Beau Nixon victorious at Australian SUP Titles

Beau Nixon © Renee Miller / Surfing NSW

2012 Australian Surf Festival

Surfing Australia
Port MacQuarie, New South Wales
11 - 25 August 2012

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Beau Nixon is Victorious at the Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Titles

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 August, 2012 : - - Crowned at North Haven beach as the Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Champion for 2012, Beau Nixon took the title against the most talented competitors the country has to offer. In what can only be described as a nail biting final the open men put on a jostling Stand Up Paddleboard stouche for spectators and judges.

The lead up to the final saw a great exchange of aerials in the semis, narrowing it down to the final four wasn’t easy but contending the open mens was defending champion Jackson Close (Coolangatta, QLD), Geoff Breen, (Sunshine Beach, QLD), Beau Nixon (Tweed Heads, NSW) and keahi De Aboitiz (Sunshine Beach, QLD).

The three Queenslanders surfed solidly, aerial master De Aboitiz drove some big bottom turns before throwing it right up above the lip. Narrowing the gap between himself and first, before Close ripped a high speed top turn furthering himself from his competition with an 8.10, putting his competitors in a tough position.
Close held the strong hold for the last five minutes, De Aboitiz kicked his surfing up a gear with a huge front side air, but Nixon drove right down the line for a big floater and the 7.5 was enough to take the lead and claim the title back for NSW.

“I feel amazing I’ve trained so hard for this event, I’m so glad I came away with a win, I’m over the moon right now, I really can’t describe it”, said an elated Nixon after winning the open mens final that changed leads on numerous occasions. “It went back and forth, I had a strategy for this to just sit and wait for the good ones. With twenty five minutes you have a lot of time out there so its kind of a good thing to just sit and wait”.

“I knew Jackson could pull anything out of the hat, he did it last year and the year before, but I just stuck to my guns and I knew I had the 8.5 backing me so I stuck to my strategy and my plan. Coming home with this win is amazing”, said Nixon.

Keahi De Aboitiz © Renee Miller / Surfing NSW

Shakira Westdorp (Tugun, QLD), had a solid cheer squad from the sunshine state as Stand Up Paddleboarders filled the surfing and racing components. Defending her title in conditions that turned with the afternoon wind, Westdrop was happy to win against such a strong field of surfers.

“I’m stoked the level of the girls surfing has improved so much over the last couple of years. It’s only going to get harder and harder, so to to take it out over the other girls who have been ripping is great”, said Westdorp.

“It was a little bit unexpected, I could hear that Erin and I were pretty close, I could see the girls were getting waves but I was just trying to paddle over and get the rights. It was really hard, the winds come up and it was hard to get a wave that allowed you to do a number of moves”, said Westdorp, who won her second Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Title in a row.

Wrapping up the day in afternoon winds, the Technical Sprint race put competitors to the test for 8km at North Haven Beach, Port Macquarie. Kelly Margetts won with fellow Queenslanders Lincoln Deus and Jake Jensen in second and third place.

This year’s event will also feature a busy schedule off the water with live music and surf education courses. Town Green Inn will become the headquarters for all the land-based action providing competitors and spectators an opportunity to relax when competition is over for the day. A series of coaching courses will be available for surfing, SUP and judging.

The Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by Essential Energy, NSW Government, Destination NSW, Port Macquarie Tourism, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Harley-Davidson Australia, Town Green Inn, Nikon, Suncorp, VB, Australian Sports Commission, Coastalwatch, NBN, Port Macquarie News, 2MC, Star FM, Surfing World Magazine, Pacific Longboarder Magazine.

The Australian Surf Festival is a key regional event on the NSW Events Calendar, and is supported by the NSW Government, through Destination NSW.
HIT the RESULTS TAB at australiansurffestival.com for all the heat scores, or watch it all LIVE

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OPEN MEN
1st: Beau Nixon (Tweed Heads, NSW)
2nd: Jackson Close (Coolangatta, QLD)
3rd: Keahi De Aboitiz (Sunshine Beach, QLD)
4th: Geoff Breen (Sunshine Beach, QLD)

OPEN WOMEN
1st: Shakira Westdorp (Tugun, QLD)
2nd: Erin Dark (Gerringong, NSW)
3rd: Terrene Black (Long Jetty, NSW)
4th: Kristianna Page (VIC)

OVER 40 MENS
1st: John Christensen (North Curl Curl, NSW)
2nd: Andrew Cassidy (Mona Vale, NSW)
3rd: Noel Graham (Lennox Head, NSW)
4th: John Tackle (VIC)

TECHNICAL SPRINT
1st: Kelly Margetts (QLD)
2nd: Lincoln Deus (QLD)
3rd: Jake Jensen (QLD)

Previous reports:
# 1 : Australian Surf Festival kicks off in wild, windy surf
# 2 : Eight-foot swell lights up Australian Surf Festival
# 3 : Finalists decided for the Australian Surf Festival
# 4 : Georgia Young & Jackson Close claim Aussie titles
# 5 : Australian Surf Festival crowns 13 new champions