Longboarders miss out in Titles

Local hopefuls Pat McCarthy and Mike Neunuebel were unable to make finals in the open men’s division of the WA State Longboard and SUP Titles in Denmark last weekend.

However Neunuebel managed to pick up second and third placings in the over-40 and over-50 divisions respectively in what turned out to be a big weekend of surfing for the late-contest entrant.

The veteran Denmark surfer topped his semifinal in the over-50s but narrowly missed out on taking charge of the division after Ray Barker edged him out in sketchy conditions at Parry Beach on Sunday.

Earlier in the day McCarthy surfed his way to the open men’s semifinal and needed a solid score towards the end of the heat to progress, but failed to find the right wave to qualify for the most important heat of the day.

It was Ryan Clark from Kinross who was crowned open men’s winner of round two of the State series when he pulled off a massive air in the dying minutes of the four-man final to snatch victory over Yallingup’s Justin Redman.

In the open women’s event Swanbourne surfer Georgia Young took out the final in convincing fashion with two high scores of 7.83 and 7.33, to beat Claire Finucane.

“Parry’s is one of my favourite waves in the world and it was epic to win in great conditions today,” Young said.

Talented Denmark junior Emi Campbell swapped her short board for a plank and ended up winning the junior girls’ under-18 division in fine form.

Albany’s Tony Harrison made two finals in the over-55 and 60 men’s divisions.

Stand-up paddle-boarding duo Rick and Jake Jakovich battled for top honours in the open men’s division, with Rick eventually tipping the balance in his favour after a tight contest over the two-day event, which started at Ocean Beach on Saturday.

Surfing WA’s Justin Majeks said the south coast produced highly contestable waves.

Organisers and competitors were happy the rain had held off, he added.