Avoca's Beau Atchison unleashes a powerful arc. According to defending champions Merewether, Central Coast clubs Avoca and Umina will provide the stiffest competition in this Saturday's Jim Beam Surftag NSW North Qualifying event at Dixon Park.
MEREWETHER OUT TO RETAIN JIM BEAM SURFTAG REGIONAL TITLE
The Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series will get into full swing this coming weekend as the first of five regional qualifying events rolls out in Newcastle.
12 clubs from the NSW Central and Mid North Coast will compete in a tag team format, which pits teams of five surfers against each other in one hour heats. Each surfer has 12 minutes to catch three scoring rides, with their second scoring “power wave” doubled.
The Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series provides a national competition for over 70 boardriding clubs to determine Australia's No.1 club. The series is Australia's largest team surfing competition featuring a combined prize pool of over $130,000.
The NSW North Tag event boasts an impressive list of powerful clubs including 2005 National Champions Umina, defending regional champions Merewether, 2009 national runner-up’s Avoca and the ever-impressive Port Macquarie.
Despite the absence of team heavyweights Matt Hoy, Craig Anderson, Luke Egan and Ryan Callinan, defending champions Merewether are confident of securing a back-to-back title on home soil.
“Most of the main guys are in Hawaii at the moment, but we have a good depth of field in the Merewether team,” said club surfer and former top rated junior Jesse Adam. “Rhys Smith will surf, along with Paul Parkes, Glenson Turner and Wes Bainbridge and all of those guys have experience surfing in tag team events.”
“The Central Coast clubs are always the ones to look out for, they have so many underground guys who come out of the woodworks and rip,” he said. “Umina and Avoca will be the biggest threats, but we feel our team will perform.”
The four teams who reach the final of the NSW North Surftag will be eligible to compete in the Jim Beam Surftag National final in Sydney next February. The winning club will walk away with $15,000.
“We have had three specialty tag events so far in the series but this is when things really get going,” said Jim Beam Surftag Contest Director Steve Harrison. “The level goes through the roof in the regional qualification events, all the clubs are hungry to get to the final in Sydney.”
Clubs scheduled to surf in the NSW North Qualifier include Avoca, Wamberall, Catherine Hill, North Shelley, Norah Head, Tea Tree, Port Macquarie, Umina, Merewether, MacMasters and Boomerang.
Early swell forecasts indicate a favourable pulse in southerly swell on Saturday, with competition set to get underway at Dixon Park from 8am.
The 2011 Jim Beam Surftag is proudly supported by FCS, Sanyo and O’Neill. Media partners for the series are Swellnet and Tracks surfing magazine.
2010/11 Jim Beam Surftag Dates And Locations
Oct 15 Industry Challenge (Curl Curl) - (Winner – Quiksilver)
Oct 16 Trade Off (Curl Curl) - (Winner – Bondi Life Guards)
Nov 13 Women’s Surftag (Dee Why) - (Winner – Norah Head Women In Waves)
Dec 11 NSW North Surftag (Newcastle)
Dec 18 Victoria Surftag (TBC)
Jan 8 West Australia Surftag (TBC)
Jan 15 Queensland Surftag (Duranbah)
Jan 29/30 NSW South Surftag (Cronulla)
Feb 3/4/5 Surftag Australian Final (Northern Beaches, Sydney)