Kyle Robinson : photo Jake White
Printpoint Queensland Masters Event #2
Surfing Queensland Sunshine Coast Qld 2 - 3 August 2008
Round Two Of Printpoint Queensland Masters Surfing Circuit Wrapped Up On Sunshine Coast
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 4 August, 2008 : - - The Printpoint Queensland Masters Surfing Circuit continued to roll on yesterday with the second leg of the three-round circuit finalising on the Sunshine Coast.
A wave of the state’s hottest masters surfers showed that they could still mix it with the best, battling it out across six separate divisions in the race for prestigious state titles and all-important selection in the Queensland Team to contest the Australian Open Surfmasters in 2009.
Currumbin stalwart Mark ‘Richo’ Richardson fell just short of back-to-back double victories, taking out the blue ribbon senior men’s title before being pipped at the post in the O/35’s.
Richardson, who trumped a class field to snare both the O/35 mens and O/28 men’s crowns at the opening round of the series, was in a class of his own in the small yet clean beach break waves on offer at Coolum Beach, netting a 13.03 two-wave combination (out of a possible 10) in the senior men’s final to setup a formidable lead heading into the final round of the circuit on North Stradbroke in November.
But it was no runaway victory for Richardson, who had to milk each of his two scoring waves through to the beach to inflict the winning blow. On the back foot in the opening half of the 20-minute exchange, Richardson drew on his extensive competition repertoire, jagging a 7.50 on his opening ride to peg back his foes and leave himself within striking distance of the lead.
Waiting patiently in the line-up, Richardson snared a set wave in the closing stages of the final before unloading his dangerous backhand attack to land a 5.53 to finish in the lead with Kyle Robinson (Clear Island Waters) close behind on 12.84. Simon Massey (Gold Coast) and Blair Semple (Elanora) finished third and fourth respectively.
“It’s always fun coming to the Sunny Coast,” said Richardson. “I’ve always gone well up here and I kept momentum going today. I’m really looking forward to getting over to Straddie and wrapping up the series.” Richardson leads the ratings with 2000-points, 530 clear of Dean Hall (Mermaid Beach) in second with Massey (1460) in third.
The progressive surfing action continued in the 0/35 men’s division with Robinson turning the tables on Richardson to win a tightly fought final. Robinson picked up from where he left off in the senior men’s final, upping the ante to produce a come-from-behind performance to beat Richardson, Peter Boyd (Moffat Beach) and Chris Brooks (Currumbin).
As an added sweetener, Robinson surfed away with Tooheys Extra Dry ‘Wave of the Weekend” for the tournament’s highest individual wave score, a near perfect 9.00 out of a possible 10. Sunshine Coast surfer Terry Landsberg capped off his campaign in style, defeating Brooks, James Ellen (Mudgeeraba) and Nick Ryan (Mermaid Beach) to secure victory in the 0/40 men’s division.
Meanwhile, local knowledge proved valuable for David Cervi (Sunrise Beach) in the 0/45 men’s final, dusting Andrew Harris (Palm Beach), Mark Traucnieks (Palm Beach) and Paul Fisher to seal his first win in this year’s circuit.
In the 0/50 men’s final, Sunshine Coaster Neville Williams (Marcoola) surfed away with winner’s trophy, while Gold Coast surfing icon Paul Neilsen (Mermaid Beach) breezed to victory in the 0/55 crown. The exclusive three-event, continues to set the benchmark for surfers aspiring to a national masters title.
Divisions include senior men (0/28), O/35, O/40, 0/45, O/50 and O/55.
Event Dates:
Event 1: March 29-30 – Gold Coast (Completed) Event 2: August 2-3 – Sunshine Coast Event 3: November 8-9 – Nth Stradbroke
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