Victoria’s best dazzle at first round of Woolworths Junior Surfing Titles

CHAMPIONS have been crowned at Round 1 of the Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles, with Under 18 surfers Willem Watson (McCrae) and Sarsha Pancic (Blairgowrie) reigning supreme at Smiths Beach, Phillip Island.

Competitors were greeted with stormy two-to-three feet waves on both days, with the judges eyeing committed and big turns to distinguish state champions in six age divisions.

In the Under 18 Boys division, Willem Watson and former state champion Lucas Hickson (Rye) locked horns and looked like the two in-form surfers from the outset.

Both advancing through to the final, the pair scored seven-point rides to authorise their dominance early in the heat, however it was Watson who would use priority to his advantage to get the jump on Hickson.

In the end, Watson found himself a backup score of a 6.43 to edge Hickson out and claim the divisional title.

“Throughout the comp and especially in the final I was trying to get a good first wave and then build on that, so I was happy that it worked out,” the Under 18 title winner said.

“The surf was fun if you found the right ones and everyone was ripping!”

Coming in third position was Remy Roberts (Barwon Heads) and fourth went to Jack Bassett (Barwon Heads).

In the Under 18 Girls division, Sarsha Pancic left it to the dying moments to get the jump on last weekend’s open series champion Eva Bassed (Sandy Point), grabbing a 6.17-point ride to come out on top.

With the seconds ticking down, Pancic nailed a series of strong snapping manoeuvres to give her the score that would inch her closer to being part of the Victorian State Team.

“The conditions were tricky but I was happy that I could find two good waves out there,” Pancic said.

“I surfed [Phillip Island] in the Victorian team at Aussies last year and I hope this takes me one step closer to making the team again.”

Eva Bassed (Sandy Point) finished in second place, while Sophie Thompson (Shoreham) and Luka Woods (Fingal) rounded out the podium in third and fourth respectively.

Other divisional winners included Jerry Kelly (Barwon Heads, Under 16 Boys), Sara Hickson (Rye, Under 16 Girls), Kai Coleman (Mount Duneed, Under 14 Boys) & Rose Holland (Dromana, Under 14 Girls).