Tweed young-gun Beau Nixon beat out a red-hot field at Port Stephens to win the 2011 NSW Stand Up Paddleboard championships at the weekend.
Greeted with clear skies, light offshore winds and beautiful, clean lines, the best Paddlers in the state put on a memorable show, heralding just how far the fledging sport has come.
In the Open Male division, high scores highlighted the preliminary rounds of competition as competitors pushed the limits of traditional paddleboarding.
However, after some amazing performances, it was twenty-year-old Nixon (Tweed Heads) who earned the title, defeating Roger Saunders (Minnie Waters), Ben Apps (Woonona) and Noel Graham (Lennox Head), who finished second, third and fourth respectively.
“It’s so incredible to win the State Titles and to win against Ben, Roger and Noel feels amazing. Watching them out there over the weekend was nerve-racking, but I kept a level head and I feel great,” said Nixon.
“It’s a very high level or surfing, even the Over 35s and Women’s divisions, it’s great for competitors and spectators to watch in such testing conditions.”
Having ridden a wave of popularity across the globe over the past decade, stand-up paddleboarding has etched its way firmly into the sphere of competitive and recreational surfing, culminating with this inaugural event.
The hybrid discipline, which takes inspiration from surfing, skiing, wakeboarding and skateboarding, continues to rapidly evolve and grow in popularity.
The level of skill of the women competing in the Trident NSW Stand Up Paddleboard Titles presented by Dripping Wet, has risen out of sight in the last twelve months.
In the Open Women’s division, it was Terrene Black (Long Jetty) who led from the front to take a commanding victory over Erin Dark (Gerringong), Hannah Finlay-Jones (Merewether), Melissa McManus (Woollamia, NSW) and Elyse Comeford (Macquarie Links) who finished second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
“Today was such a great day, I’m so excited to win, I love the big waves so it was good to surf the clean sets when they came through,” said Terrene who has only been riding a Stand Up Paddleboard for six months.
“I’m looking forward to getting some more practice in before the Australian Titles. I trained for a few weeks for the VB Open SUP race and I want to get fitter,” said Terrene, tallying an impressive 26.7 (out of a possible 40) in the final.
The day’s surfing also represented the first time an Over 35s Men’s division has been held at the NSW Stand Up Paddleboard titles.
Leading the field was Lennox Head surfer Noel Graham, who notched a 13.9 total to beat John Christensen (North Curl Curl), Adam Robinson (Copacabana) and Andrew Cassidy, who finished second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
The VB Open SUP race was a demanding race, which saw entrants tackle an offshore course that challenged technical, athletic and surfing skills, weaving in and out of the break for three kilometres.
Fitness levels were tested and the beach run in between paddles nearly got the better of contestants, but Minnie Water Surfer Roger Saunders crossed the finish line first after leading the pack from the beginning.
“This is great fun and a good weekend away, and a few hundred dollars and cold hard cans of VB this afternoon will be well worth it,” said Saunders as he took home a prize of $200 and three cartons of VB.
First female to cross the line was Terrene Black from Long Jetty, cheered in to win a $100 cash prize and two cartons of VB.
Surfing NSW Operations Manager Peter Hunt is pleased with the success of the event and looking forward to the future of the NSW Stand Up Paddleboard Titles in Port Stephens.
“It’s excellent to see how quickly the sport has grown and the event’s second year has proven a great success for competitors and the Port Stephens region,” said Peter.
“With the addition of the Over 35 Men’s division and the VB Open SUP race, it’s been a busy and successful weekend. We are super excited to see the sport thrive over the next twelve months and keen to see exactly what new victories 2012 will bring”.
Having finalised a superb team of stand up paddleboarders for The Australian Surf Festival, NSW look to be in great stead for the third stand up paddleboard national titles.
