Jan Juc beach turns it on for the 2019 Victorian Masters Titles

THE 2019 Victorian Masters Titles were hosted at Jan Juc Beach at the weekend, with two to threefoot waves serving up a fun challenge for winners Johnny Hawken and Clare Eldridge.

Seven divisions were surfed, ranging from Over 35s to Over 60s as well as the speciality Single Fin division.

Known for its pathway into the Australian Masters Titles in August on the Tweed Coast, the event’s competitors pulled out all the stops to deliver an impressive display of talent.

Local Torquay surfer Johnny Hawken smashed through some big waves on his backhand in the Over 35 Men category, scoring 7.00 and a 6.90 to take home the win.

A new member to the Masters division, Hawken braved through the day with a classy and smooth approach.

“It was testing conditions out there today, but I’ve surfed Juc in these similar conditions a lot during the last month which definitely helped me today in the Over 35 division,” he said.

“I’m stoked to be able to be heading to the Australian Masters Title up north, and I’m really looking forward to going away for it.”

Callan Cross placed second, throwing an air reverse into the onshore afternoon winds to score the day’s AirAsia Wave of the Day.

In third place was Tim Birnie, fourth was Joel Steven and in fifth was Mark Miccoli.

Former world number two competitor Bradley Gerlach demonstrated a stellar performance in the Over 50 Mens, posting a 9.00 ride on his way to victory.

Shooting to fame in the late 1980s, Gerlach was thrilled to make three finals and see some good results on the scoreboard.

“I haven’t been surfing much lately due to injury so it was great to get some water time and surf some heats today,” Gerlach said at the event on January 20.

“I entered a lot of divisions today, it was really cool to just be in the water again and competing at this level,” he said.

“Competing is such a thing to do and I am loving life down here in Torquay.”

The last group to compete was the over 35 Women, with Claire Eldridge winning the only female division of the event.

Surfing remarkably to get the win over Kim Byrne who came in second, former Masters champion Angie Reiter who finished in third, followed by Eglantine Balland in fourth and Nerissa Hede in fifth.

Marcus Huppatz came in first in the Single Fin Division, followed by Bradley Gerlach (second place), Mark Walker (third place) and Mark Miccoli (fourth place).

For the full list of results, head to liveheats.com/ surfingvictoria.

For more surfing coverage, see pages 100-101.