S.A. SATE TITLES

Jake Hadcroft Narrowly Wins Round 3

Jake Hadcroft throws his board around on 2-3' waves at the Dump, Port Elliot to edge out Simon Coote and takes out Round 3 of the 2011 State Titles.

Earlier, at 7am on Sunday, Middleton was awash with white water needing an off-shore wind to straighten it out. Contest organisers made a quick call and the second day of Round 3 of the State Titles was going to be held at the right hander at the Dump. Glassy conditions and a reasonable size swell made it ideal for competition.

With the Kneeboard heat being on at 11am there was enough time for a quick warm-up surf at a not so secret spot further west. Jake, who was on judging duties for the stand-up heats, could not join the crew. This turned out for the better for Jake as the warm up took it out of the other competitors.

By the time 11am came around the swell had dropped but the conditions remained glassy. Jake, Simon and Craig hit the water in what turned out to be a close heat between Jake and Simon. Craig, unfortunately suffering fatigue from his warm-up session, struggled to find a wave. Simon took the early lead with some long rides, while Jake failed to pull off some critical turns. But it wasn't long before Jake nailed some airs and sweeping roundhouse cut-backs. Not to be outdone Simon pulled off some radical re-entries and hard cutbacks. The decision would be close and it turned out to be in Jake's favour by the barest of margins, 1 point in a high scoring heat. Well done guys.

Jake's win now gives him two wins from three rounds and the State Title for 2011, successfully defending his 2010 State Title. Congratulations to Jake and well done to all the other kneelos that competed over the three rounds of the State Titles for 2011. The unofficial points table is below. For photos of the final round, click on the link below.

Round 3 Photos by The Gun

Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total Points
Jake	-	2000	2000	4000
Stylemaster	2000	1460	-	3460
Simon	0	1720	1720	3440
Craig	1720	-	1460	3180
Fangio	1460	-	-	1460
Maxi	-	1340	-	1340

Jake Hadcoft Takes Out Round 2 of the State Titles

Congratulations to Jake Hadcroft on winning Round 2 of the State Kneeboard Surfing titles held in poor surfing conditions at Middleton.

Jake narrowly beat Simon Coote in extremely difficult conditions in stormy onshore Middleton waves. Last round winner Peter Granton (Stylemaster) came third and Max Simionato (The Hammer) a fighting fourth.

Jake's win opens up the State Kneeboard Surfing title race. With a good result in the third round in May any of four competitors can win the title. Can't wait!

Stylemaster Wins in Round 1

The 2011 State Kneeboard Surfing Titles got under way in perfect 2-4ft surf at Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula. Peter Granton (Stylemaster) absolutely carved the place up to take out Round 1. Craig Jacobs surfed cautiously to take out second place with Fangio (Steve Beach) in third.

Well done you guys and congratulations to all. What a great warm up for the World Titles as Peter and Craig will be competing in the 2011 World Titles next month.

Below are a few photos provided by Sarah. (Top left, Craig late take-off, Top right, Fangio screaming across a Pondy left, Bottom Left, Stylemaster in winning form and bottom right - Peter, Fangio and Craig.

ISA WORLD TITLES

2011 World Titles - SKA Report

Albert Munoz wins the 2011 World Kneeboard Surfing Titles held at Phillip Island Victoria, Australia.

The 2011 World Kneeboard Surfing Titles had everything from warm days and good surf to cold days and terrible surf. It didn't matter what the conditions, the good kneelos came to the fore. Albert Munoz taking the title over fellow team rider Chayne Simpson, Klye Bryant in third and the evergreen David Parkes in fourth.

A contingent of seven South Australian kneelos (all SKA members) travelled to Phillip Island to compete. Each had his own agenda, but all had the same aim and that was to represent Australia and South Australia (SA). The seven SA kneelos competing were Phil Arthur (Pinebox), Paul Francis, Günther Frensch (The Gun), Peter Granton (Stylemaster), Jake Hadcroft, Craig Jacobs and Sandy Langlands.

