James Lewis (Aus) took out the inaugural Rip Curl “Surf into Summer” at St Clair Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand over the weekend. Lewis the standout performer of the event, showed his class, unleashing his bag of tricks that saw him take victory in the final.

Jack Lewis (Aust) surfing to victory. Photo: www.photomarkstevenson.com

Competitors were greeted with perfect 3ft surf and off-shore conditions, with long work-able rights, running from outside the point, all the way across the beach. The stage was set and the early heats saw some high-class surfing and big scores.

James Lewis (Aus), showed his form early, with an array of big turns, snaps and aerial maneuvers. Not to be out done, the local boys turned it up, with so great surfing.
Nat Parsons, Luke Murphy, Simon Dickie and Lyndon Hutton all impressed in the early rounds, with solid waves. Not to be out done, Nat Day (Taras) scored the barrel of the day, pulling into a double-up off the point and making it thru the thick section that followed.

Unfortunately the conditions deteriorated for the finals, with the swing on-shore and with an incoming tide, good waves were few and far between. James Lewis (Aus), opened the heat, with what was to be the winning ride; linking several critical turns and a huge floater, to post a near perfect 9.5 to take the win. Nat Parson (Duds) fought hard, linking several waves thru to the beach, but was unable to find the score he need in the challenging conditions, placing 2nd. Both Lyndon Hutton (Duds) and Nat Day (Taras) struggled to find waves in the shifty line-up, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.

The Juniors Boys was a tight battle between good friends Leroy Rust and Luke Grubb. In the end Rust (Duds) was the victor, with superior wave selection, that allowed him to lock in several good scores. Unfortunately for Grubb (Duds) the waves didn’t cooperate, placing a close second. Jimmy Crooks and Geordie Dearns were unable to challenge the leaders, finishing in third and fourth.

Tash Civil (Duds) took top honors in the Womens division. The win was extra sweet for Civil, who had only recently started surfing again, after suffering a serious neck injury back in September. Civil managed to lock-in two good scores early on, linking some nice turns thru the inside channel. Hayley Coakes, who impressed in her earlier semi final, with some great surfing, was unable to find the high scoring rides needed to challenge Civil, finishing second. Like many of the finalists Susanna Greaves (Duds) and Kimberly Kearns (Duds) were both unable to get good scoring rides in the adverse conditions, with Greaves in 3rd and Kearns in 4th.

Official Results:

Open Mens:

1st – Jack Lewis (Aust)

2nd – Nat Parsons (Duds)

3rd – Lyndon Hutton (Duds)

4th – Nat Day (Duds)

Womens:

1st – Tash Civil (Duds)

2nd – Hayley Coakes (Duds)

3rd – Susanna Greaves (Duds)

4th – Kimberly Kearns (Duds)

Junior Boys (U18s):

1st – Leroy Rust (Duds)

2nd – Luke Grubb (Duds)

3rd – Jimmy Crooks (Duds)

4th – Geordie Dearns (Duds)