Snapper Rocks Surfriders have taken out the title of Queensland’s best boardrider club at the 2018 nudie Australian Boardrider Battle on the Gold Coast today, defeating Point Lookout Boardriders, Burleigh Boardriders and North Shore Boardriders respectively in the final. The rain stayed away from the competition on a beautiful winters day at the Spit on the northern end of the Gold Coast, as the event got underway.
Opening rounds saw former WSL World Championship Tour (WCT) surfer Bede Durbidge (North Stradbroke, QLD) representing Point Lookout Boardriders and tearing apart the 2-3ft waves along with teammate and current Queensland Championship Circuit (QCC) open men’s champion Lincoln Taylor (North Stradbroke, QLD). A consistent performance from Alister Reginato (North Shore Boardriders) saw his team through to the final along with Burleigh Boardriders, Snapper Rocks and Point Lookout Boardriders after some exciting semi-final action. The waves stuck around as the final got underway.
2-3ft waves rolled through as the battle began with Burleigh Boardriders scoring one of the higher waves of the heat with a 7.33 (out of a possible 10.00), followed by Tim Macdonald (Point Lookout) scoring a 6.7. The tag team format excited onlookers as competitors sprinted out of the surf one after another. It came down to the wire with 10 minutes remaining and only five points the difference between first and last place, with Snapper Rocks in the lead. Thomas Woods (Burleigh Boardriders) and Bede Durbidge (Point Lookout) sprinted into the lineup with three minutes to go, as Jay Philllips (Snapper Rocks) locked in the team’s final ride – while Taj Stokes (North Shore) snapped up his last score as well. Durbidge and Stokes ran through the finish line with a minute to go, as Thomas Woods sprinted in the dying seconds to make it over the finish line right on the final hooter – but Snapper had already locked in the winning score well in advance and took the win. Snapper rocks supporters erupted in cheer as the team claimed victory.
“We’ve got a stellar group of young surfers coming up in our club, and they did amazingly in the conditions today. We just told them to go out there and have fun,” said Snapper Rocks club representative Jay Phillips. “We’re all super excited to be heading down to the national titles, hopefully we can have Queensland team as the champion. Snapper Rules!”
All four teams who competed in the final today will compete at the national nudie Australian Boardrider Battle final in Newcastle.
Tim Macdonald (Point Lookout) was awarded the AirAsia Wave of the Day after his 9-point ride in the first round, and Alister Reginato (North Shore) was awarded the Oakley Prizm Award as the best overall performer today.
The nudie Australian Boardriders Battle is the biggest grassroots boardriders event in Australian surfing history. It will involve more than 100 of Australia’s best boardriders clubs in eight State qualifying rounds and will culminate in a two day National Final for 24 clubs at Newcastle Beach, NSW. The series is officially sanctioned by the World Surf League (WSL), which allows Australian WSL World Tour surfers (Men & Women) the opportunity to represent their local boardriders club at respective State qualifying events and the National Final.
Results:
1st: Snapper Rocks Surfriders
2nd: Point Lookout Boardriders
3rd: Burleigh Boardriders
4th: North Shore Boardriders
AirAsia Wave of the Day: Tim Macdonald (Point Lookout Boardriders)
Oakley Prizm Pack Winner: Alister Reginato (North Shore Boardriders)
Prize Money Breakdown
1st: $2,000
2nd: $1,500
3rd: $1,000
4th: $500
The 2018 nudie Australian Boardriders Battle is proudly supported by nudie, Woolworths, Oakley, Hyundai, AirAsia, Summer Bright Lager, DrinkWise, 2XP, LocalSearch, WSL, MySurf.Tv, Fox Sports, The City of Newcastle, The NSW Government, Visit NSW and Surfing Australia.