2011 Kneeboard Surfing World Titles-Phillip Island

[albert]

For 2 years running the PI comp in 2010 and 2009 the waves were ankle high.

Dont forget what the comp was like 2008 and 2007!! Big and out of control, I think both times we had a day at Flynns!

[jamie]

In 1984 at the first PI Kneeboard Classic, we went to right point on day 1.
It was low tide and 2 foot at 7.30am, by lunchtime it was 6ft and smoking and Keg(see SteveA subject mater in his blog thread) had consumed 6 long necks of home brew(two US six packs by volume and about 3 six packs by alcohol content). Keg went onto win his heat that afternoon and the waves @ PI have been legendary in kneeboard folklore ever since.
Its rumoured that Dean the dancing machine Bullivant, Albert Whiteman and a couple of others(parksey and simon f) surfed 8 -10 foot barrels that afternoon @ a sharky secret spot!

27 years later and i follow the sage advice given many moons ago re surf and weather on Phillip Island - 4 seasons in one day is the norm, Kitty Miller bay is a place where any wind any tide you can get a ride.

[mal]

sounds good.. two years in a row its been big (and maby ugly) and then two years in a row its been small (and maby sh..y). so this time it should be medium size perfect direction swell and light offshores woo !

[red]

yeah, Mal

We had two years of perfect waves before that - light variable winds and pumping barrels.

So we're due for another.

[islandjim]

Here is the final list of entries for"The Island". We should see some pretty good surfing out of this field.


UNDER 16’s
Tom Novakov Australia Male
Evan Odom United States Male
Catherine Karney-Jeffrey Australia Female
kurt geiseler New Zealand Male

17 – 19
Shane Whitehouse Australia Male
Jethro Cooney Australia Male
Kurt Meusburger Australia Male
Rebecca Heemi New Zealand Female
Chris Linn United States Male
Kelly McDonald New Zealand Female
Jordan Cooksley New Zealand Female
roydon stewart New Zealand Male

20 – 29
uriah lanham Australia Male
Jacob Hadcroft Australia Male
Matt Novakov Australia Male
Kelvin Weir New Zealand Male
Sam Coyne United States Male
hamish christophers New Zealand Male
Josephine Moore New Zealand Female
Kiya Kelley Canada Female
giovani benitez Venezuela Male

30 – 39
laith pritchard Australia Male
Kei Fujioka Japan Male
gavin colman Australia Male
Ruben Gutierrez Spain Male
armando colucci Venezuela Male
Maki Claude Japan Male
Albert Munoz Australia Male
Chayne Simpson Australia Male
Ryan Gallagher Australia Male
ross dillon Australia Male
eduardo machado Brazil Male
mark mcleod Australia Male
malcolm diack New Zealand Male
Marcus Hague Australia Male
Chris Buscemi United States Male
Duncan Jones United Kingdom Male
Alex Callister United Kingdom Male
brendan jessup Australia Male
Jamie Andrews New Zealand Male
james Anderson United Kingdom Male
jonathon paulett United Kingdom Male
travis sutton Australia Male
Paul Wright United Kingdom Male
alexi bossa Venezuela Male
max lenin lamas de santiago Venezuela Male

40 – 44
Mark Jeffrey Australia Male
greg geddes Australia Male
Peter Fairweather Australia Male
paul mannix Australia Male
Graham Murdoch Australia Male
rod paarlberg Australia Male
Simon Farrer Australia Male
Chris Carey Australia Male
Tony Jewell Australia Male
kyle bryant Australia Male
Matthew Gallagher Australia Male
stan kofoed Australia Male

45 – 49
greg budgen Australia Male
tom backer United States Male
kevin ross Australia Male
Dale Ponsford Australia Male
Michael Novakov Australia Male
Peter Whitehouse Australia Male
Michael Di Sciascio Australia Male
Andrew Taylor Australia Male
dave cooney Australia Male
Gareth Williams Australia Male
Dean Hollier Australia Male
Timothy Kadwell Australia Male
Peter Buswell Australia Male
Anthony Taylor Australia Male
phil arthur Australia Male
Garry Meusburger Australia Male
Bill Lerner United States Male
Alexander Langlands Australia Male
baden smith Australia Male
kevin fisher Australia Male
randall morris United States Male
Paul Devoy United States Male
Peter James Australia Male
donna jennings Australia Female
Jamie McHugh Australia Male
glen bitton Australia Male
maui sanford Tahiti Male
Shane Metcalfe Australia Female

50 – 54
jim brown Australia Male
neil owen Australia Male
Russell Smith Australia Male
Cynthia Wornham United States Female
michael mcguire Australia Male
Mark Abel Australia Male
peter flood Australia Male
Red Ceglowski Australia Male
Alan Bruce Australia Male
Graham Wills Australia Male
Brad Colwell United States Male
Greg Shewman United States Male
david parkes Australia Male
Peter Maclure Australia Male
gary finger Australia Male
Joe Coyne United States Male
tom newton Australia Male
danny lutjens Australia Male
James Gustard Australia Male
john cullen Australia Male
michael fernandez United States Male
Greg Griffiths Australia Male
wayne jennings Australia Male
peter granton Australia Male
Tom Linn United States Male
dave rosenbrock Australia Male
Mark Ashby Australia Male
Robert Hunt Australia Male
Terry Day Australia Male
Peter Simmons Australia Male
David Austin Australia Male
eimata carroll Tahiti Male
ralph sanford Tahiti Male

