| Noosa 2011 // Event 20 March 2011 By: Andrew Cassidy Location: Noosa The first of the major SUP competitions for 2011 kicked off today as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing. With First Point at Noosa not delivering a contestable wave, organisers voted to move the event to Access 12, further up the beach, to milk the most out of the tiny swell. Round 1 : Open Pro SUP Heat one of the Open Pro division saw an in-form Ben Apps convincingly win over fellow New South Welshman Craig Munro. Apps, who has been training hard in the lead up to this event, nailed a couple of seven point rides in the tricky conditions. "I was just lucky out there", said Ben as he closely watched the subsequent heats, "with only one or two waves per heat that offered any decent scoring potential, it all came down to patience and wave selection".  Beau Nixon who generally revels at the Noosa Festival didn't disappoint by taking out heat two with a total score of 14.15 which included a 8.9 point ride for busting the fins out on the wave of the day. Andy Davies who has come off some good results in a couple of smaller, preliminary events this year, couldn't find the right waves and only managed a third place behind Justin Holland, ending his Noosa 2011 campaign. Another upset in heat three saw Matt Lumley pipped by 0.75 for first place by Queensland's Geoff Breen. Geoff who is relatively new to the SUP contest scene managed to snag a few of the better waves off Lummers to take the Victorian champion down. Heat four was always going to be a ripper. It was Lennox Head's Noel Graham who took the win this time over local favourite, Woogie Marsh. Paul Jackson from Team Naish could only manage a combined, two wave total of 7.5 shunting him to third place sending him back to work in Currumbin. A fighting fit Scotty Penwarn suffered the consequences of being drawn in the hardest heat of round one and will be also joining Jacko on the trip back to the Gold Coast. Andrew Prowd from Queensland blitzed a tough field in heat five to take the win over Roger 'Tha Dogman' Saunders, beating him by 0.25 points. The tiny, onshore conditions didn't suit the large framed Saunders but he still managed to out-surf his board sponsor, Laguna Bay Longboards' Tully St John. Tully who is also sponsoring all the SUP divisions at the festival must now sit back and watch the remaining rounds with the rest of the spectators. On the lower tide, Jackson Close took control of heat six from his first wave. He racked up an early 7.75 then, soon after, bettered that with an 8.25 second scoring ride. With the highest heat score of the day at 16 points, he combo'ed the three other Queenslanders in his heat with Ross Phillips taking second with only a 6.6 total. The few upsets in round one has created a very interesting second round. The first heat of round two will be fantastic to watch and could be anyone's game with Ben Apps, Noel Graham, Matt Lummley and Woogie Marsh all very capable of taking the win. Round two, heat two will see Beau Nixon taking on good friend Roger Saunders with Andrew Prowd and Justin Holland tagging along for the ride. Current Australian champion, Jackson Close will be very difficult to beat in the last of the round two heats with Geoff Breen, Craig Munro and Ross Phillips all needing to pull some magic out of the bag to topple the champ. Heat 1 1 Ben Apps (NSW) - 15 2 Craig Munro (NSW) - 11.15 3 Will Cousins (VIC) - 7.9 4 Anthony Collet (QLD) - 5.45 Heat 2 1 Beau Nixon (NSW) - 14.15 2 Justin Holland (NSW) - 12 3 Andy Davies (NSW) - 9.05 4 Hayden Stintman (QLD) - 8.7 Heat 3 1 Geoff Breen (QLD) - 10.9 2 Mathew Lumley (VIC) - 10.15 3 Tatsumi Kawai (JPN) - 5.75 4 Lincon Duews (QLD) - 4.75 Heat 4 1 Noel Graham (NSW) - 11 2 Woogie Marsh (QLD) - 9.9 3 Paul Jacko (QLD) - 7.5 4 Scott Penwarn (QLD) - 6 Heat 5 1 Andrew Prowd (QLD) - 12 2 Roger Saunders (NSW) - 11.75 3 Tully St John (QLD) - 9.15 4 Geoff Barden (NSW) - 8.05 Heat 6 1 Jackson Close (QLD) - 16 2 Ross Phillips (QLD) - 6.6 3 Greg Sunderland (QLD) - 6.5 4 Paul Jones (QLD) - 