DeRoth and Fostin claim Open wins in epic conditions at Cape Woolamai

Phillip Island pair Harry DeRoth and Lannia Fostin have claimed Open wins today at Cape Woolamai as part of the 2021 Victorian Open Series.

After multiple events being postponed due to COVID restrictions, competition got underway in 4ft offshore conditions. 

Ripping all day in the Open Men’s division was Joe Van Dijk (Phillip Island), who saw himself get to an early lead in the final with a combined heat total of 16.03 (out of a possible 20). Van Dijik’s powerful surfing saw him walk away with the highest individual wave score of the day (a 9.80 out of a possible ten). 

Despite his stellar performance, Van Dijk was still left chasing a 8.18 to snag the lead of eventual winner Harry DeRoth (Phillip Island).

DeRoth had a slow start throughout his Open Men’s final, however managed to score a right hander in the dying minutes of the heat which saw him post a 9.67 to seal the deal. He finished on top with a combined heat total of 16.20 (out of a possible 20)

“Conditions were fun out there” DeRoth said. 

“I’m stoked to walk away with the win, and am happy that I was able to find an opportunity towards the end of the heat” he added. 

Other standout performers throughout the men’s division were Cahill Bell-Warren (Torquay) and Billy Harrison (Barwon Heads). Both surfers were stand outs in the opening rounds however were left needing scores in the 7 point range to claim to honours.

Lannia Fostin (Phillip Island) was victorious in the Open Women’s division, posting a combined heat total of 13.84. 

Fostin took advantage of the lefts on offer throughout the final, laying some serious rail and getting the job done. 

“We scored with the conditions down here today” Fostin said. 

“There were some fun lefts on offer throughout the final, and I was lucky enough to be in the right spot” she added. 

Hot on Fostin’s tail was Mia Huppatz (Jan Juc), who posted a combined heat total of 12.93, however was left chasing a 6.92 (out of a possible ten) to get into the lead. 

Huppatz posted a highest score of a 6.93, however was unable to improve on her existing 6 point ride to advance into first position. 

As a result of the cancellation of Open Series events, there will be a surf off held at URBNSURF Melbourne on March 30th to crown state champions in a surf off, which will include the top 6 surfers from both the Men and Women’s divisions. 

There will be 3 wildcards for both Men and Women, which will be selected for the shoot out based off an application process and recent results (priority order being International events, Australian Events, State Events). The wildcard process has been put in place due to the Phillip Island event clashing with the Mad Mex Maroubra Pro QS1000 in NSW. 

Victorian Open Surf Off at URBNSURF Melbourne:

• The surf off will be held at UBRNSURF Melbourne on Tuesday 30th March between 10pm and midnight. 
• A total of 9 surfers will compete in the Men’s division (6x Phillip Island event qualifiers & 3x Wildcards).
• A total of 9 surfers will compete in the Women’s division (6x Phillip Island event qualifiers & 3x Wildcards).
• Both divisions will receive an hour on the Left and an hour on the right (2hrs total).
• All waves will be filmed and then judged by the Surfing Victoria judging panel at a later date.
• Winners will be announced online via Surfing Victoria and URBNSURF’S social media channels. 
• In the situation where an invited surfer cannot attend, the spot will revert to a wildcard position that will be allocated by the Surfing Victoria Technical Advisory Group.
• Each hour will consist of 30mins turn setting and 30mins barrel setting.
• Surfers scoring rides will be their top left turns wave, top left barrel wave, top right turns wave and top right barrel wave (a total out of 40 points).

For further results visit liveheats.com/surfingvictoria

The Victorian Open Series is supported by Ramada Resort Phillip Island, RockTape Australia and Surfing Victoria.