Hard to beat: Led by Belinda Hardwick, North Narrabeenare determined to defend their title
DETERMINED NORTH NARRABEEN WOMEN LOOK TO DEFEND NATIONAL CROWN
North Narrabeen will be determined to retain their title as the number one female board riding club in the country when the Jim Beam Women’s Surftag Australian final comes to Sydney’s Curl Curl beach this Sunday.
Led by experienced duo Belinda Hardwick and Elle Black, the defending champions will start the five-member team’s event as favourites but are not expected to have things all their own way.
They will face tough competition from local foes Northern Beaches Women, North Steyne and Queenscliff as well as a red hot outfit from Victorian powerhouse Torquay.
Joining those five teams will also be two teams from Bondi, Women in Waves from Norah Heads, Trimmin Women from Newcastle and Windang Island.
The event not only allows some of the country’s best women surfers to turn out for their local clubs but demonstrates the depth that has started to show in women’s surfing right around Australia.
Some of the stars on show include former tour surfers Hardwick and Black, multiple Australian amateur champion Sandra English (Women in Waves), rising teenage star Paige Houden (North Steyne) and three time Australian championships runner-up Angela Zorica (Torquay).
Hardwick, who is battling a knee injury and will require a runner to help her make the tag between surfers, believes competition will be intense and said her team was determined to defend their National crown.
“We are all pretty keen to get in there and see how we go,” Hardwick said.
“I was talking to (teammate) Elle (Black) and she said she can’t wait and is pumped to do well. We just have to try our best because if you’re in it you may as well give it everything.
“I know all the teams from the northern beaches will be good and it’s great to hear that Torquay are coming up. I hope there will be more interstate teams as the event continues to grow.”
Torquay’s Annaliese Spiteri agrees and said her club is looking forward to the challenge of squaring off against the locals.
“We are really excited to come up to Sydney and having heaps of fun,” Spiteri said.
“It’ll be nice to surf in some warmer water too.”
While Torquay are expected to challenge for a place on the podium Spiteri remained coy about her team’s chances.
“It would definitely be nice to knock off a few of the local teams but I think they might be a bit better than us. They will also have the local knowledge advantage,” Spiteri said.
“(But) a few of our surfers are Victorian champions or ex-Victorian champions so it’ll be interesting.”
Action will get underway at 9am and is expected to wind up around 3pm.
The next event in the series will be the men’s Victorian Surftag event at Gunnamatta on December 19. The event will feature teams from both Victoria and South Australia.
2010 Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series
23rd Oct - Industry Challenge – Winner: Hurley29th Nov - Women's Surftag
19th Dec - VIC Qualifier
9th Jan - WA Qualifier
15th Jan - QLD Qualifier
23rd Jan - NSW North Qualifier
30/31 Jan - NSW South Qualifier
12/13/14 Feb - Australian Final
The 2010 Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series is proudly supported by FCS, Tracks, Swellnet, Sanyo and Global Surftag.