect 10 but Hagan still too good!

Geraldton Board Riders sixth points event for the season took place at Flat Rocks on Sunday. A good field of surfers turned out for all divisions except cadets and they were greeted by early morning showers, ideal offshore winds and a building 1.5metre swell.

Wave selection and positioning was the key to progressing through the early elimination heats. By mid-morning the tide was on the way out and Flat Rocks was producing the goods with beltable walls and bowling sections offering potential tube rides on both the rights and the lefts.

The Masters was the first final to hit the water and there was plenty of entertainment on offer as Kim ‘Wacka’ Burton showed his prowess by performing some classic switch-foot manoeuvres. Craig Tuesley maintained his focus throughout with controlled turns followed by vertical snaps on the inside section to snatch the final from Burton.

The Junior final showcased Geraldton’s top junior talent but was clearly dominated by Drew Wright and Kayshon Rodd. Wright was keen to make up for being knocked earlier in the semi-final of the Opens and made no mistake with his wave selection. Wright threw down the gauntlet early with a good seven point ride and Rodd answered soon after with a 6.5 and backed it up with a seven on hist last ride. Wright kept his cool and left his best till last picking up an eight pointer moments before the siren to seal victory.

The swell continued to increase as the Grand Masters final took to the waves. Brett Schofield took a right hander early and was soon caught inside as a nine wave set made its presence felt. Leon Norris dominated proceedings early with two good lefts through to the keyhole. Ian Salmond and Ross Middleton picked up momentum through the middle of the final but Norris had his eye on victory and did not allow the field to catch up, surfing his final wave all the way to the shore.

Spectacular surfing hi-lighted the Open Final. Four surfers qualified for the final but it was a two way contest between Justin Hagan and Kayshon Rodd. Scanning the scoresheets it was clear that the result was decided in the first two waves surfed by both surfers. Hagan opened with an overhead left that offered a steep drop and the opportunity for two big turns before closing and re-forming into a right hander. Hagan blasted two more turns to pick up eight points. Rodd followed up with a good left of his own and performed a succession of vertical moves to score a seven. Rodd was quickly back into the line-up before Hagan and picked up a large right hand set wave. He mastered the tricky drop and slotted into a rare right hand barrel emerging seconds later to the hoots of the spectators – still not satisfied he continued to perform snaps cut-backs and floaters to finish up standing on the shallow reef hundreds of meters down the beach. Perfect 10s were awarded by all judges. Meanwhile Hagan had punched through the sets to make it to the take-off zone just in time for a big walling left custom made for his dynamic style. Three huge snaps and a backhand barrel had the judges challenged as to whether another perfect 10 was in order. They settled on a nine which was still enough for Hagan to back up his recent Sate Title win with another superb victory.

The next GBR points event is scheduled for Sunday August 10^th.

Results:

Open:

1.         Justin Hagan

2.         Kayshun Rodd

3.         Alex Knowles

4.         Craig Tuesley

Juniors:

1.         Drew Wright

2.         Kayshon Rodd

3.         Kody Burnett

4.         Aaron Godenzie

Masters:

1.         Craig Tuesley

2.         Kim Burton

3.         Andrew Benzie

4.         Rod Baker

Grand Masters:

1.         Leon Norris

2.         Ian Salmond

3.         Ross Middleton

4.         Brett Schofield

Cadets:

1.         Sam Benzie

DATE: Sunday March 9th 2003

VENUE: Head Butts - Glassy 2-3 feet - good quality. Water temp 24 degrees - air temp 39 degrees.

HI-LITES: Close final betweenJesse Molloy and Ben McGay. The lads were going wave for wave towards the end of the final with Jesse's opening wave (8.5) the decider. Leon Norris pulled into an 8.5 left hander on his last wave to seal the Grand Masters final. Ryan Wright and Jake Molloy busting big moves for little guys in the Cadet Final with Jake pipping Ryan by one point - both surfers scoring 8 point rides. Drew Wright damaged his board and his shin but still blazed away to win the Junior final in fine style from Kayson Rodd. New member Craig Tuesley had a good win in the Masters division milking a couple of very long workable lefts. Brett Parker had to leave his vehicle on the beach over night - thanks to the Molloys for helping him out. Kayshun Rodd missed his lift and was contemplating the walk until Baz did the run (in the new Cherokee) and saved him from being a victim of heat exhaustion.

