Sydney, 1st March 2007 - NSW champions North Steyne has been handed a nightmare first round draw for the Jim Beam Surftag National final at South Curl Curl on Saturday.

The Surftag will be held in conjunction with the Jim Beam Boardriders Cup National final which begins with heats and quarter finals tomorrow.

The quarter final draw was released at a gala luncheon at Manly’s hip Ceruti’s Restaurant today with North Steyne drawing defending National title holder Snapper Rocks, powerful Western Australian club Margaret River and an experienced Bronte squad.

Host club Curl Curl fared little better and will have to go through Victorian hot shots Torquay, consistent Gold Coast club Cabarita and Northern Beaches rivals North Narrabeen ‘A’ if they are to have any chance on improving on their second placing from last year.

The third quarter final will feature WA champs Yallingup, Surfers Paradise club North End and Northern Beaches teams (QBC) Queenscliff and Long Reef, while the last quarter is between QLD winners Le Ba (Lennox Ballina), Wollongong’s Werri Beach, Phillip Island and North Narrabeen ‘B’.

North Steyne spokesperson Adam Hennessy said his club was stunned by their opening quarter final draw but said the team would embrace the challenge.

“There are really no easy heats in a competition of this nature but it is tough when you draw a heat like this first up,” Hennessy said.

“Our heat is so strong that it could easily be the final if the draw went another way but we have to take a positive out of this now.

“If you beat two good teams in the quarter final you don’t have to beat them in the semi or the final so that’s the approach we will be taking.

“It’s a challenge and if the boys surf to the best of their ability we’re always a chance - we can beat anyone.”

Adding to North Steyne’s woes is the absence of World Championship Tour rookies Dayyan Neve and Kai Otton but Hennessy says the Northern Beaches club still has a strong team.

“We don’t have the WCT guys but we still have a great team with (WQS surfer) Beau Mitchell, Paul Evans, Heath Irving, Tristan McCafferty and Victor Levett and I know if these guys surf as well as they can we will be alright,” Hennessy said.

The early clash featuring Curl Curl and North Narrabeen ‘A’ is also a mouth watering one.

Curl Curl have been one of the most consistent clubs in the country for several years and were third in the Rip Curl Kirra Teams Challenge last weekend behind inform Le Ba and North End, while the star studded North Narrabeen is set to be boosted by the inclusion of former WCT surfers Nathan Hedge, Nathan Webster and Chris Davidson.

The Jim Beam Surftag is run under the popular tag team format with each club being represented by five surfers. In relay style each surfer catches three waves and then returns to the beach to tag the next surfer. All three waves ridden count towards the team’s final score with each surfer’s second wave worth double points “Powerwave”. Bonus points are also on offer for each team’s fifth surfer returning to the tag area before the one hour time limit.

The red hot Boardriders Cup field is made up from the club champions at Australia’s top 50 clubs and will feature favourites Jake Spooner (Sandon Point), Drew Courtney (Umina), Shaun Gossman (Snapper Rocks), Jirah Laws (Torquay) and Marcus Aboody (Le Ba), as well as local northern beaches rivals Matt Bemrose (Curl Curl), Brett Bannister (North Narrabeen), Ryan Alagich (QBC), Paul Evans (North Steyne), Sam Brown (Freshwater), Dean McCole (Dee Why), Steven Clements (Long Reef) and Avalon’s Shane Carroll.

The 2007 Jim Beam Boardriders Cup National Final boasts a prize pool of $33,000, including $2,000 and a vmoto scooter valued at $3,000 for the National champion, with every Club Open champion from 2006 winning $500 and the right to compete in the 2007 National final.

The Jim Beam Boardriders Cup National final was held for the first time in 2006 with Courtney cruising away on the vmoto scooter after convincingly beating Avalon’s Matt Thompson.

All the action gets underway at 8am on Friday and 7.30am on Saturday.

The 2007 Jim Beam Surftag National Series is proudly supported by Jim Beam, Face of Australia Sunscreen, Mentawai Resorts, vmoto, Oporto, Coastalwatch and Australia’s Surfing Life.