WBA event 2
April 18th, Box Beach , Nelson Bay
Girls go wild and Kira takes all at event no.2!
WBA event no. 2 came close to being postponed, when everyone woke up early to find the weather wild and the waves trashy on the morning of the 18th.
However, the call was made to hold the event anyway, and it seemed mother nature was on our side because as the girls rocked up, the clouds parted, the winds dropped, and the sun came out and put a smile on everyone’s face!
After a few hold ups, we eventually got underway around 10am.
The surf was a little lumpy, but Boxy was still producing some fun 3-4ft left hand wedges, with sections that were just begging to be hit!
The girls were all over it, with Kira Lewellyn, Emma Cobb, Zoe Edwards, Monique Farmer, Lauren Williams, Kaitlin Murphy, and Lauren Knowles joining up with a couple of the local boys, plus the team Turbo boys (who were in the area at the time), for a fun pre-comp surf.
First out in the competition were the AAA girls semis, with 2005 world champ, Kira Llewellyn clearly loving the Boxy wedge sections. Lauren Knowles, Nicole Fleming and Emma Cobb also surfed solidly in their semis, knocking out Lilly Pollard, Emma Roby, Kaitlin Murphy and Lauren Williams on their way to the final.
Without a hooter system the girls were forced to find another way to sound the start and finish of heats… The cliffs of Boxy echoed throughout the day with wild screams and whistles and some other random noises that were sure to upset the local wildlife. The flag system was very unique as well, Monique “Flare” Farmer took it upon herself to ride the flag rather than wave it, and galloped it along the beach with to indicate the start and finish of heats.
The AA girls were sent out for a straight out 5 girl final around lunch time.
Monique was the definite stand out of the AA division at this event. Moni picked off the bigger, better shaped waves, busted some nice spins and a good roll, and even managed to score a moment of tube time!
The rest of the placings were super close, and a difficult count back decided the final result. Ellie Wilkinson made her mission down from Port Macquarie a worthy venture, coming in at 2nd place, with Zoe Edwards 3rd, Jacqui Steward 4th, and local lass Karleah Lang 5th.
In the AAA final, Kira looked unstoppable, busting out every move in the book –inverts, ARS’s, big rolls, spins, and even popping an air reverse. Most of Kira’s scores were above 8’s. It was inspiring for everyone to watch.
Lauren Knowles and Emma Cobb also stepped it up a notch and boosted some really solid rolls on the sucky hollow sections that low tide Boxy produces. All 4 girls in the final attempted some solid inverts but unfortunately came unstuck on the landing, with the Tassie Devil –Nicole Fleming- going for the biggest boost of them all… If only she landed it.
With the surf conditions a little rough this day, the two A division girls chose not to compete, but Tayla Zannis and Taylor Jackson still had loads of fun hanging with all the girls.
The flipper race proved to be a lot of fun, with the rules being -there are no rules… So the girls got a bit rough, and ready… Kaitlin “Wombat” and Tassie took it upon themselves to tackle any girls that looked like winning… It was carnage.
Kira however, proved to be absolutely impossible to take down. Tassie made a pretty good attempt at a tackle, but merely bounced straight off her. Kira 1, Tassie 0… And Kira wins yet another challenge! The prize –a pair of Propel fins, and Kira being a good sport kindly gave them to Port Mac grom, Ellie.
The beach BBQ was pounced on by all the girls and some random boys too, with $2 sandwiches helping raise some $$ for the WBA club. During which, the topic as to whether anyone would eat a raw egg was brought up. Kira, typically up for any challenge gave it a go.
The results were disgusting, but definitely entertaining. Check the photos for proof.
Raffle time, and the event 2 winner of the Manta mist bodyboard was A division grom, Tayla Zannis!
Results:
AAA
1st Kira Llewellyn -Gold Coast QLD
2nd Lauren Knowles – Newcastle NSW
3rd Emma Cobb –Ulladulla NSW
4th Nicole Fleming – Clifton TAS
AA
1st Monique Farmer –Cronulla NSW
2nd Ellie Wilkinson –Port Macquarie NSW
3rd Zoe Edwards – Sydney NSW
4th Jacqui Steward –Sydney NSW
5th Karleah Lang –Nelson Bay NSW
A
=1st Taylor Jackson –Kanwal NSW
=1st Tayla Zannis –Cronulla NSW
WBA would like to thank Turbo Surf Designs, Manta Bodyboards, Essence Café, Graffiti Surf Designs and Port Stephens Bodyboard Club for their support at this event. Also thanks to Conan Whitehouse for being our photographer for the day.
Finally, girls please note that we have had to change the name of the WBA club - from Womens Bodyboarding Australia - to Womens Bodyboarding Association. I hope this is ok by everyone. At least we are still the WBA! Woo!
The next WBA competition is scheduled for the 21st June at Tiona Park , Forster NSW.
More details will be posted closer to the event. At the moment, it looks like we will have accommodation organized at Sundowner tourist park, which is opposite the beach at Tiona Park. Should be an awesome weekend! All questions should be directed to Lilly Pollard lillypollard81@yahoo.com.au
New members of WBA are welcome!
More events:
Up next on the BBA tour is the Coastal Real Estate Pro, to be held from the 23rd - 25th May in Warnambool , Victoria . It should be loads of fun, girls! Check out www.ibaaustralasia.com for more info. Also, Lauren Knowles is arranging a road trip down to that event. Send her an email on lauren_knowles@yahoo.com.au if you’re keen to go!
In June, we have the Port Macquarie Teams Challenge, which will be held between the 7-9th June, the long weekend. We are planning on having a WBA team, so girls please email me your availability for that weekend! Girls will be chosen based on their performances at the BBA and WBA events this year, and on availability for the weekend of 7-9th June. So let us know if you are available ASAP so we can get the team sorted! Woo!
Thanks for coming to the events girls! See you next time!
Lilly Pollard
President
WBA
