Last Saturday D’bah Boardriders won the 2013 QLD Jim Beam Surftag Title out-surfing a quality field that included previous National Champions Snapper Rocks and LeBa (Lennox Head/Ballina).
In peaky, 1-3 foot conditions at their home break, the D’Bah team – a young club, whose main aim is to have fun – won the title and the acclaim with a total heat score of 91.8 from Kirra (73.07), Noosa (67.67) and Snapper Rolls (Snapper Rocks B Team) (65.83).
The local rippers led the final from start to finish, opening their account with Samba Mann nailing a 20.37 heat total. Brent Dorrington delivered a blistering back-up with a 25.33 and took out the BOSCH Powerwave award with an excellent 8.5 on his second wave, which attracted double points. Nick Vasicek (12.07), John Cummings (22.23) and Luke Dorrington (7.8) solidified the lead with a consistent display of electrifying surfing and added four bonus points for being the first team to catch all required waves.
Two-time and current World Junior Champion, Jack Freestone, was forced to miss the final, having to join Joel Parkinson for a Billabong signing, but played a crucial role in the team’s success earlier in the day. Luke Dorrington was hurled into the team for the final bout.
BOSCH Powerwave winner, Brent Dorrington, said the surprise victory was a sweet win to snatch from their older and more experienced rival clubs.
“It’s pretty classic that a bunch of guys, who are pretty much all unsponsored, can win against clubs like Kirra and Snapper,” he said.
“All the boys were down here supporting us on the hill and psyching everyone up. It was awesome.”
Dorrington said well-ridden powerwaves that attracted the biggest points was the main factor that forged the win.
“We all got really good powerwaves and that’s what got us in the lead and kept us there. If you don’t have a good powerwave you’re going to be on the back foot for the heat.”
In the upset of the Series so far, defending Regional and previous Australian Champions, Snapper Rocks (A Team), failed to qualify for the national decider, after getting knocked from the event in the quarter finals. But it’s one less team the D-Bah contingent will have to face when the National Titles roll into their home-break in April.
“We are feeling pretty confident for the Nationals. Everyone is so happy it’s back at D-Bah. Last year it was at Lennox Head and the surf was pretty horrendous,” said Dorrington.
“There are so many good clubs now that all the guys in the final are going to know how to surf our home break well, but having it here, for my mates and I, it’s definitely a good advantage surfing it every day.”
Along with the four finalists, defending National Champions LeBa scratched through to progress to the final showdown after struggling without their key surfers. Kingscliff scored their first Nationals berth in 10 years and Cabarita and Coolum also advanced with talented local surfers in their squads, upstaging their well-known opponents. The Cabarita team was looking red hot until their run came to an end in the Semi Finals, Josh Fuller and Steve Powell standouts for the Tweed Coast Club.
2013 is the biggest year of Jim Beam Surftag in its 12-year history with 32 teams competing at the Australian Championships – increased from 24 – and over $100,000 in prize money up for grabs. The winning club will receive $15,000, plus five spots on a Maldives seven-day boat trip valued at $10,000.
The only disappointment at the event was the ASP putting a total ban on any WCT surfer competing in the event, a shame seeing it is the World Tour surfers clubs which helped them to get where they are, and now they cannot surf for them. This will more than likely be the same story for the upcoming Kirra Teams Challenge. One source that I talked to said the fines were supposed to be $25,000 for any surfer who defied the ban. The quality of surfing was superb though, and there is an amazing depth of talent in the Queensland/Northern NSW Boardriders clubs.
