Round 1 Of The Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles Moved To Penguin Parade To Capitalise On Large Surf Hitting Phillip Island

Round 1 of The Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles kicked off in clean 2 – 3 foot open faced conditions at Penguin Parade. 

The location changed to the protected beach break of Penguin Parade which was brought on by the large 6 foot swell that hit the main location of Cape Woolamai beach. Although the surf was hard to navigate, the junior competitors were able to make the most of the conditions with a strong power surfing approach on the right waves. 

The quarterfinals of the Under 14 boys were lit up by Quarterfinal 3 with Arch Rayner (Inverloch) starting off the heat strong with a solid down carve to snap combination earning him a 9.00 point ride. 

Rayner was cruising in first place for the first half of the heat until Kai Coleman (Mount Duneed) pulled off a powerful backhand re-entry as well as combination of searing carves to collect an incredible 9.53 point ride (out of a possible 10). Coleman was able to hold down first place for the rest of the heat with a combined heat total of 16.70 (out of possible 20). 

“I was looking for the waves with good shape and a wall that allowed me to do big snaps and big carves,” said Coleman.

“I heard Arch had a good score so I knew I had to double that!” Coleman continued.

With the top two in each quarterfinal heading through to the semifinals tomorrow both competitors will be looking to put on another epic performance.

On the other side of the competition, Ava Holland proved to be the one to beat in the Under 16 Girls division posting an excellent score of 8.50 points (out of a possible 10).

Holland managed to pick out one of the biggest waves of the day and exhibit a range of critical back hand snaps. This precise wave selection combined with her huge backhand attack gave her a combined heat total of 15.33 points and the heat win.

“It was a great heat, there were lots of fun waves out there and the other girls were ripping,” Holland said.

“Going into Finals Day I’m going to continue to go for big waves and do big surfing!” she added. 

Using a similar approach was Under 14 boy Charlie Chisholm (Torquay) who made his way into Finals Day with an impressive score of his own.

Chisholm was able to pick the right waves out in the lineup to smash the lip while drifting the fins out the back to show innovation. This point of difference in surfing helped him obtain an 8.33 point ride and a combined heat total of 11.93 points. 

The call for finals day will be at 7:00 am for a 7:15 am start with the location to be determined via Surfing Victoria socials (looking at Cape Woolamai or Smiths Beach as possible options) on Sunday the 5th of February. 

The live scores and schedule can be accessed via www.surfingvic.com/live

2023 Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles

Round 1
Phillip Island
Feb 4 and 5, 2023

Round 2
Bells Beach
Feb 18 and 19, 2023

Round 3
Mornington Peninsula
March 25 and 26, 2023

Divisions:
Under 18 Girls
Under 18 Boys
Under 16 Girls
Under 16 Boys
Under 14 Girls
Under 14 Boys

Round 1 of the Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles is supported by QUIT Victoria, VicRoads Community Safety Grants, Cancer Council Sunscreen and Surfing Victoria.