BURLEIGH BOARDRIDERS SURFER THOMAS WOODS PICKS UP A WIN ON THE SUNSHINE COAST AND A PLACE IN THE QLD TEAM TO CONTEST THE AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR TITLES
Queensland Junior Surfing State Champions Crowned At Final Event Of The 2009 Arnette Queensland Junior Surfing Titles.
Sunshine Coast, QLD, Saturday 9th August 2009: FORGET about Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning, and Stephanie Gilmore – Today, four elite Queensland junior surfers cemented their status as future household names, after being crowned champions of the 2009 Arnette Queensland Junior Surfing Titles.
2009 Queensland Junior Surfing State Champions are:
U/18 Boys: Jack Freestone (Coolangatta)
U/16 Boys: Noa Deane (Coolangatta)
U/18 Girls: Naomi Stevic (Castaways Beach)
U/16 Girls: Brodie Doyle (Coolangatta)
With an increase in swell overnight, the high performance half-to-one-metre waves on offer at Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast, Qld) provided an ideal platform for competitors to showcase their amazing surfing prowess, producing a perfect ending to the third and final event of the 2009 Arnette Queensland Junior Surfing Titles.
In remarkable circumstances, three of the four overall state champions managed to not only capture a prestigious state aged-title (after individually amassing the highest ratings points across the three-event series), but they capped off their amazing accomplishment by also winning their respective division in today’s third and final event of the 2009 Arnette Queensland Junior Surfing Titles.
Jack Freestone (Coolangatta) was the only state champion unable to win today’s final series event, falling short to Tugun’s Thomas Woods in a seesawing final in the blue-ribbon U/18 Boys division.
After winning the previous two series events, Freestone was unlucky not to make it a clean sweep, losing out in the heat of the day, which saw the lead change an astonishing four times in 20 minutes (total heat duration), before Woods secured a telling 8.93 ride to register a high-flying 16.70 out of a possible 20 points- defeating Freestone (15.27) by just over one point.
Woods said he was relieved to finally secure a series victory.
“I’ve been surfing really well throughout the entire Arnette series, but I was just unable to get over that final hurdle and win one of the events,” said Woods.
“It’s a good preparation for the Arnette Australian junior titles later this year so hopefully I can carry over some of today’s from into that event,” he said.
Noa Deane (Coolangatta), proved too strong for his rivals in the final of the U/16 Boys division posting an imposing 16.30 points out of a possible 20 to outscore Currumbin’s Hayden Welch (16.63), Moffat Beach’s Eli Steele (14.27) and Burleigh’s Luke Hynd (9.83) – also securing Deane the state title in the U/16 Boys division.
Naomi Stevic (Castaways Beach) capped of her remarkable series campaign, winning the U/18 Girls division at today’s event to go along with an esteemed state title.
Posting a 13.83 out of a possible 20 in the final, Stevic ultimately proved too strong for Coolangatta’s Amiya Doyle (12.56) and fellow Sunshine Coaster Chiana Ireland (9.03), effortlessly executing high-performance manoeuvres in style.
Meanwhile, pocket-rocket Brodie Doyle (Coolangatta) out-muscled her opponents in U/16 Girls division, able to go one better than sister Amiya (U/18 Girls), yet both girls have easily qualified for the state team to compete in the Arnette Australian Junior Surfing Titles beginning in November on the Sunshine Coast.
Contest Director and Surfing Queensland Events Manger Scott Gillies was excited about the standard of surfing showcased by the junior competitors at today’s competition.
“Queensland’s junior surfing team will definitely be a force to be reckoned with when the Arnette Australian Junior Surfing Titles get underway on the Sunshine Coast in late November,” said Gillies.
“Both the boys and the girls once again proved that the Arnette Queensland Junior Surfing Titles is a proven stepping stone for a professional surfing career, as these competitors move forward with their surfing development” he said.
Series winners will join an elite group of Queensland surfers that have previously won state junior titles, including 2007 World Champion Mick Fanning (Coolangatta), current World no.1 Joel Parkinson (Coolangatta).
The Queensland Junior Surfing Team will now prepare to do battle with the other sates when the Arnette Australian Junior Surfing Titles come to the Sunshine Coast in November.
Queensland Junior Surfing Teams:
U/18 Boys:
1. Jack Freestone – Coolangatta (State Champion)
2. Thomas Woods – Tugun
3. Tim Macdonald – North Stradbroke Island
4. Josh Menger – Maroochydore
U/16 Boys:
1. Noa Deane – Coolangatta (State Champion)
2. Eli Steele – Moffat Beach
3. Hayden Welch – Currumbin
4. Harry Bryant – Sunshine Beach
U/18 Girls:
1. Naomi Stevic – Castaways Beach (State Champion)
2. Amiya Doyle – Coolangatta
3. Chiana Ireland – Coolum
4. Claje Goebel – North Stradborke Island
U/16 Girls:
1. Brodie Doyle – Coolangatta (State Champion)
2. Eden Putland – Currumbin