The Reef that Rules provided a sensational sequence of gnarly waves to kick-start a super-charged set of contests across Open, Juniors and Masters. The rough and ready overhead swells poured in all day, to put every surfer under the hammer – and provide a super charged tournament that the WSL Tour can only dream about.
With the sun blazing, the new barbecue dishing up sausage sandwiches, the sound system pouring out plenty of Hip Hop specials, and a sensational array of new, old and bolted on competitors that the Shoes Pavilion has not witnessed in many years, the scene was set for a glorious seven hours of wave slashing Armageddon.
As tournament officials Guy Turner, Matty Cook and Aaron Girgis made the first-rate call to go ahead, surfers started coming from all directions…many of them returning to the Shoes Scene of wave bashing crime for many years.
The vibe was so strong that, remarkably, competitors were waxed up and ready to go on time – a breakthrough encounter that kept the buzz, passion and happy headspaces fully engaged.And as for the quality of surfing spread across the main reef and the Alley, so did the joy of seeing overhead waves carved up in all directions and ensured that the judges were scoring plenty of 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s for wave demolitions.
The Opens saw Harrison Martin in 1st, Tommy Mulder 2nd, Nathan Hatheier 3rd and Matty Cook 4th.
The Juniors saw Luca Salisbury claim No 1, followed by Ryder O’Donnel 2nd, Finlay Moore 3rd and Fin Bridgewater 4th.
The Masters saw Robyn Moore claim No 1, new Life Member John Bonello 2nd, Marty Shipley 3rd and Michael Samuel (making a brilliant return to Shoes from The Point) 4th.
And didn’t every surfer look the professional wave-buster with the first outing of the new contest Rashies!
So with the inaugural 2020 tournament done and dusted, the emphasis shifts to the March world title skirmish. Watch out for the two sets of dates.
A big thank you to the Club’s major Sponsors:
Karan Murray, wife of the Club’s Patron for Life Dr John Murray
Mel Hatheier, of McGrath Real Estate
The Perfect Wave
Laneway Festival
Young Henrys
Whitesky Accounting
banner image courtesy of Ian Macca MacDonald
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