The opening event of the 2023/24 Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle series wrapped up yesterday, with Yallingup Boardriders Club claiming an impressive victory in 3 to 4ft waves along Perth’s metropolitan coastline.
The win for Yallingup is the second in as many years and confirms their position into the ABB Grand Final which will be held in Burleigh Heads, QLD in 2024, where they’ll take on the best boardrider clubs in Australia.
The ABB has a unique and dynamic ‘tag team’ format which sees clubs nominate 2x Open Males, 1x Open Female, 1x Over-35 Master (male or female) and 1x Under-18 junior (male or female) to compete, with each surfers best score added together for a team total.
Yallingup’s team consisting of Duke Nagtzaam, Josh Cattlin, Otis North, Emma Cattlin and Richard Sills defeated Trigg Point, Margaret River and Trigg Junior in an exciting final battle, which saw Yallingup finish just 0.25 ahead of Trigg Point, with a combined total of 31.91.
“It’s amazing to go back-to-back and it’s been a really exciting day from start to finish,” said club stalwart Paul ‘Antman’ Paterson.
“This is the same team who won last year and we can’t wait to get back over to the Grand Final and fly the flag for our town and for WA.”
Trigg Point Boardriders also qualified for the Grand Final on the strength of their second place finish. Luke Campbell, Fletcher Llanwarne, Tim Fitzpatrick, Indie Siedmiogrodzki and Giles Musham performed brilliantly on their home beach to finish on a combined total of 31.66.
“These events are so special and we learned at lot at last years final and we can’t wait to get back over there,” said club captain Fletcher Llanwarne.
“Burleigh is an exciting location and we’re stoked with the clutch performance from Luke Campbell to get us over the line in the final.”
Margaret River Boardriders finished in third for the second year in a row and despite some amazing surfing from Andrew Sheridan, Jerome Forrest, Cyrus Cox, Mia McCarthy and Macklin Flynn, the club was left wondering what went wrong.
“We’ll definitely be applying for a wildcard position for the Grand Final,” said club president Jerome Forrest.
“We haven’t made it over East in a few years but we’re hungry to mix it up with the best clubs in the country and think we could do some damage over there.”
Trigg Junior Boardriders performed strongly to finish in fourth place, reaching their first ever ABB final. Although fielding the youngest and least experienced team in the final, the event provided a peek into the future, with Travis Barkhuizen, Bronte Scott, Ben Scott, Jake Scott and Damon Hayes all stepping up to the plate, finishing on a combined total of 25.11.
“It’s always fun competing at the ABB,” said the club’s power surfer Travis Barkhuizen.
“It’s such a great opportunity to compete against some of the best surfers in WA and the waves today have been really fun.”
Albany Boardriders Club finished fifth in their maiden Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle and will be a club to watch. Their team of Tyce Shepherd, Zen Shepherd, Dan Bolt, Noah Madaffari and Lily Kuret all surfed well and are keen to come back bigger and better next year.
“It was a good call holding off until Sunday as the waves were super fun,” said Albany’s Dan Bolt.
“We’ve got a bit of work to do before next year, but we’re excited to be here and mix it up with all these amazing clubs.”
Boardrider clubs are the heartbeat of Australian surfing and it’s events such as the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle that give clubs across the country a chance to display their depth of talent and provide a stepping stone for future generations.
“Surfing is an individual sport, so when you get the chance to compete as part of a team it creates an exciting wave of support and comraderie that is very special and unique,” said Surfing WA events manager Justin Majeks.
“I congratulate Yallingup and Trigg Point for qualifying for the Grand Final in QLD in 2024 and I’m sure they’ll do WA proud.”
Yallingup’s Otis North captured the Oakley Prizm Performer Award for his efforts throughout the day which included the highest individual score of the day a 9.08 (from a possible 10).
Trigg Junior Boardriders’ Coco Laurie claimed the Le Tan Le Breakthrough Award, while Trigg Point Boardriders took home the Jim Beam Club Spirit Award.
Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Final Results – Event # 1 Trigg Beach:
1st: Yallingup Boardriders Club: 31.91 – $2,000
2nd: Trigg Point Boardriders Club: 31.66 – $1,000
3rd: Margaret River Boardriders Club: 29.90
4th: Trigg Junior Boardriders Club: 25.11
5th: Albany Boardriders Club
Event website HERE.
2023/24 Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle series:
EVENT 1 – TRIGG, WA – SEPT 10, 2023
EVENT 2 – PHILLIP ISLAND, VIC – SEPT 24, 2023
EVENT 3 – FLEURIEU PENINSULA, SA – OCT 1, 2023
EVENT 4 – NSW NTH – COFFS HARBOUR, NSW – OCT 15, 2023
EVENT 5 – CLIFTON BEACH, TAS – OCT 22, 2023
EVENT 6 – SUNSHINE COAST, QLD – OCT 29, 2023
EVENT 7 – NSW CENTRAL – NORTH NARRABEEN, NSW – NOV 11, 2023
EVENT 8 – NSW SOUTH – KIAMA, NSW – NOV 18, 2023
GRAND FINAL* – BURLEIGH HEADS, QLD – MAR 9-10, 2024
*entry by qualification
The 2023/24 series is proudly sponsored by Hyundai, Le Tan, ACCIONA, Jim Beam, BC™ Bars and Oakley.
The Australian Boardriders Battle is supported by Major Events Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
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