Torquay mix it with world’s best at Usher Cup

TORQUAY Boardriders Club have returned from the Usher Cup World Club Challenge with strong results in individual and teams surfing formats of the event.

Held at Snapper Rocks, Queensland from January 19-22, the event saw 31 of the world’s best boardriders clubs fight it out for individual, club and international honours in pristine waves.

Torquay looked in fantastic stead early on with Xavier Huxtable, Wills Droomer and former Championship Tour surfer Troy Brooks all enjoying first and second round heat wins.

This was highlighted by the craftsmanship of Brooks, who wound back the clock to score a perfect 10-point ride as part of a commanding win.

Women’s surfers Sara Hickson and Emily McGettigan fell short in the first and second round and Huxtable was knocked out in Round 3, but Brooks and Droomer advanced to the quarter-finals in style.

As slow conditions firmed, the pair were unable to surf to their potential in the quarter-finals, eliminated by event winner Morgan Cibilic (Mereweather) and fellow finalist Sheldon Simkus (Snapper Rocks).

With individual efforts put to the side, the surfers set their sights on the team format.

Some strong surfing put Torquay in the box seat for a fantastic result, with Droomer steering the ship in the first round, highlighted by a strong 7.50-point ride.

The spirit of Torquay soldiered on into the quarter-finals, where Brooks and Huxtable combined for two great scores to edge the Surf Coast club into a semi-finals berth.

A cool, calm and collected response had Torquay in a great spot with minutes remaining, but were just 0.5 short from progressing through to the event final.

Huxtable said he was incredibly proud of the team’s efforts throughout the four days of individual and team action.

“It was an epic couple of days, everyone surfed amazing and the team went great,” he said.

“The waves were about as good as you would get for a competition, there was tubes and Snapper was just pumping.

“To have the experience to share a team with Brooko was just priceless, he’s probably one of the most switched on people I’ve ever worked with.

“He’s knowledge was crazy, and it showed in his heats when he was dropping nine and 10-point rides.

“It made it a really tough event and great spectacle surfing against what are some of the world’s best clubs.”