There were just too many outstanding performers and great waves ridden by all in the various teams to mention here but here's a quick breakdown of how each heat panned out.
Heat 1
Matt O, Luke Fletcher ripped the bag in the 1st heat but it was young Wesley who pulled out his bag of tricks and got the white team home in R1
White 158
Red 137.5
Yellow 101.5
Blue 84
Heat 2
Shane Booth, Fanko, Ronnie Smith from Newy and youngsters Sam Barron and Judd Atkins were extremely impressive in this heat but without doubt Adam Semo was the standout surfer of this heat. His smooth switchfoot style on one wave then a nice floater to freefall on his 3rd wave gave him ahead score of 25.5 out of 40 and that was the momentum the yellow team needed to take out that heat.
Yellow 173.5
Red 133.5
White 126
Blue 117
Heat 3
The tide started coming in and the waves started holding up a little more which allowed for some great surfing in this heat. 4 past Open Mens Champions Addsy Lawerence, Luke Kennedy, Jason Platts as well the older guard of Graeme O, Fish and Spot and this was the heat of the day thus far. "The Entertainer" Con Parris ripped it up in this heat. He wammied his 1st wave a 7 then went onto to post a 10 from his last 2 waves to earn 24 from a possible 40.
Yellow 169
White 167.5
Red 153
Blue 94
Heat 4
Going into heat 4 only 25 points separated the top 3 teams. Tom North, Lewis Kellick, Brad Sly surfed brilliantly and Dustin showed off his new wetty the "Borat mankini". But the 2 standouts were whites Graeme O' Reilly and young Dan McNaughton. Both fellas surfed with style busting out some old school moves hang 5's switch and both threw in some huge new school moves. Graeme's snap fins out and all was sick and Dan well he was just toying with the waves.
Yellow 230
Red 142.5
White 126
Blue 111
Power Final
All Power surfers lined up against each other and they put on a great show for all spectators. Everyone surfed really well but again it was Yellow teams surfers that were on fire. Semo, Seano, Ronnie and Dan were spectacular and easily took out the Power Final and the event overall.
Yellow 230
Red 142.5
White 126
Blue 111
Overall
Yellow 882
White 733
Red 696.5
Blue 580
I love nothing better than dropping the old cliché, but club surfing and local camaraderie were the winners on the day. Everyone enjoyed a brilliant day on the beach and at the presso at the Sands later that evening and that's what this club is about. Everyone young old enjoying themselves.
Thanks to everyone that helped out / participated in any way shape or form during the day as well. It all helped play a part in the great vibe on the beach and the overall success of the day. Also hats off to the 4 captains on the day Brad Koolis, Tom North, Kyle Stevens and Roy Buchan. Without these guys steering the ship and organising teams we'd still be trying to get heat 1 in the water. Thanks must also go to all our sponsors who provided the great prizes / food for the day Samurai Surfboards, Dripping Wet Surf Store, Localmotion, RedBull and Campbell's Meats. It goes without saying that this day would not be possible without the major sponsors of the event - The Sands Hotel. To Dave and all the crew down there many thanks. Hopefully we'll be celebrating many more Sands Baxter presso together
Team Champions - Yellow Team
Brad Koolis (c)
Dave Murphy
Jake Nurmi
Wayne Baldwin
Jack McLoughlin
Aaron Smith
Luke Twitchings
Adam Seminara
Paul Ross
Graeme O'Reilly
Dan McNaughton
Sean Daunt
Todd O'Brien
Luke Kennedy
Leanne Bonello
Winner of the Sean Sweet "Manoeuvre of the Day" went to Graeme O'Reilly who's busted the fins out on doing a massive snap off the lip all on an old twinnie brought a tear to my eye. A huge move and landed oh so cleanly
Winner of the Wave of the Day went to Adam Seminara in the Power Final. 1 judges gave it a 10 and his comment was "The best wave ever" whilst the other 2 gave him 9.0.
The Best Dressed on the Beach parade was spectacular. Whilst other took the more traditional approach some costumes were outrageous. A panel of esteemed fashion gurus Daryl Sommers, Richard Wilkins and Todd McKinney gave the prize to Dustin "Disco Stu/Borat" Cooley. He narrowly edged out Simon "Kleenex" Sheppherd and Matt "Cougar" Lawson. For his troubles young Dustin walked away with a Samurai Board meanwhile Kleenex and the Cougar who raced into the city vowing to give that McKinney fellow some Maroubra style justice. They have not been spotted since but my spies tell me that they were seen sipping Bloody Mary's with McKinney and a bunch hairy fellas wearing leather in the early hours of Sunday morning at The Columbian Bar on Oxford St.
Finally a DVD of the Baxter event will be on sale at our next comp for $10. So if you want a slice of surfing history email the editor@southendboardriders.com and we'll have it for you at the next comp on the 30th August
Well that's a wrap. Adios till it's all on again next year