James Casey dominates Day 4 of the 2022 Australian SUP Titles

PHILLIP ISLAND, VICTORIA (Saturday, 8 October 2022): James Casey dominates the 2022 Australian SUP Titles in wild weather.

New South Wales competitor James Casey has taken out the open men’s and 10-foot open men’s SUP surfing events in howling onshore winds at Cape Woolamai.

Mother Nature turned it on for competitors who only yesterday were racing in near flat conditions at Woolamai beach.

“It was pretty wild. The wind just kept getting stronger and the tide was dropping making it more washing machine like as the day went on,” Casey said.

The impressive paddler managed a near-perfect 9.80 single wave score in both divisions.

“I had good rhythm today. Despite being onshore and all over the place, there was a good rip bowl section,” he said.

Even injury couldn’t slow him down.

“I had four stitches in my foot yesterday. The doctor said don’t go in the water. That was never an option. I wore a booty to keep it snug… might be doing that more often now,” Casey said.

Casey now has eight Australian SUP Titles to his name.

In the women’s events Skyla Rayner and Hannah Finlay-Jones, both from New South Wales, took home the open women’s and 10-foot open women’s events respectively.

“It was super tricky. The wind was very strong but all us girls still got out there and had a crack. I was lucky enough to win both of my heats,” Rayner said.

It was also the first time both women have won an Australian SUP Title, with Finlay-Jones claiming three (marathon, technical and surfing division).

“The bigger boards were the pick in those conditions. You could get the big outside waves and link them all the way,” Finlay-Jones said.

Contest Director Max Wells said it was probably some of the toughest conditions they’ve faced.

“We saw some really remarkable surfing. It was spectacular to watch the way Casey tore the whole place apart and the women tackle the challenging conditions and come out with a grin on their faces,” he said.

All results can be found on the Australian SUP Titles website.

The 2022 Australian SUP Titles are supported by the Victorian Government.

RESULTS:

Open Men
1. James Casey, NSW
2. Wesley Fry, NSW
3. Ray Hughes, NSW

10ft Open Men
1. James Casey, NSW
2. Marty Cole, NSW
3. Kaelan Lockhart, Qld

Open Women
1. Skyla Rayner, NSW
2. Hannah Finlay-Jones, NSW

10ft Open Women
1. Hannah Finlay-Jones, NSW
2. Skyla Rayner, NSW
3. Emma Webb, Vic

O40 Men
1. Marty Cole, NSW
2. Scotty McKercher, WA
3. Richard Feeney, NSW

O40 Women
1. Kerry Davenport, NSW
2. Juanita Read, Qld
3. Madeline Rayner, NSW

050 Men
1. Andrew Cassidy, NSW
2. Scotty McKercher, WA
3. Crawford Olney, WA

O50 Women
1. Leanne Jack, Vic
2. Kerry Davenport, NSW
3. Juanita Read, Qld

O50 Men LB SUP
1. Andrew Cassidy, NSW
2. Crawford Olney, WA
3. Damien Quinlan, Vic