Goddard Pips Belcher By 0.53 Of A Point In Round 2 Of State Longboard Series

Great Waves Greet Round 2 Of The State Longboard Series In Avalon
 

Near on perfect conditions prevailed for the final day of round two of the state longboard series held in Mandurah on the weekend.

Clean one to two metre waves had competitors more than eager to get amongst it in their finals.

City Beach surfer Rahn Goddard was the surfer to beat in the final. He opened his account with a long peeling left hand wave that earned him an average of 7.53 out of a possible ten points. While Yallingups Jarred Foster looked invincible in the preliminary rounds, he could not seem to find his form in the final and it was Jason Belcher from Hillarys who took the challenge up to Goddard.

At one point in the 25 minute final all four surfers were tied with Daniel Corbett from City Beach also taking up the gauntlet, but it was clear that Goddard wanted the win and after picking off one of the bigger set waves of the final, the talented goofy footer racked up enough moves and a huge 360 degree manouvre to post an 8.13 pts for his second scoring ride and take the win by just 0.53 of a point from Belcher.

“Pretty happy with that result. It was pretty tense out there with everyone wanting to win this one and it must have been a hard one for the judges to call. Fun waves and good weather, but I’m really looking forward to Denmark” said Goddard.

Georgia Young from Swanbourne was being tipped to take the open women’s division out. Surfing with power and speed through Saturday, Young had to contend with multiple state and national title holder Claire Finucane from Melville in the final.

Lucy Pries from Bunbury and Arlene Nagtzaam from Yallingup gave the two heat leaders a good nudge, but it was Finucanes experience and competition savvy that was enough to relegate Young into second place by just 0.96 of a point and the others into third and fourth respectively in another closely contested final.

“Avalon is such a fun longboard wave and gives everyone an equal chance with each wave being similar at times. I really like competing here, it’s a fun manouvarable wave and winning here makes it all that much better” said Finucane.

In the under 21 mens final Daniel Corbett (City Beach) claimed victory over Sam Tucker (Dunsborough), brother Michael Corbett (City Beach) and Trent Merrifield (Dunsborough) respectively. Corbett wasted no time putting the pressure on early at the start of the final. A polished and calculated performance gave him a well deserved win.

The under 18 girls was won by Grace Clifford (Cottesloe), while Sam Tucker (Dunsborough) had a win in the under 18 boys.

Jason weeks from Dunsborough added an impressive head stance to his repertoire for a win in the over 35 mens with Arlene Nagtzaam from Yallingup winning the over 35 womens final.

In the over 40 mens North Fremantles Kevin Anderson secured first place whilst Barrie McKinnon from Dunsborough powered through the over 45 mens final for a well earned win.

Cottesloes Peter Dunn just snuck in front of Safety Bays Norman Twight by just 0.06 of a point to win the over 50 mens final with Mick Marlin (Mandurah) winning the over 55 mens and Dave Ellis from Ruabon taking out the over 60 final.

Next stop on the series is the South Coast of Western Australia for the final round.

THE 2007 STATE LONGBOARD SERIES IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY SUNSMART, YALLINGUP BEACH HOLIDAY PARK, COCA COLA, 92.9 & SURFING WA

Final results

Open Men:
1. Rahn Goddard (City Beach), 2. Jason Belcher (Hillarys), 3. Daniel Corbett (City Beach). 4. Jared Foster (Yallingup).

Open Women:
1. Claire Finucane (Melville), 2. Georgia Young (Swanbourne), 3. Lucy Pries (Bunbury), 4. Arlene Nagtzaam (Yallingup).

Under 21 men:
1. Daniel Corbett (City Beach), 2. Sam Tucker (Dunsborough), 3. Michael Corbett (City Beach), 4. Trent Merifield (Dunsborough).

Under 18 Girls:
Grace Clifford (Cottesloe), 2. Katherine Van Kampen (Bicton) No show.

Under 18 Boys:
Sam Tucker (Dunsborough), 2. Lindsay Small (Melville), 3. Mitchell Corbett (City Beach), 4. Elliot Fisher (Wembly Downs).

Over 35 Men:
Jason Weeks (Dunsborough), 2. David Barlow (Greenwood), 3. Wayne Lupton (Dunsborough).

Over 35 Women:
Arlene Nagtzaam (Yallingup), 2. Lucy Pries (City Beach), 3. Catherine Fletcher (City Beach).

Over 40 Men:
Kevin Anderson (North Fremantle), 2. Brett Merifield (Dunsborough), 3. Fraser McAlpine (Dunsborough), 4. David Flower (Mullaloo).

Over 45 Men:
Barrie McKinnon (Dunsborough), 2. Brad Belcher (Hillarys), 3. Kevin Saunders (Woodvale), 4. Richard Wain (Yallingup).

Over 50 Men:
Peter Dunn (Cottesloe), 2. Norman Twight (Saftey Bay), 3. Gary Tucker (Dunsborough), 4. Peter Clark (Kinross).

Over 55 Men:
Mick Marlin (Mandurah), 2. Tony Harrison (Albany), 3. Colin Small (Melville), 4. Gerry Bejarano (Trigg).

Over 60 Men:
Dave Ellis (Ruabon), 2. Graham Mc Manus (Kingsley)