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JIM
BEAM SURFTAG ELOUERA UPSET MORE FANCIED TEAMS IN FRONT OF BIG LOCAL
CROWD In front of a boisterous local crowd Elouera have taken out a thrilling final in the NSW South round of the Jim Beam Surftag in windswept one metre waves at Wanda beach today. The team of Wylie Fowler, Joe Sears, Luke Wenert, Jake Stalker and veteran Glen Pringle combined to total 83.04 points and defeat Queenscliff Boardriders Club (QBC) by a mere 2.74. Dee Why were third on 72.26, with Avalon fourth (69.68).
The Surftag format sees five-member teams given an hour in which each individual must catch three waves, with the second being a “Powerwave” worth double points. All three waves for each surfer count in the scoring and bonus points are awarded for teams that finish before the 60 minute mark. The two day event’s last enthralling hour came down to a battle between Elouera’s patience and local knowledge against Queenscliff’s tenacity and tactics that saw the iconic northern beaches club spend most of the final two and sometimes three waves ahead of their three rivals.
In the end the early scores racked up by Fowler (21.7) and Sears (20.27) plus the excellent wave selection under time pressure by Wenert (13.4), Stalker (12.47) and Pringle (15.2) was the difference despite Queenscliff veteran Ryan Alagich, who surfed fourth, drawing his team within striking distance with just eight minutes to go. After the event Fowler said the win was massive for the club and indeed the entire local area. “To win, it’s huge and will bring with it an enormous amount of pride,” Fowler said.
“We are a low key bunch of guys with no real stars and this win is just great. “It’s great for surfing in Cronulla generally, not just Elouera because there’s a lot of young talent around here and it shows the young guys we can beat teams with pro’s and ex-pro’s. “Young kids can see they can have a career in surfing from this area if we can compete at this level.” All four finalists qualified for the national final and will be joined by North Steyne, Woonona, North Narrabeen ‘B’ and North Narrabeen ‘A’ who booked a place after making it through to today’s semi final round.
The national final is expected to witness a raft of elite ASP World Tour surfers including world champion Mick Fanning, world number two Joel Parkinson, Dean Morrison, Taj Burrow and Kai Otton along with numerous other top line competitors lining up for their beloved clubs. Buoyed by today’s effort, Fowler said his club would go into the national final with high hopes. “After today we have as good a chance as any,” Fowler said.
“The beauty of this contest is you are surfing to a formula, it’s not just about individuals, but a team effort. That suits us.” Earlier in the day there were upsets galore, highlighted by the demise of reigning Australian title holders Werri Beach who were eliminated in their quarter final. North Steyne’s former World Championship Tour surfer Dayaan Neve was on fire for his team in the quarter final round, tallying the weekend’s best Powerwave score with an 8.84 and picking up a Sanyo dual waterproof camera for his efforts. Neve then had to dash off before the semi finals to attend his brother’s bucks party.
Yesterday, Aloha took out the FCS Manufacturers Cup on the back of a massive performance from former Australian champion Matt Bemrose. The next event on the Surftag front will be the National Final at North Narrabeen on February 13 and 14, with the prestigious Jim Beam Boardriders Cup, featuring the club champions of 65 clubs, set down for February 12.
2010 NSW South
Jim Beam Surftag Championships
* Qualified for National Final at North Narrabeen beach on February 13/14 2010 Jim Beam
Surftag Australian Series The 2010 Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series is proudly supported by FCS, Tracks, Swellnet, Sanyo, Beever and Global Surftag. SPECIAL THANKS Jim Beam Surftag
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