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The Southwest Surf Showdown rides into town! |
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Written by Wavelength Staff
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Wednesday, 19 May 2010 13:55 |
The Southwest Surf Showdown went off this past Friday in great 3 to 5 foot conditions at Gwithian Bay!
The Southwest Surf Showdown is an annual competition organised by the Plymouth Surf Science students, and this year proved to be the biggest of them all! Bringing in competitors and students from all across the southwest, this was an opportunity for the organisers to show off the skills they have learnt and to put on an event by surf students and for students who surf.
‘The event has been a massive success,’ said Event Manager Kelly Coldbreath ‘the surf was pumping all day which gave the competitors the chance to really show off their skills, and the organisation of the students has been fantastic.’
With over 60 competitors, mainly students, entering the event and great conditions throughout the day, this year’s annual Plymouth Surf Science organised competition has proved to be the best yet!
The event kicked off early on Friday morning with a consistent 3-5 foot swell and light offshore winds giving competitors a great opportunity to show off their skills. With a dry start to the day, the forecasted rains soon came in, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the best young student surfers the southwest has to offer!
The early rounds of the Men’s Open got underway, with heats running back to back maximizing the great conditions on offer. From early on, Richard Kenyon proved to be a surfer to watch out for, tearing through his opening heats in the Men’s Open division with some fantastic surfing skills, honed from his home break of Challaborough.
The surf stayed consistent throughout the day, with a few barrels being thrown into the mix to really test the surfers skills. Head Judge Benjamin Lotzer commented ‘It’s really good to see such a high level of surfing at an amateur event, the good quality surf is really testing the surfers and we’ve got some amazing rides today’.
Matt Le Maitre stormed his way to the final of the Men’s Open, and faced up against Jonathan Waugh, Richard Kenyon and Ben Gately. A fiercely competed final brought out some of the best surfing of the day and it was Jonathan Waugh who walked away with first prize, closely followed by Richard Kenyon, Matt Le Maitre and Ben Gately.
The Men’s Longboard competition showed some excellent surfing, with last year’s winner Ben Howey racing through his early heats with some beautiful turns and the barrel of the day. He faced up to Jamie Johnstone and Angus Murray in the final, and although it was extremely tight with Howey thinking he hadn’t done enough, he came away victorious to add the Longboard title to his long list of Longboarding accomplishments.
The Womens Open and Longboard shared a similar set of competitors, with Vicki Oliver showing her determination and style to take first place in both events, dominating in both finals and clearing up the Womens division.
The awards ceremony heralded the end of a successful day, with all finalists being awarded a mass of prizes from the event sponsors, including wetsuits from Box, Surfing Life and Billabong, a Luke Young Surfboard, and a whole mass of clothing from Prime, Pull-In, Finisterre and Adams Surfboards.
The event returns again next year, with hopes of the conditions the competitors were treated to this year. Event Manager Ben Catling said ‘It’s been amazing, the rain came but the surf was going off all day and we couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The level of surfing was incredible and really showed the talent that is hidden all around the southwest.’
Final Results:
Mens Open:
1. Jonathan Waugh
2. Rich Kenyon
3. Matt Le Maitre
4. Ben Gately
Mens Longboard:
1. Ben Howey
2. Jamie Johnstone
3. Angus Murray
Girls Open:
1.Vicki Oliver
2.Alice Bedford
Girls Longboard:
1.Vicki Oliver
2. Alice Bedford
All photos: Daniel Hall
A big thank you to all our sponsors – Box Surfshop, Surfing Life, Billabong, Finisterre, Prime Skateshop, Pull-In and Adams Surfboards
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