Lucy Bell and Emma Webb claim top honours at Australian SUP Titles

SHOALHAVEN, NSW (December 8th, 2023): The first champions of the 2023 Australian SUP Titles have been crowned at Sussex Inlet.

17 athletes were crowned new Australian Champions across SUP Surfing and Technical racing today. NSW are currently clinching the overall state points however will need the marathon results to finalise the champion state.

Surfing Australia’s Event Specialist Rohan Fell reflects on the conditions: “Finals day today was much to everyone’s surprise as the south-east swell continued to pulse throughout the day despite the opposing North East winds. We saw a groomed A-frame peak in the 2 foot range for all competitors. The open men and women were greeted with some 3 foot sets for their finals”.

Champions of 11 divisions have been decided in SUP Surfing, with Shoalhaven local and defending champion Skyla Rayner (NSW) posting the highest heat total, a 15.60 (out of a possible 20),  which got her the win in the Open Women Finals.

Rayner said: “I was super stoked to win this year, and grateful to be claiming an Australian Title in my hometown”, and also mentioned: “It was special to win along side my partner Wes Fry”.  Fry (NSW) won the Open Men Surfing division with a 15.40 total.

18 athletes started in the Technical SUP Race in the afternoon. Jonathan Hagan (QLD) finishes first in Open Men after 12:38 minutes, marking the best time of the day, with 01:17 minutes ahead of second best place Lee Johnson (NSW) who competed in O50 Men. Another standout performance was Richard Finlay-Jones (NSW) who competed in Prone Open Men and finished with the 9th best time of the day (16:38 minutes).

The SUP Marathon Race is expected to be held tomorrow at Sussex Inlet.

Australian SUP Title Results:

SUP Surfing:
Open Men

1. Wesley Fry (NSW)
   15.40 – Won by 4.63
2. Indy Rose (NSW)
   10.77 – Needed 9.23
3. Peter Tomsett (WA)
   9.04 – Comb. 15.41
4. Blaire Moore (NSW)
   8.10 – Comb. 15.41

Open Women

1. Skyla Rayner (NSW)
   15.60 – Won by 4.93
2. Hannah Finlay-Jones (NSW)
   10.67 – Needed 9.9
3. Keale Dorries (QLD)
   9.44 – Needed 9.73
4. Jacenta McKenna (WA)
   8.10 – Comb. 15.61

O40 Men

1. Marty Cole (NSW)
   14.74 – Won by 3.97
2. Jeremy Corne (NSW)
   10.77 – Needed 8.64
3. Troy Ashton (VIC)
   10.03 – Needed 8.91
4. Richard Feeney (NSW)
   8.17 – Comb. 14.75

O40 Women

1. Rebecca Dunning (NSW)
   12.83 – Won by 5.7
2. Storm Wheatley (NSW)
   7.13 – Needed 9.03
3. Lesa Prowse – NSW)
   6.43 – Needed 9.5
4. Lucy Bell (VIC)
   5.60 – Comb. 12.84

O50 Men

1. Jason Barbour (NSW)
   12.47 – Won by 1.03
2. Trafford Harris (SA)
   11.44 – Needed 6.6
3. Blaire Moore (NSW)
   10.63 – Needed 6.35
4. Hamish Robinson (TAS)
   4.20 – Comb. 12.48

O50 Women

1. Lesa Prowse (NSW)
   9.67 – Won by 0.41
2. Dimity Faulkner (QLD)
   9.26 – Needed 4.65
3. Madeline Rayner (NSW)
   7.26 – Needed 5.35
4. Juanita Read (QLD)
   5.20 – Needed 7.07
5. Lisa Cross (NSW)
   3.63 – Needed 7.67

10ft Open Men

1. Wesley Fry (NSW)
   14.37 – Won by 1.5
2. Marty Cole (NSW)
   12.87 – Needed 7.91
3. Andrew Cassidy (NSW)
   12.27 – Needed 8.01
4. Liam McCafferty (VIC)
   8.26 – Comb. 14.38

10ft Open Women

1. Emma Webb (VIC)
   14.73 – Won by 0.96
2. Keale Dorries (QLD)
   13.77 – Needed 7.57
3. Hannah Finlay-Jones (NSW)
   12.30 – Needed 8.56
4. Skylar Rayner (NSW)
   10.56 – Needed 9.1

O60 10ft Men

1. Richard Finlay-Jones (NSW)
   11.63 – Won by 0.2
2. Michael Jenkins (VIC)
   11.43 – Needed 5.81
3. Shane Lynch (QLD)
   10.43 – Needed 6.31
4. Phill Baggs (NSW)
   6.37 – Needed 8.13

O50 Men LB SUP

1. Andrew Cassidy (NSW)
   14.00 – Won by 2.57
2. Crawford Olney (WA)
   11.43 – Needed 7.77
3. Liam McCafferty (VIC)
   7.56 – Needed 8.47
4. Paul Lomas (NSW)
   6.13 – Comb. 14.01

O40 Women LB SUP

1. Emma Webb (VIC)
   13.67 – Won by 4.07
2. Rebecca Dunning (NSW)
   9.60 – Needed 8.57
3. Dimity Faulkner (QLD)
   8.00 – Needed 9.67
4. Lucy Bell (VIC)
   5.57 – Comb. 13.68

Technical Race:

1. Lee Johnson (NSW)
   13:55.00
2. Brett Baber (NSW)
   15:29.00
3. Ke’ale Dorries (QLD)
   15:55.00

Open Men

1. Jonathan Hagan (QLD)
2. Indy Rose (NSW)

Open Women

1. Ke’ale Dorries (QLD)
2. Hannah Finlay-Jones (NSW)

O40 Men

1. Shane Lynch (QLD)
2. Jinbo Dong (NSW)

O40 Women

1. Lucy Bell (VIC)
2. Juanita Read (QLD)

O50 Men

1. Lee Johnson (NSW)
2. Brett Baber (NSW)
3. Peter Jackson (VIC)
4. Scott Burton (NSW)

Prone Open Men

1. Richard Finlay-Jones (NSW)

The Marathon Race Titles will be held tomorrow at Sussex Inlet.
Keep up to date with results and information on the Australian SUP Titles website or follow the live scores via LiveHeats.

The Australian SUP Titles are proudly supported by Shoalhaven City Council, Le Tan, Jim Beam and Surfing NSW.