With most of us arriving a few days early we got to sample a variety of waves on offer. Right Point on the Friday evening was fantastic with only a dozen kneelos out and all sharing waves. Saturday the swell had picked up and the kneelos were spread over a number of breaks on the island. Craig and myself braved Woolamai and its 6ft plus close-out sets, scoring only a few waves in an hour or so. I rated it a 50 to 1 shot, where 50 waves hit you on the head for every one wave you rode. Surf wise it looked promising for the start of the World Titles.

The opening ceremony was held at the Rhyll Trout Farm with hundreds of competitors, family and supporters present. Pinebox represented the Australian kneelos in the opening ceremony. The competitor's meeting was held after the opening ceremony and a few of the SA boys were in the early heats.

Sunday dawned with good surf and light off-shore winds. A good start. Unfortunately the surf deteriorated as the week went on and only occasionally were there patches of good surf.

The competition highlights for the SA kneelos were:

Pinebox needing 3.75 points to advance to the next round in his age division and with 5 seconds to go, caught a small wave and absolutely ripped it apart to advance to the next round.
As I was heading out for my repechage knock-out heat, my least favourite song (Johnny Cash's 'Burning Ring of Fire') was played over the PA system. Everybody said it was and omen. Somehow I scraped through my heat to advance to the final 32 in the Open Division. As I walked back up the beach all the SKA crew ran down to congratulate me. What a feeling!!
Pinebox leading David Parkes in his Open Division heat only to be pipped by Parksey in the dying minutes, but still advancing to the final 32 in the Open Division.
Jake ripping in the Pro Junior trials and winning easily to advance to the Semi Finals.

I am sure there were more highlights for the other SKA members, but these came to mind as I was writing this article.

There were also highlights outside of the competition and again I will just list a few that came to my mind:

Craig's surfing at Right Point on Friday evening before the contest. Craig got lots of waves, took off deep and made every section. He was ready for the competition.
The SKA session at Magic Lands on Tuesday. Good waves and good surfing.
Sandy's tenpin bowling where he whipped the ball down that fast, that it bounced off the backboard and knocked a few extra pins over. Not sure if that's legal Sandy!
Paul's surfing at Collenades on Wednesday evening when the surf was pumping. All the SKA members were talking about it.
The Boat Cruise on Thursday night in the windiest and roughest conditions all week. Getting back safely was the highlight. In all that tossing and turning Stylemaster never spilt a drop of his beer.
On the same night, yours truly winning a Kneeboard in one of the raffles drawn. Now I've got a quiver.
Jake's fantastic movie nights. Jake filmed everybody surfing and every girl on the beach. It was great to watch.
Pinebox's speech when he collected the Tag Team trophy for Australia. Pinebox was the manager of the team. Give him a microphone and he can't stop talking. Great speech. We all loved it.

The contest was held at Woolamai Beach every day except Friday (Day 6) when it was moved to Centre Break at the Penguin Parade. The beach there was sheltered from the gusty westerly winds and the swell was contestable while the tide was in. The event was well organised and even with the surf not co-operating, the organisers still managed to get through all the heats.

To see the outstanding surfing from David Parkes, Chayne Simpson and Albert Munoz was well worth the trip. These three practised together all week and prior to the competition, surfed Woolamai in terrible conditions, when no other surfers were out. It paid dividends as David and Chayne won their age groups and Albert won the Open Division, with the other two also being in the Open Division final.

In addition to the individual heats a Tag Team event was also held with teams formed by the competing nations. Pinebox managed the Australian Team which finished up winning the event , thanks to Pinebox's 'make-it-up-as-you-go' plan.

All in all a good week with mixed results for the SKA members. More exposure to competition can only help for future events. We've got some time to work on it.

The next world titles will be held in Tahiti in 2013. Start saving guys.

Story by The Gun

2011 World World Title Photos (SA Kneelo's)

2011 World Titles Daily Updates (SA Kneelo's) (pdf)