6.45 Round 1 : Over 45 SUP Next it was time for the Over 45 division to hit the water and show the crowd that these mature gentlemen can still rip it up. The three heat, six man format proved tricky for some with lots of bodies in the water and not a lot of waves. The bank at Access 12 was now predominantly a left hand rip bowl with the sets hitting the 1.5 foot mark. Rob Pirie was a heat one casualty, missing out on the progressing third place by 1.25 points. He said later, "My choice of going for a bigger board didn't really work out for me today, the others were on smaller boards and managed to get in tighter turns and slide the tail. The old boys did really well in the very tough conditions. I was fairly beaten by some great surfing". Taking the win in heat one was Richard Smith from New South Wales who now gets directly slotted into the Over 45 final. Manly's Matt Fleming managed a second place and a spot in the Semi Final along with Mark Temple from South Australia. Michael Stokes from NSW snagged a 7.25 and 7.75 in the wobbly lefts to take the win from big Danny Sheard in second and Peter Turner in third. Sunshine Coast's Sheard is having a great festival after winning the Over 45 paddle race on Sunday and now into the Semi Finals in the surfing. Local lad and former Australian longboarding champion, Noel Woods smashed his opponents in the last of the Over 45 tussles. His wave scores of 7.75 and 8.5 produced a total heat score that even the best in the Open Pro division couldn't match. Stuart Murray who tried his best to keep up with Noel said, "There was a great vibe out in the water. The good bank with some decent lefts and a few rights had everyone pretty excited. The swell looks like jumping a bit on the weekend which will be great. My Suplove 8'10" Challenger fitted into the little waves really well". Jason McManus from the Jervis Bay area also progressed to the next round with a heat total of 9.1. So Richard Smith, Michael Stokes and Noel Woods are all straight through into the Sunday's Over 45 Final. Matt Fleming, Mark Temple, Danny Sheard, Peter Turner, Stuart Murray and Jason McManus must battle it out for the remaining three spots via Saturday's Semi Final. Heat 1 1 Richard Smith (NSW) - 12 2 Matt Fleming (NSW) - 8 3 Mark Temple (SA) - 7.6 4 Rob Pirie (QLD) - 6.35 5 Cameron Wyllie (NSW) - 5.65 6 John Chalk (QLD) - 4 Heat 2 1 Michael Stokes (NSW) - 15 2 Danny Sheard (QLD) - 11.25 3 Peter Turner (QLD) - 7.65 4 Chris 'Tigger' Newling (NSW) - 6.65 5 John Mingramm (NSW) - 5.9 6 Paul Winter (NSW) - 5.25 Heat 3 1 Noel Woods (QLD) - 16.25 2 Stuart Murray (NSW) - 10.1 3 Jason McManus (NSW) - 9.1 4 Nigel Crook (QLD) - 6.35 5 Todd Jackson (NSW) - 5.35 6 Cameron MacGowan (QLD) - 4.15 Round 2 : Open Pro SUP Back in the water after the old guys was the second round of the Open Pro division. Heat one provided plenty of action with Ben Apps continuing his winning streak and scoring a ticket in the Semi Final from Matt Lumley and Woogie Marsh. Lummers and Woogie jostled for the other progressing, second place position for the full 20 minutes but it ended up being the Victorian who eventually snatched it away from the Noosa local, Woogie. Noel Graham had a slow start to the heat and just couldn't catch the others in the deteriorating conditions. Heat two saw Beau Nixon's SUP campaign draw to a close after a great first round win. Only managing a third place in this round, the young ripper will now have to focus on his other longboarding commitments at the festival. Roger Saunders utilized his backhand attack and took the dribbly left handers to town, convincing the judges to honour him with the first place position and a slot in the Semis. Second place getter, Justin Holland, can use the mental notes made from his encounter with fellow New South Welshman, Saunders, during his Semi Final heat on Saturday. Heat three was a one sided affair with Jackson Close again blitzing the field with the highest combined wave total for round two. Close's 7.5 and subsequent 8.3 had Geoff Breen (second), Craig