| WERRI BEACH BOARDRIDERS CLUB |
| NEWS - 2009 |
| 06.04.2009 Dean Bowen ISA World Junior Champion! Dean Bowen is the new ISA World Junior Champion after coming through the repercharge rounds to claim his second world title after winning the World King Of The Groms in 2006. Bowen was knocked into the repercharge rounds earlier this week, losing to Costa Rican Carlos Munoz, Brazilian Thiago Guimaraes in round three. In a test of endurance, Bowen battled his way through seven elimination rounds before making it to the finals, impressing the 12 member judging panel on his way to taking first in all but one of his heats. His final match opponents, Brazilian Miguel Pupo, French surfer Maxime Huscenot and Hawaiian Dylan Goodale, all came through the qualifying rounds. In the Boys Under 18 final, Bowen took the lead catching the first wave, working the left point with huge frontside turns all the way to the shore. Bowen's next scoring wave solidified his lead. Pupo made an attempt to move into first with two back-to-back waves and a combined score of 15.06, but Bowen held the lead. With eight minutes still on the clock Bowen sealed the final with a huge 9.10 leaving Huscenot and Goodale way behind and needing a combination of 17.61. Huscenot's last wave featured a huge free falling floater on the outside section and pulled him up into third but with time running out, but he couldn't find the second wave he needed to win. In the end, Pupo won silver, Huscenot bronze and Goodale copper. “I feel on top of the world,” said an emotional Bowen after the win. “This is by far the biggest win of my life.” “I trained for this contest all year which started as the NSW State Champion and then the Australian Champion and now I am the World Junior Champion.” “I cannot believe we won. I would like to dedicate this win to my late mother whom I lost when I was nine years old, and to my father who is recovering from knee surgery back at home.” 14.03.2009 Werri Beach Boardriders Club are Australia’s champion Boardriding Club after winning today’s Jim Beam Surftag final at North Narrabeen Beach. Werri Beach sits near Gerrigong on the surf rich South Coast of NSW and this was their first ever Jim Beam Surftag national victory. In an exciting, close and action packed final, driven by club passion which assured multiple tactics and in water controversies, Werri defeated the 2008 champions North Narrabeen with the score line over all five competing surfers at Werri Beach on 98.35 to North Narrabeen on 95.26 with Dee Why in third place on 88 points and event favourites Snapper Rocks fourth in the final on 76 points. Werri began their final in the worst possible way with their opening surfer Matt Jones suffering an interference call on his opening ride which resulted in an immediate 7 point deduction. Seemingly out of contention and with no pressure on the team, Werri’s second surfer Rhys Bombaci threw caution to the wind and scored two outstanding 9 point plus rides. Bombaci’s amazing performance moved Werri from last place to first. Former ASP World Tour surfer Todd Prestage followed on Bombaci’s scores with a series of excellent scores to give the club a solid and unexpected lead coming to the final surfers and both Tully Robinson and Ryan Bailey maintaining the clubs position to take the title. Bombaci was the teams hero scoring the events highest total in his final rampage. “I thought we were gone after the interference so simply went out there and surfed for fun. After those two 9 point rides all of a sudden I realized we were back in the hunt and all the boys followed on and we took the win – It’s an amazing feeling and so good for all the south coast clubs in NSW!” said an elated Bombaci after the win. Event favourites Snapper Rocks had a very mixed run in the final. With leading world tour surfers Joel Parkinson and Josh Kerr heading up the team they looked formidable. Parkinson suffered during his time in the water with both wave starved conditions and what appeared to be a very aggressive paddling tussle with North Narrabeen’s Chris Davidson. Josh Kerr looked set to bring the club right back into contention when he opened with a perfect 10 point ride but then his follow up waves were terrible and the clubs chances of winning were gone. North Narrabeens team made a few crucial late errors but considering Werri’s opening interference call, the winners were unanimously applauded as deserved champions of Australia! With $12000 winners cheque and the trophy, Werri team manager Dave Hunt accepted the win on behalf of all South Coast NSW Boardriding clubs! 7 December, 2008 Dean Bowen Australian Under 18 Champion! Margaret River, WA - Dean Bowen served notice today that he could well be the next emerging young Australian surfing star with an incredible display of powered precision surfing as he demolished the field to win the Australian under 18 Junior Surfing Title. Throughout the event Bowen was the surfer to beat and he left nothing to chance in the final opening with an excellent 8.65, backing it up immediately with another excellent 8.75 and then at the half way point of the final sealing the deal with an outstanding 9.5 ride! “ I have absolutely loved the waves here all week at Margaret River and it’s just so great to win an Australian Junior Title – Past winners like Parko (Joel Parkinson) and Tom Carroll went on to become legends of the sport and to win this event is really special” said an ecstatic Bowen after his win. “It gets me into the world junior titles in Ecuador next year and I’m so looking forward to that event – To represent Australia there will be great and already I’m confident we can win – Australia has the best surfers as far as I’m concerned and we’ll be going there to show