Xavier Huxtable (Jan Juc) and Ava Holland (Mornington Peninsula) have taken out top honors over the weekend at the opening round of the Victorian Open Series whilst Torquay Boardriders Club have maintained dominance of team surfing in Victoria with a back-to-back win in the Victorian Teams Titles.
Tough conditions persisted all weekend with strong onshore winds and a junky 3-4ft swell, making life difficult for surfers.
Huxtable was the in-form surfer all weekend, walking away with 4 of the top 5 heat totals in the Open Men’s division. His best performance came in the semi-finals with a heat total of 15.43 points (out of a possible 20).
“It was awesome to get the opportunity to compete at Bells again in an Open State Round,” said Huxtable.
“There was an epic turn out for it with lots of top quality surfers which made for a super fun day. Stoked to find some fun waves on the day and end up getting the win.”
Huxtable finished with a heat total of 13.00 points in the final ahead of Willis Droomer (Jan Juc) on 10.93 points. Joel Wookey (Mornington Peninsula) and Tim Birnie (Torquay) finished in third and fourth position respectively.
In the Open Women, it was junior standout Ava Holland who was crowned champion at the opening round.
Holland went under the radar throughout the early rounds, before putting in her best performance in the final (11.00 point heat total) to finish ahead of close friend Sara Hickson (Mornington Peninsula) who finished in second.
Sarsha Pancic (Mornington Peninsula) finished in third with Lillian Bassed (Sandy Point) finishing in fourth place.
Sunday saw the gathering of the best Boardriders Clubs in the state for the annual tradition of the Victorian Teams Titles.
The event which is held at the previous year winners home beach, is one of the longest running inter-club events in the country.
Held on their home turf, Torquay Boardriders Club was once again dominant showing their depth of talent from Masters to Juniors.
Led by Xavier Huxtable who held the highest individual score of the event, a 9.83 (out of a possible 10), Torquay was able to fend off advances from local rivals Jan Juc Boardriders Club who had the experience of former Rip Curl Pro Trials winner Tim Stevenson (Jan Juc).
“We are always proud to take out the Victorian Teams Titles,” said Club president Tully Wylie.
“A key reason our club was founded was actually to ensure Torquay could fight for wins in team surfing events, so to be winning back to back in this current era is really important to us. The standard from the other clubs is so high now, we had to bring our best and are really thankful to have won and kept this event in Torquay for next year.”
“We really value this event with the Women’s and Junior Tag divisions as well as it gives all clubs an opportunity to have more engagement an opportunity on with the event.”
In the end it was Torquay who finished on 43.19 ahead of Jan Juc on 34.50 points. Finishing in third was Peninsula Surfriders on 31.82 points and Phillip Island in fourth on 24.33 points.
Peninsula Surfriders finished the event with wins in both the Women’s and Junior’s division. Led by Ava Holland and Sara Hickson, the club was dominant in both divisions showing their potential for the future.
The Victorian Open Series is the pathway event to the Rip Curl Pro Victorian Trials, giving one Victorian a spot in the main event at the Rip Curl Pro in both Mens and Womens divisions.
2024/25 Victorian Open Series presented by Kieser Australia
Round 1 – Bells Beach – 14th September, 2024
Round 2 – Mornington Peninsula – 15th February, 2025
Round 3 – Phillip Island – 22nd March, 2025
Entries for future events are now open at www.surfingvic.com/events
The Victorian Open Series is presented by Kieser Australia and supported by Cancer Council Sunscreen, Surf Better Now and Surfing Victoria.
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