Munro (third) and Ross Phillips (fourth) scratching their heads, wondering how the blonde, curly haired Queenslander does it. Heat 1 1 Ben Apps (NSW) - 15 2 Mathew Lumley (VIC) - 11.75 3 Woogie Marsh (QLD) - 11.6 4 Noel Graham (NSW) - 10.65 Heat 2 1 Roger Saunders (NSW) - 11.75 2 Justin Holland (NSW) - 9.75 3 Beau Nixon (NSW) - 8.5 4 Andrew Prowd (QLD) - 6.55 Heat 3 1 Jackson Close (QLD) - 15.8 2 Geoff Breen (QLD) - 11.25 3 Craig Munro (NSW) - 8.5 4 Ross Phillips (QLD) - 8.2 Round 1 : Women's SUP The first ever, dedicated Women's division was the last in the water for SUP Thursday at the Noosa Festival of Surfing. With a simple two heat, first round configuration with 50 precent progression directly to the Final - some good battles for a spot in the Final were guaranteed. Heat one consisted of representatives from all over Australia - QLD, NSW, VIC and WA, but it was the current Australian champion, Emma Webb who nailed a pair of sixes to take the win over Shakira Westdorp. Jenny Ryan will also be surfing on Finals Sunday thanks to her third place in heat one. Young Kristi Page had a very slow start to her Noosa campaign but came through with a 6.5 in the dying seconds to take out second place behind an explosive Erin Dark. Dark could be the real dark horse of this event if her 15.75 heat total is any indication of what she is capable of. Mary Morrison from Queensland has also landed herself a jersey in the Final but Mel McManus couldn't hold on to her early lead for long enough to progress. Heat 1 1 Emma Webb (VIC) - 12.5 2 Shakira Westdorp (NSW) - 11.55 3 Jenny Ryan (QLD) - 9 4 Sondra Purser (NSW) - 6.4 5 Samantha Williams (NSW) - 6 6 Cinde Fisher (WA) - 5.5 Heat 2 1 Erin Dark (NSW) - 15.75 2 Kristiana Page (VIC) - 10.4 3 Mary Morrison (QLD) - 6.75 4 Melissa McManus (NSW) - 6.75 5 Elyse Comerford (NSW) - 5.45 6 Maria Kingi (NZ) - 4.5 After a lay day for the SUP surfing on Friday, Saturday dawned a new day at Noosa but with no new swell for the Semi Finals. Small, yet contestable conditions greeted the competitors lucky enough to still be alive in the contest. The call was made to run the Over 45 and Open Pro SUP divisions at Access 12 again. Semi Final : Over 45 SUP There was just one Semi Final heat necessary for the Over 45 guys as the remainder of the round one winners scored direct runs through to the Final. The heat was stacked with six very good SUP surfers with the quality equivalent to that of a final in most open contests around the country. Don't be fooled by these boys' ages - they are still capable of throwing a few buckets when the pressure is on. It was Northern Beaches lad, Matt Fleming who eventually got the judges nod with a heat total of 10.8 points. Stu Murray, also from the Northern Beaches, took second place with only 0.3 points less than Flemo. South Australia's Mark Temple rounded out the top place getters of the Over 45 Semi and will also be surfing again in Sunday's Final. Semi 1 1 Matt Fleming - 10.8 2 Stuart Murray - 10.5 3 Mark Temple - 8.25 4 Danny Sheard - 5.75 5 Jason McManus - 5.55 6 Peter Turner - 5.25 Semi Finals : Open Pro SUP The Open Pros were sent out into that little rip bowl at Access 12 a bit later on in the day. The first Semi Final saw Ben Apps' winning streak cut short by some high performance surfing from Justin Holland. Justin managed to take down the NSW State Champion by just 0.6 points. Both these young rippers are into the Final with Geoff Breen missing out on showing his wares in Sunday's prestigious climax. Semi two was an absolute nail biter. Jackson Close continued to influence the judges without too much ambiguity with his big turns and stylish rides. Roger Saunders and Matt Lumley, on the other hand, had a real challenge going on for that elusive second place and position in the Final. After twenty minutes of going wave for wave, the judges couldn't split them when the hooter finally sounded. With both boys' top two waves totalling 9.0 points, a count-back was required and based on Roger's single top scoring wave being just that little bit