Round # 1 - Margaret River WA. -Sat 14th - Sund 15th February 2009

SUPPORTED BY Sunova Surfboards, Sunsmart, Yallingup Beach Holiday Park and Surfing WA. Margaret River plays host to State Open Series, with local surfer Dave Macaulay blitzing the field.  The first State Open Series took place in Margaret River over the weekend, and competitors from across the state were blessed  with what can only be described as near perfect waves.

 

With a solid 2m - 2.5m swell running over the weekend, and producing waves  in the 4-6 feet range, event organisers decided to utilise the somewhat fickle, and rarely surfed location of 'Sewer Bowls' to  run day one of competition. With a quality left hander peeling off the point and punchy peaks on offer in the bay, the location provided some of Western Australia's best surfers the opportunity to cut loose in quality high performance waves.  With the opportunity to represent Western Australia at the Australian Surfmasters Titles later on this year in Port Macquarie  NSW, the level of surfing on day one was exceptional. The first heat of the day set the tone for what will be remembered as an  awesome weekend of surfing.

 

 

Former world number 3 and surfboard shaper Dave Macaulay (Gracetown) was in devastating form throughout the event, providing the

morning's highlights with some simply amazing top to bottom surfing which saw him advance through the blue ribbon Open Men's

division. Macaulay, who retired from the professional tour in 1994, showed he hasn't lost any of his competitive ability in an

awe inspiring display. During the quarter finals he amassed a huge 18.50pts total out of a possible 20.00pts, which included the

two of the          
weekend's highest individual wave scores of 9.50 and a 9.00. In doing so Macaulay eliminated 2008 State Champion Brett Hardy

(Scarborough) from the event.

"It was a tough heat, there were so many good waves, but Maca just seemed to be on them all. I cant complain though it was great

to have a comp in some good waves, I'll just have to do a bit better in Geraldton and Rottnest later in the year," said Hardy who

will be looking to capture back to back State Open Titles in 2009.

Other form surfers of day one included; Tom Clarke (Margaret River), Shaun Howe (Kalbarri), Jerome Forrest (Mandurah), Drew

Everest (Falcon), and Dave Delroy-Carr (Margaret River), all of which showed a great repertoire of manoeuvres and looked suit to

the consistent waves that were on offer.

With overnight drop in the swell, Sunday saw the event run at Gas Bay and competitors were rewarded with some clean conditions

once again, with Gas pumping out some epic barrels and clean faces which allowed for some high scoring opportunities.

Dave Macaulay began where he left off on Saturday, destroying each and every section that came his way. Competing in both the

Open Men's and Grand Masters division (over 45's) he showed that age is no factor, comfortably making his way through to the

finals of both divisions.

In the Open Men's final, Macaulay brought a mix of power, style, innovation, and commitment which saw him throw

down the challenge to his younger finalists. He opened with a 9.00 ride to have his rivals on the back foot from the start. He

later secured a back up 7.25 ride to capture his first State Open Series win since the mid 1980's. Second place went to a

determined Dave Delroy-Carr (Margaret River) who couldn't find the waves required to pip his elder
states men. Third place went to Jarrad Davies (Margaret River) who had flown under the radar for the entire event to post his

best ever State Open Series result. In fourth place was Drew Everest who was another surfer who had made a welcome return to the

competition surfing after some time away from WA events.

"I was only really interested in competing in the 45's and chasing that one at the National Titles, so now I guess I might be

competing in the Open's at the next two rounds. It was a great event, with some awesome waves, so what more can you ask for?"

Said Macaulay who seemed genuinely stoked with his achievements over the weekend.

Not to be out done by their dad, sister act of Laura and Bronte Macaulay (Gracetown) both made the Open Women's final with

impressive semi final appearances. Laura Macaulay, who won the 2008 State under 18 girls title, looked comfortable surfing

against some older competition and took out her maiden State Open Series win in style .The pint sized Macaulay slotted into some

great waves and finished ahead of Jaala Baldock (Kallaroo) in second,Belinda Anderton (Dunsborough) came in third ahead of Bronte

Macaulay in fourth.

The most exciting final of the day went to the Pro Junior (under 21's) division. Kalbarri's Shaun Howe showed why he's currently

WA's top rated junior surfer with an emphatic victory. Howe's razor sharp surfing was evident all weekend and he never looked

challenged taking the win on the strength of a blistering 8.75 ride. The kid from Kallbarri showed powerful and innovative

surfing which has seen him making it through a number of heats at events on the East Coast. Mandurah's          
Jerome Forrest finished second with his last two waves moving him from fourth to second. Margaret River's Dave Delroy-Carr once

again surfed well to pick up third, with Tim Nathan (Busselton) fourth.

Other winners from the weekend included Brent Moss (Secret Harbour) in the Legends over 50's division, Dave Macaulay (Gracetown)

in the Grand Masters over 45's division, Todd Taylor (Yallingup) in the Senior Masters over 40's division, Paul Paterson (City

Beach) in the Masters over 35's division, and Mark Clift in the Senior Men's over 28's division.

The State Open Series now moves north to Geraldton on the 2nd and 3rd of May, with the final event of the series held at Rottnest

Island during June.

Proudly supported by: Wahoo Premium Ale & Surfing WA.

FINAL RESULTS:

Open Men : 1. Dave Macaulay (Gracetown), 2. Dave Delroy-Carr (Margaret River), 3. Jarrad Davies (Margaret River), 4. Drew Everest

(Falcon).
Open Women : 1. Laura Macaulay (Gracetown), 2. Jaala Baldock (Kallaroo), 3. Belinda Anderton (Dunsborough), 4. Bronte Macaulay

(Gracetown).
Pro Junior : 1. Shaun Howe (Kalbarri), 2. Jerome Forrest (Mandurah), 3. Dave Delroy-Carr (Margaret River), 4. Tim Nathan

(Busselton).
Senior Men : 1. Mark Clift (Hillarys), 2. Damian Lipscombe (Cottesloe), 3. Scott Trew (Maylands), 4. Jai Macrides (Marmion).
Masters : 1. Paul Paterson (City Beach), 2. Damian Lipscombe (Cottesloe), 3. Mark Clift (Hillarys), 4. Luke Sutherland

(Yallingup), 5. Todd Taylor (Yallingup)
Senior Masters : 1. Todd Taylor (Yallingup), 2. Craig Tuesley (Geraldton) , 3. Boyd Purdy (Dunsborough), 4. Glenn Williams

(Hillarys)
Grand Masters : 1. Dave Macaulay (Gracetown), 2. Brent Moss (Secret Harbour), 3. Glenn Williams (Hillarys), 4. Frank Hayter

(Margaret River)
Over 50 Men : 1. Brent Moss (Secret Harbour), 2. Steve Williams (Karrinyup), 3. Frank Hayter (Margaret River)), 4. Leon Norris

(Geradlton)

SURFING WA EVENTS MANAGER
Justin Majek