Local surfers star at Longboard Titles

SURF Coast and Bellarine longboarders mastered challenging conditions at the Victorian Longboard Titles in Phillip Island, with Barwon Heads’ Ben Considine and Jan Juc’s Emma Webb winning the Open categories.

Severe weather warnings and threatening storms led to the first day of event being called off.

When surfers did take to the water at Woolamai Beach, they faced tricky conditions of two- to three-foot waves.

In the men’s category, Considine showed immense skill, winning with a score of 18.13 in the final.

While a competitor’s top two waves are the only ones that count to their score, Considine surfed all four of the highest scoring waves of the final heat.

He said he was elated to take the win.

“The waves turned out to be quite fun throughout the day.

“I was lucky to get a few lefts throughout the final and I’m stoked to walk away with the win.”

Webb was similarly dominant in the women’s category.

She posted the highest score in the semi-final as well as the final.

She also won the Over 40 category with a score of 14.40.

Jan Juc had another dual winner at the event as Greg Brown took out both the Over 40 and Over 50 Men’s categories.

Torquay surfers Anne Stephenson and John Lane also had success, with Stephenson winning the Over 50 Women’s category and Lane winning in the Over 60 Men’s.