RESULTS:

DATE: Sunday March 23rd 2003

VENUE: Head Butts - Glassy 2-3 feet - good quality. Water temp 24 degrees - air temp 37 degrees.

DATE: Sunday April 13th 2003

VENUE: Twin Peaks - Light SW average quality - mainly rights 3-4 ft. Water temp 23 degrees - air temp 28 degrees.

DATE:   Sunday May 26th

VENUE: Flat Rocks. Light SE to SW winds. 3-5 ft mainly lefts with some OK rights. New swell, lumpy at times. Opportunities for high scores.
             Air temp 26 degrees, water temp 22 degrees.

HI-LITES: A new swell and good conditions combined to produce a good roll up in all divisions. Even the ladies, Jaimee Wheatley and Kirra Young strutted their stuff and competed against the guys - a good strategy with the Junior and Open/Masters Sate rounds both being held at Flat Rocks in June.

Challenging conditions meant careful entry and precise timing through the key-hole to avoid being cleaned up on the Flat Rocks reef. A brave effort from our young cadets who had  their first exposure to Flat Rocks in a solid swell. Assisted by experienced surfers Ben McDonald and Ben McGay, they took on the larger sets and showed they will be ready for anything Flat Rocks serves up in the coming Junior State Round. 12 year old Shaun Howe's experience in his home town of Kalbarri allowed him to dominate, producing powerful bottom turns and vertical manouevres in the most critical sections - Shaun's style shows many similarities to dynamic Kalbarri Surfer Rye Craike who is fast gaining international recognition.

Masters surfer Craig Tuesley spent more time in the water than anyone else after qualifying for the Open final through a heat, quarter final and repercharge he also competed in his Master's division which he won from Andrew Benzie and gained third in class company in the Open Division.

The Open Division looked to be a certain battle between Hot Buttered Team surfers Ben McGay and Ben McDonald but Rye Pegler had other plans. Rye took an early lead with 6.5 rides on his first and third waves. Ben McGay answered with a seven pointer on his third and needed another good scorer to catch Rye who wasn't able to improve on his initial scores. After a series of short one turn waves with one minute to go, McGay pulled into a good set wave and didn't hold back. His accelerated vertical manouevres in three critical sections combined with a smooth finish were enough to post a 7.5 from the judges and eclipse Pegler's score to seal first place.

The Junior Division saw a surprise elimination of top State surfer Drew Wright who had lost his reliable mojo and couldn't buy a decent wave in the semi - much to the joy of Aron Godenzie who was wrapped to make the final. Goofy footer Alex Knowles saved his best till last and picked the better waves executing dynamic rail to rail turns from top to bottom on the solid Flat Rocks walls and took first place from the fast improving Jye Pratt.

The waves turned on for the Grand Masters final with all surfers posting good scores from the start. Leon Norris gained momentum throughout picking off seven waves in the twenty minute final with four high scorers that allowed him to execute solid snaps off the imposing Flat Rocks lips. Fresh back from a fourth place in the World Masters Titles in New Zealand, Norris was always going to be the one to beat and came away from the final a clear winner from Ross Middleton.

A busy schedule for contests lays ahead with the GBR Longboard club hosting the Geraldton Winter Classic this weekend. The following weekend sees the Junior State Round held at Flat Rocks, Sunday June 15^th is the next GBR Points event with the weekend commencing June 21^st set down for the Emu Bitter State Open/Masters Titles.

OPEN:

1. Ben Mcgay

2. Rye Pegler

3. Craig Tuesley

4. Ben McDonald

JUNIORS:

1. Alex Knowles

2. Jye Pratt

3. Kayshun Rodd

4. Aron Godenzie

CADETS:

1. Shaun Howe

2. Liam Carter

3. Danny Williams

4. Sam Benzie

MASTERS:

1. Craig Tuesley

2. Andrew Benzie

GRAND MASTERS:

1. Leon Norris

2. Ross Middleton

3. Ian Salmond

4. Brett Schofield