by Australian Open of Surfing
The stars of surf hit the water at Manly Beach in Sydney on Thursday 12th February in both men’s and women’s World Surf League QS6000 (Qualifying Series) divisions.
The swell jumped as forecast, with a building 1.5m East swell delivering overhead peaks for the best to show their stuff and they didn’t disappoint. 24 action-packed heats were run and won, setting the stage for an epic final three days of competition.
On the Men’s side, number one seed and three-time world champion Mick Fanning (Gold Coast, Qld, AUS) scraped through another heat, but was pipped on the buzzer by comparative unknown, Billy Stairmand (Raglan, New Zealand).
Stairmand has beaten the best previously, he sent Kelly Slater packing from a QS event at Margaret River a few years back, and with nothing to lose and everything to gain here at Manly today threw caution to the wind in the dying stages of his Round 3 heat, unloading a series of powerful and precise carves and tail whips to leapfrog the mighty Fanning.
“It’s great to have a heat with Mick Fanning, he’s one of my idols,” Stairmand said. “I’m from Raglan (a world renowned left hand point break) so I’m always excited when a left pops up … that was a crucial heat, everyone was getting good scores and I was lucky to get that good wave at the end.”
Fanning was still electric however, executing his trademark lightning-quick turns to secure his advancement – he will next face South African Michael February and Jonathan Gonzalez of the Canary Islands.
“I put some early scores on the board and was out in front for a while,” Fanning said. “Then Billy got that 8.67 which was a pretty sick wave to take the lead … I’m stoked for him. It was a good heat and keeps me on my toes.”
Former world number two, Bede Durbidge (Stradbroke Is, QLD, AUS) was another of the big guns to advance behind a lesser-known rival – Ryan Callinan of Newcastle (NSW, AUS).
Callinan has nursed ankle injuries for nearly two years but is fighting fit in 2015; today his polished backhand attack saw him light up the line-up at Manly beach netting two solid scores and a ticket into the next round.
“It’s great to be in these top rated QS events and surf against the best guys in the world, I really want to be where they are – on the Championship Tour – and events like this that are the perfect preparation for them and an opportunity for me.”
Brazilian Alejo Muniz, failed to re-qualify for the Championship Tour in 2014, but has shown impressive form at Manly Beach this week; he is hungry to reclaim his spot amongst the elite Top 34. His heat total of 15.85points was among the highest of the round, behind Brent Dorrington on 16.03pts (Heat 10) and Luel Felipe’s16.84pts (Heat 12)
“It’s important to have a good start to the year and I’m feeling good. I hope that I can continue to improve at this event,” Muniz said.
Also advancing today – world number 11 Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA, USA), world number 15 Adrian “Ace” Buchan (Avoca, NSW, AUS), world number 21 Fred Patacchia (Sunset Beach, Haw) and CT wildcard Glenn “Micro” Hall (Avoca, NSW, AUS).
Superstar Stephanie Gilmore (Coolangatta, QLD/AUS) pulled on the jersey for the first time since winning her sixth world title at Maui last December and not surprisingly started her campaign at Manly with a win.
It was close though! A mere 0.33 separated Steph from second-place getter Georgia Fish (Gunnamatta, Vic, AUS), the pair advancing ahead of West Australia’s Felicity Palmateer and France’s Pauline Justine Dupont.
Gilmore will now take on Frankie Harrer (Malibu, CA, USA) and Miho Ihara (JPN) in the next Round.
“I was a little bit shaky and not performing at my best, but that happens first heat sometimes,” Gilmore said. “It’s good to get that heat out of the way. It’s hard to get back into competition mode after a couple months of holiday mode. It’s fun though — I’m really enjoying being at this event, the crowd down here is awesome!”
World number two, Tyler Wright broke a record at Manly when she was just 14 years of age, becoming the youngest-ever winner of a world tour event (men’s or women’s) and today joked she had not won a heat at Manly since!
But against Great Britan’s Keshia Seelow-Eyre and Hawaiian duo Brianna Cope and Nage Melamad, Wright cruised to victory, looking super comfortable in the overhead surf winning with a heat total of 12.60pts.
“Manly will always be special, it seems like a long time ago now but it’s cool to think this is where my career really kicked off. I’m just happy to get through my heat though actually, it was tricky, I was a bit nervous, I don’t think I’ve won a heat here in seven years! But seriously, I’m here to win, but taking it one heat at a time. The waves are fun, it’s picked up and I’ve been surfing a lot during the break so I feel good,” said Wright.
Inaugural Hurley Australian Open of Surfing women’s champion, Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW, AUS) was in fine form in her opening heat of the season, posting a near-perfect 9.43 for a combination of smooth, precise snaps and carves. This is the closest event to Fitzgibbons’ hometown and as expected, she had plenty of friends and family on the beach supporting her.
“Everyone loves competing in Manly, it’s such an iconic surfing spot and has a great place in our history – plus it’s always a pleasure to surf in front of a big crowd,” said Fitzgibbons.
Of the big name women’s stars, only Dimity Stoyle (Sunshine Coast, QLD, AUS) and Bianca Buitendag (Johannesburg, ZAF) were eliminated with the likes of Coco Ho (Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii), Alessa Quizon (Oahu, Hawaii), Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW, AUS) and defending event champion Carissa Moore (Honolulu, Oahu, Haw) all surfing to expectations and securing Round 4 berths.