Mitch Van De Veer takes out 23rd Jesus Pro Am

World Qualifying Series stalwart Mitch Van De Veer from Bonny Hills has taken out the 2007 Jesus Pro Am in what was a very tight battle with 2005 Jesus Pro Am champ and Cronulla local Fletcher Hayllar.

In very small waves at ‘The Alley’ at Cronulla, both finalists displayed great small wave surfing in their respective routes to the Final with Van Der Veer overcoming defending event champ Dylan Hannah and in-form Cronulla local Dane Durban through the quarter and semi finals respectively. Hayllar meanwhile, defeated East Lynne ripper Tim Taplin and Fairlight Pro Junior Nick Riley in two very tight heats.

In the man-on-man Final, Van Der Veer opened strongly notching up two waves in the good range to set up a nice early lead. Playing catch up, Hayllar worked hard finding two mid range waves to move within striking distance of Van Der Veer with five minutes remaining. With time ticking away, Hayllar required a good to excellent range wave and while he did find a decent right in the dying minutes, it was not enough to move past Van Der Veer, with the mid-north coaster successfully holding his lead to take home World Surfaris surf trip and $500 cash .

“After I got those first ok waves, I started feeling a bit tired and fell on a few, but luckily I had already done the job, so I’m stoked with the win,” said a very happy Van Der Veer after the Final.

In the Open Women’s, it was former Australian Open champ, Yvonne Byron from Figtree who showed her experience to overcome Ana Ceccarelli, Bijou Busse and Carmen Beucher respectively in the Final. For her efforts, Byron took some incredible jewellery from Dallas Designer Jewellery.

The Cadet Boys showed just how much of an advantage it is to weigh in at less than 50kg, with each finalist tearing the very small right and left hand peelers apart. In what was a tight Final, Jordi Watson from Culburra rose above the pack, successfully tracking down and obliterating the better waves of the Final to come through on top of Max Ayshford (second), Kurt Kiggins (third) and Justin Arnold (fourth). For his win, Jordi claimed a brand new Misfit Surfboard.

Meanwhile, the Cadet Girls showed great skill and determination in the tough conditions and in doing so proving that Women’s surfing in Australia is in safe hands. Future star and Culburra local Kirby Wright put together a very polished performance to easily overcome her opposition a stake her claim in some of the Dallas Jewellery up for grabs. Finishing second was Merimbula’s Freya Prumm, with Crescent Head’s Ellie-Jean Coffey third and Lulu Han of Avoca Beach fourth.

The ever entertaining Family Tag-Team event was taken out by Caringbah combination Paris and Brad Whittaker who overcame some serious competition in Kirby and Rob Wright and Jackson and Jason Coffey.

Despite the small waves throughout the event, the 2007 Jesus Pro Am will long be remembered for the fantastic weather that persisted all weekend, drawing significant crowds to Cronulla to soak up the sun and the surfing action. The Jesus Pro Am aims to offer a different style of contest for competitors and according to Open Men’s Winner Mitch Van Der Veer, it did just that!

“It’s probably the best contest I’ve been to in a couple of years with the hospitality and the way all the crew put in 100% and they’re doing it because they want to,” commented Van Der Veer.

Huge thanks to all the crew who put in a great effort over the weekend!

The 2007 Jesus Pro Am is presented by Dallas Designer Jewellery and World Safaris and supported by Ocean and Earth, Tracks, Line Up Surfboards, Misfit Shapes, Eternal Skateboards, Wing Wetsuits, Surf Co Hawaii, Boost Mobile, Holidays with a Purpose, Network Communications and Christian Surfers Australia.

Results

Open Men 1st Mitch Van Der Veer (Bonny Hills)

2nd Fletcher Hayllar (Cronulla)

=3rd Dane Durban (Cronulla)

=3rd Nick Riley (Fairlight)

Open Women 1st Yvonne Byron (Figtree)

2nd Ana Ceccarelli

3rd Carmen Beucher

4th Bijou Busse (Broulee)

Cadet Boys 1st Jordi Watson (Culburra)

2nd Max Ayshford (Mattraville)

3rd Kurt Kiggins (Cronulla)

4th Justin Arnold (Gerringong)

Cadet Girls 1st Kirby Wright (Culburra)

2nd Freya Prumm (Merimbula)

3rd Ellie-Jean Coffey (Crescent Head)

4th Lulu Han (Avoca)