Takle and Webb claim state SUP titles

JAN JUC’s Matt Takle and Torquay’s Emma Webb have again risen to the top at the Victorian SUP Titles, winning the open men’s and women’s divisions respectively at Point Impossible Beach.

Competitors were greeted with small clean waves for Saturday’s competition and threw their boards towards the lip in a bid to clinch the overall state title and vital ranking points towards the Australian SUP Titles later this year.

In the Open Men’s field, 10-time state champion Matt Takle showed off his championship credentials once again, putting forward some huge scores throughout the day to advance to the final.

The Open Men’s final started off with a large set rolling through the lineup, with Takle and fellow finalist Koyu Matsunaga (Rhyll) getting the best of the first exchange, both scoring waves in the six-to-seven-point range.

With Takle holding the slenderest of leads, Rick Pettifer (Torquay) also put himself into contention for the title with a 7.17 ride for two searing forehand carves.

As the minutes wound down, Takle took off a larger wave again and shut the door on his fellow competitors with an excellent 9.00 ride.

The win awarded the Jan Juc resident with his 10th consecutive Open Men’s title, further writing his name into the history books of SUP riding in Victoria.

“Throughout the day the swell built so it ended up being a really good day,” Takle said.

“It feels great to take out my 10th Victorian SUP Title win.”

Finishing in second was Pettifer, third went to Matsunaga and in fourth was Steve Toy (Kingsville).

In the Open Women’s field, former Australian champion Webb continued her rich vein of form and found a series of strong waves to give herself back-to-back state Open Women’s titles.

The women’s final started off slowly, with only a few smaller waves ridden, however the deadlock was broken up when Webb found herself on a set wave towards the end of the final.

Across two waves, Webb would show off her prowess on the board and was rewarded with mid-range scores for a series of strong top turns off the lip.

“It feels really great to win the 2023 Victorian SUP title,” Webb said.

“It’s good to see some new girls competing and overall it was a great day.”

Trailing Webb and finishing in second was Lucy Bell (Sandringham), third went to Xanthe Rivett (Rosebud) and fourth place was awarded to Nadine Stirrup (Dromana).

Other division winners from the day include Rick Pettifer (Torquay, Over 40 Men), Lucy Bell (Sandringham, Over 40 Women), Brendan Ryan (Port Campbell, Over 50 Men), John Lane (Torquay, Over 60 Men), Emma Webb (Jan Juc, Open Women 10ft), Leanne Jack (Mornington, Over 50 Women 10ft) and Warwick Lee (Cheltenham, Over 50 Men 10ft).