higher than Matt's, he managed to snatch the ticket into the Final, delegating Lummers to watch from the sand on Sunday. Semi 1 1 Justin Holland 14 2 Ben Apps 13.4 3 Geoff Breen 10.05 Semi 2 1 Jackson Close 9.6 2 Roger Saunders 9 3 Mathew Lumley 9 Final : Over 45 SUP The first old blokes division at a contest of this scale drew to a close with a new legend of the sport taking the title. Noel Woods managed to remain undefeated throughout the contest and took a convincing win over the other five finalists with an impressive score of 13.75 in the difficult conditions. Noel's had a number of good results in the Opens division at previous Noosa comps but is obviously in his element in this new division. New South Welshman, Michael Stokes had a great final and snagged a second place for his efforts with Suplove's Stuart Murray rounding out the podium placings with the third. Final 1 Noel Woods - 13.75 2 Michael Stokes - 10.9 3 Stuart Murray - 9 4 Matt Fleming - 7.9 5 Mark Temple - 7.65 6 Richard Smith - 7.35 Final : Women's SUP Australia's got a great future in Women's SUP surfing if the 2011 Noosa Festival is any indication. It's almost a shame that the girls now have their own division at this event because it would be interesting to see these feminine rippers up against the blokes - I reckon they'd do very well. It was current Australian Champion, Emma Webb's day. With her classy display of critical turns and variety of repertoire, the Naish team rider took the crown with a combined wave score of 14.75 which takes real talent in miniscule conditions like that. Chalk one up for the Victorians. Shakira Westdorp ended her festival campaign for this year with a pair of seconds - one in her first round heat and one in the final. A great effort in a very tough field of competitors. Suplove team rider, Erin Dark who looked strong enough in the early rounds to get people predicting she may take the event, couldn't find the waves to live up to those expectations and took home a third place trophy. At only 16 years of age, Erin's got a great future in the sport. Jenny Ryan (QLD), Kristi Page (VIC) and Mary Morrison (QLD) respectively rounded out the minor placings. Well done girls. Final 1 Emma Webb - 14.75 2 Shakira Westdorp - 12.5 3 Erin Dark - 6.85 4 Jenny Ryan - 6.35 5 Kristiana Page - 4.75 6 Mary Morrison - 4.2 Final : Open Pro SUP Cwoor - what a showdown. Justin Holland from NSW in the "seeded favourite" red singlet, a super in-form Jackson Close in white, a confident Ben Apps in yellow and the people's favourite Roger "Tha Dogman" Saunders in blue. Atrocious conditions with dribbly little waves but fireworks guaranteed regardless from some of the country's best paddle surfers. Jackson took an early lead on his beefier board and held on to it throughout the Final. Making up for lost ground in the longboard division at the festival, Close was determined to make amends in the SUP division - he did so convincingly with a two wave total of 14.75 which was a superb effort in the tiny left handers at Access 12. Appsy was looking very strong and may have been able to challenge Close for the trophy until a costly interference mistake shut the door on his hopes and dreams. With his second best wave cut in half as a penalty, he was never going to stay competitive with this calibre of talent. Still managing a third place with this kind of handicap is a real achievement. Big guys and small waves don't generally play well together. Saunders made a fallacy of this theory and smashed the baby lefts racking up an 11.9 heat total and took the bridesmaid title behind Close. Tha Dogman hasn't had the best track record at the last two Noosa Festivals but has excelled himself at the 2011 event. Justin Holland suffered the curse of the red jersey and just couldn't get the best waves off the three seasoned professionals. A fourth place in his first Noosa Festival is an outstanding achievement - something I would be very proud of. Final 1 Jackson Close - 14.75 2 Roger Saunders - 11.9 3 Ben Apps - 8.75 4 Justin Holland - 8.5 | |
