Australian Indigenous Surfing Titles 2013

Bells Beach Victoria Australia

May 27 to May 31

Thursday May 23: Torquay Victoria Australia: Around 50 of Australia’s leading Indigenous surfers are heading to Bells Beach for the annual Australian Indigenous Surfing Titles with the opening ceremony to take place on the middens area at Bells on Sunday afternoon.

Australia’s indigenous athletes across numerous sports show incredible natural talents and this definitely includes surfing where elite performances have been common throughout the past 20 plus years.

A small sample to highlight the quality of the field entered includes surfers like:

- Dale Richards (Tweed Heads NSW) – competed against Kelly Slater in a heat of a World Championship Tour ASP event in 2007.

- Robbie Page (Wollongong) – A winner on the biggest stage in the sport taking the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii, ASP World Championship Tour in 1988.

- Russell Molony (Central Coast NSW) – Defending event champion and in the last month made the final and placed 4th at the ISA World Surfing Games in South America

- Soli Bailey (Byron Bay) – One of Australia’s elite emerging young surfers on the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series.

May is generally an excellent time for surf at Bells Beach and with Monday through to Friday available to this event to complete the required 2 to 3 days of surfing, the event will aim to pick the very best swell and wind conditions to run.

There’s a good chance they’ll begin on Monday with the early round heats.

Glyndyn Ringrose has defeated a field of Victoria’s top surfers to claim the Toll IPEC Phillip Island Open Titles in challenging conditions at Woolamai Beach.

After the event was postponed earlier in the year, competitors were greeted with solid 3-4 ft swells with a stiff southerly wind.

The win secures Ringrose his second Victorian Open Title, after claiming victory in the opening event of the Toll IPEC Open Series at Gunnamatta.

41 year old Ringrose, a former World Tour surfer, utilized all of his experience to defeat his younger opponents in the shifting conditions with a two wave total of 15.5 (out of a possible 20).

“I am really happy to have won this Open State Title” said Ringrose.

“I won my first Open State Title over fifteen years ago, it feels good to get another under my belt”.

“I feel really privileged to be able to compete at this level and am really appreciative of everyone’s support”.

Josh Johnson Baxter (Ocean Grove) was one of the day’s standout competitors, despite reveling in the power provided by Woolamai beach he was unable to find a wave with a high scoring opportunity in the final and placed in second position. Johnson Baxter’s two wave total was 13.07.

Third place went to Bells Beach surfer Tom Allan (10.90), with Caiden Fowler (7.77, Sorrento) finishing in fourth.

The Open women’s division provided some of the closest and most exciting heats of the day.

Georgia Fish (Flinders) demonstrated her WQS experience with a come from behind victory over young Phillip Island local Courtney Dunlop.

Dunlop opened the twenty minute final with the highest single wave score, a 7.0 (out of a possible 10), but could not find another high scoring wave to close the door on Fish.

Fish secured a two wave total of 12.50 to take victory over Dunlop (9.67). Third place was Matilda McLellan (Flinders, 5.70) with Sapphire Main (Point Lonsdale, 2.57) in fourth.

The race for the 2013 Victorian Open Women’s State Title is still wide open, after the Toll IPEC East Coast Open Titles winner Kelly Laity failing to make the final at Phillip Island.

The final event of the Toll IPEC Open Series is set to be held in Torquay later this year.

| Collected Footage | from Tristan Forras on Vimeo.

The Phillip Island leg of the Toll IPEC Series was greeted with extremely rare lake like conditions at Woolamai earlier this year, forcing a postponement of the event.

The Victorian SUP Titles were initially due to run at Point Danger in Torquay, but were greeted with howling south easterly wind swell.

The forecast for this weekend’s competition looks promising, with a decreasing 2-4ft swell and light to moderate south to south westerly winds forecast. With rumors of great sand banks at Woolamai, the stage is set for Victoria’s best open and SUP competitors to do battle.

Competitors are advised that the event will have a 7.15am check in for a potential 7.30am start at Woolamai on Saturday morning.

The heat draw and schedule for this weekend is available by selecting Events at www.surfingvic.com

That will be the message to 8,000 plus participants at this year’s Australian Masters Games in Geelong following the announcement of a new event partnership with the Heart Foundation.

“Learn the Warning Signs of Heart Attack” is focused on improving the early identification and treatment of a heart attack, with the campaign aiming to reduce the number of heart attack deaths and to increase a person’s quality of life after suffering a heart attack.

Minister for Sport and Recreation Hugh Delahunty says that it is important that everyone knows the warning signs of heart attack, and is pleased that the Australian Master Games can assist in promoting this important message.

“The Australian Masters Games is the perfect opportunity to promote active sports participation throughout life and for people to continue to compete in the sports they love and try their hand at some new ones too.”

“We want to promote all elements of a healthy lifestyle and encourage everyone to be more active, more often; which will go some way towards reducing their likelihood of having a heart attack in the future,” Minister Delahunty said.

Dr Robert Grenfell, National Director of Cardiovascular Health at the Heart Foundation highlighted the heart attack statistics, saying around 55,000 Aussies have a heart attack every year.

“Heart attack doesn’t discriminate, it happens to men and women at any age and including people who are active. Almost 10,000 Australians die of a heart attack each year and half of all heart attack deaths happen before the person reaches hospital.

“We know your risk of heart attack increases with age and that shockingly men and women have a 50 and 33 percent chance respectively of having a heart attack by the age of 70.”

“It’s a perfect opportunity for us to highlight the life-saving warning signs to Games participants, so people are able to identify and seek treatment early, giving them the best chance of saving their life or the life of a loved one,” Dr Grenfell said.

Participants will be provided with additional information as part of their Games accreditation and will be reminded of the message via a branded water bottle provided as part of the entry package.

Chairman of 14th Australian Masters Games, Kean Selway said the partnership will see Games will focus on increasing the understanding amongst participants and the broader masters sport community of the ‘Learn the Warning Signs’ message.

“It’s not something we should take for granted, and I think most Masters Games participants would have a personal story of knowing someone who ignored the warning signs and either passed away or suffered a stroke due to a heart attack,” Selway said.

Will you recognise your heart attack? Learn the warning signs today and survive tomorrow. Get your free Action Plan at www.heartattackfacts.org.au

The Australian Masters Games is a mass participation sporting event for anyone over the age of 30, attracting over 8,000 participants in 56 events, with its 14th edition being held in Geelong from the 5th to 12th October 2013. Early Bird entries close 31 May 2013.

XIV Australian Masters Games Snapshot

When:

Saturday 5th October – Saturday 12th October, 2013

Where:

Geelong, Victoria is the host city of the XIV Australian Masters Games. Just an hour from Melbourne, Geelong is set on a sparkling bay with a well-developed and welcoming waterfront precinct, and an array of nearby tourist destinations.

Who:

Over 8,800 people from across Australia and overseas are expected to converge on Geelong for this week-long event. Participants will come from all walks of life – the only criteria is that they must be over 30 years of age at the time of the Games (minimum age may vary in some sports). There is no maximum age or qualification criterion, only the minimum age requirement. There is also no limit to the number of events a person is allowed to compete in.

Events:

There will be 56 different sports on offer, ranging from athletics to woodchopping. A full list of participating sports is available atwww.AustralianMastersGames.com

Entertainment:

As well as an extensive sporting schedule, the Australian Masters Games will also comprise a variety of social events throughout the week, providing a festival atmosphere for both competitors and visitors to Geelong. Iconic Australian entertainers Mental as Anything and James Reyne will headline the opening ceremony on Saturday 5 October.

TristanJanJuc from AR Elite Surf Coaching on Vimeo.

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