that to the world!” Bowen’s massive tally of 18.25 out of a possible 20 left all his rivals chasing a combination of scores to try and catch him with Queensland’s Tim McDonald coming in 2nd on 14.25 followed by fellow south coast NSW surfer Jordi Watson on 13.5 and South Australia’s Khai Adams in 4th place on 9.75. Bowen also complimented his big win today by scoring the events only perfect 10 point ride in his semi final and most who witnessed his performance this week are in no doubt the powerful and likeable goofy foot surfer has a big and immediate future in the sport along with a resemblance in style and power to Australia’s most recent champion goofy footer (right foot forward) surfer Mark Occhilupo! NSW State Titles- Boomerang Beach Dean Bowen (Gerroa, NSW) etched himself into NSW surfing history after being crowned NSW U/18 champion at the Quiksilver State titles today. Revelling in the perfect 2m conditions, Bowen h?eralded his intentions with a perfect ten point ride in the semi-finals, then backing it up with a combined heat total of 15.25 (out of a possible 20) in the final, Bowen was head and shoulders above his peers throughout. "It's such an awesome feeling," he said. "I felt I was the form surfer throughout the event, so to take out the final is crazy." Bowen was the standout competitor from the first heat until the last in the under 18 boys division, defeating Ryan Callinan (Merewether, NSW), Max Ayshford (Maroubra, NSW) and Jordi Watson (Currarong, NSW) in the hotly contested final. "Winning this event is easily the biggest result so far this year for me," Bowen admitted. "?I wanted it so bad." Surfing with ease and confidence in the solid, but classic conditions at Boomerang beach, Bowen felt at ease in the bigger conditions. ??'The conditions were on-fire throughout the event and I think the bigger waves today suited me down to the ground" he said after racking up a nine-point ride in the final. Fantastic Cup Pro Junior - Sth Australia Tommy Salvesen has had a great month of July by claiming 3rd place in the Fantastic Cup Pro Junior at Waitpinga Beach, Sth Australia. Tommy claimed his highest placing to date in an Pro Junior event eventually losing to event runner up and current Pro Junior ratings leader Stuart Kennedy. Tommy is now ranked 39th on the ASP Pro Junior ratings. Red Bull Junior Surf Masters - Werri Beach Local surfer Tom Salvesen was a popular winner in the first ever Red Bull Junior Surf Masters Qualifying Event at Werri Beach. Following the morning's classic glassy conditions, in less than perfect waves Salvesen took out the event against the highly rated Perth Standlick (second) from Bondi, Ty Watson (third) and Dean Bowen (fourth). In the final moments of the Event, Salvesen took off on a wave and launched into an alley oop, landing it to loud applause from the crowd. "I only had two OK waves at that stage, so I knew I had to pull out something special. I wasn't sure if I was going to land it, though. I had my eyes closed for half of it." The judges were suitably impressed, and Salvesen leapt to the lead, ahead of Standlick, who had himself come out of an almost impossible tube. "I wasn't so sure if I would make it, but I was just going for broke," Standlick said. Sally Fitzgibbons Qualifies for 2009 WCT Sally Fitzgibbons Makes ASP History! COOLANGATTA, Australia (Thursday, June 26, 2008) Reigning ASP World Junior Champion Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 17-years old, has made ASP history by securing enough ratings points on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) to qualify for the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour well before the halfway point this season – a feat that has never been accomplished by any surfer (male or female) in history. "My initial reaction when I found out that I had qualified was elation,' Fitzgibbons said. "It is a dream come true to qualify for the ASP Women’s World Tour and an honor to be competing against the top women surfers in the world." Al Hunt, ASP WQS Tour Manager, confirms Fitzgibbons' historic feat following her runner-up finish to current ASP World No. 11 Silvana Lima (BRA) at the ASP WQS 5-Star Billabong Surf ECO Festival in Bahia, Brazil last weekend. "This is the earliest that any ASP WQS surfer, man or woman, has ever qualified for the following year's ASP World Tour," Hunt said. "Sally's current worst results are scores that others would love to have as their best, and the young natural-footer should be able to set a record winning margin by year’s end if she keeps up her current form." Fitzgibbons, who claimed the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in early January, has been on a tear since then, winning the ASP WQS 6-Star Roxy Pro Women's Surfing Festival in Phillip Island, the ASP WQS 4-Star Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro at Soldiers Beach, finishing runner-up at the ASP WQS 6-Star Midori Pro in Newcastle, equal 5th at the ASP WQS 5-Star Drug Aware Pro in Margaret River and finishing runner-up at the ASP WQS 5-Star Billabong Surf ECO Pro to amass an unprecedented 9,090 ratings points. |
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| Dean "Froggy" Bowen 2008 Australian U/18 & State Champion! |
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| Tommy Salvesen Red Bull Junior Surf Master Werri Beach Champion! |
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| Sally Fitzgibbons 2009 WCT Qualifier! |
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| Rhys Bombaci on fire during the final! |
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| L to R : Jim Beam Girls, Some old kook, Tully, Rhys, Matty, Todd and Ryan |
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