55 – 59
Peter Brown Australia Male
Murray Weir New Zealand Male
craig McDonald New Zealand Male
Damian Coase Australia Male
Brian Manahan Australia Male
Paul Satchell Australia Male
Craig Jacobs Australia Male
rob rennie Australia Male
john rodgers Australia Male
stephen hough Australia Male
Desmond Watson Australia Male
Murray Armstrong Australia Male
Paul Francis Australia Male
timothy forster Australia Male
phillipe klima Tahiti Male

60 – 63
Gunther Frensch Australia Male
rudy lausz Australia Male
Robert Gove United States Male
Steve Artis Australia Male

64 +
John Mel United States Male
David Condon Australia Male

WOMENS
Catherine Karney-Jeffrey Australia
Rebecca Heemi New Zealand
Kelly McDonald New Zealand
Jordan Cooksley New Zealand
Josephine Moore New Zealand
Kiya Kelley Canada
donna jennings Australia
Shane Metcalfe Australia
Cynthia Wornham United States

[Tom Linn]

Is this the largest field (140) for a kneelo contest in the history of the world?

Inquiring minds want to know??

[albert]

Is this the largest field (140) for a kneelo contest in the history of the world?

Inquiring minds want to know??

Sunshine coast world titles in 2002 had over 220 entrants from memory.

[jamie]

Not sure on the 220 competitors, thought just over 100.
If it was 220 the size of the rip off boggles the mind.

[Scott]

There was talk originally of some webcasting of the contest. Is that still a possibility?

[barry]

not sure of the total # but Wollongong 1996
there were so many aussies wanting in that they had to have a trials event
in Crunulla 2 weeks prior to the actual event to narrow down the field!!!
I am sure smurf or another WAKA would be able to get the actual #.
But I can honestly say that it gave me a whole new prospective on what an actual kneeriding only contest could evolve into
I was utterly amazed at the entire scope of the event that M.Abel, Slats and crew put together
I also have the highest confidence in Jim and crew raising the bar this year!!!

[stevea]

This event has to my knowledge the largest number of international competitors ever ,look at the 30 -39 age group a real world cupful of kneelos
The biggest events number wise belong to the 70 s and 80s with 150 +common ,it was all a lot easier then and in the words of Forrest Gump i will say no more on that

[analbirth]

there was more of us alive back in the 70's and 80's
it won't be long before David Rabbitbarrow does a special on it
" the diminishing surfing sub species known as kneeboarders"

[mal]

is there going to be a repocharge? .. do we get a life

[islandjim]

Its taken a little while, but here is my account of the 2011 World Titles

Congratulations to all of the World Title Winners

Albert Munoz
Donna Jennings
Tom Novakov
Jethro Cooney
Hamish Christophers
Chayne Simpson
Kyle Bryant
Michael Novakov
Dave Parkes
Craig McDonald
Bob Gove
John Mel

That’s a pretty impressive list of surfers.

The event started early when Ralph, Di and Maui arrived from Tahiti on Tuesday and we caught a few waves early at Woolamai. Only us and Chayne out and a bit of fun. A BBQ was organised for later in the week , and everyone spent the rest of the week surfing at either Woolamai , Right Point or Centre Crack. There wasn’t much on offer but everyone was still having fun .Kenny and Sharon arrived from Sydney and helped out for the rest of the event. The BBQ at my place was a fun night. The Tahitians were there , along with some of the American crew and also some of the Kiwi’s. Plenty of red wine was downed and some great stories were told .

Saturday was the official opening ceremony. We had the Mayor of Bass Coast and The local Member of Parliament in attendance, along with Surfing Vic CEO, Max Wells. The “welcome to country” was great. I have only seen a couple of photos so far but I think it will be something that people will remember about their visit to the Island. Steve Parker and his crew did a wonderful job, just a shame he didn’t spear a fish. Turtle Mannix was trying to get him down the deeper end of the pool where you can’t miss. Speaking of Turtle, what a terrific venue he has , and what a top job he did catering for the entire week.

Sunday morning and the heats start. The competition was underway and it would run its course. We weren’t blessed with classic waves , but everyone knuckled down and gave it their best. It was a tough week for surfing but there were still numerous highlights during the comp. Albert, Chayne, Kyle all going off. Parksey dominating the veterans to such an extent that his throw away wave in the final was a “9”. Nova getting some great waves at Centre Crack. Simon doing the same , along with Matty G and Baden. Marcus Hague was a quiet achiever, and Keg Geddes had a great comp. Tom Novakov in the Cadets, and Local , Jethro Cooney in the juniors are a great indication of where are sport is heading.
The event was webcast for the first time , with live time scoring and results available on the internet. It was another step forward for kneeboarding and something to build on in the future.

Monday night we went back to the Rhyll Trout Farm and Bush Tucker to try and catch our dinner. With slabs of beer on offer for the best fisherman . Biggest fish of the night was a 1.6kg trout caught by Kelly Ambler, and the smallest was a 190 gram tiddler caught by her husband Sean Ambler. It was that small they wouldn’t cook it.
The Neil Luke board was being raffled tonight , and after trying to win one of Neils boards in New Zealand, David Condon was the lucky winner of a beautiful diamond tail Neil Luke.

Tuesday night was 10 pin bowling night, and over 70 people turned up to try their hand in the lanes. There was some very good bowlers vying for the prize of a slab of beer, but there were also some very, very ordinary bowlers. If it wasn’t for the bumpers there would have been mayhem across the lanes. There was also pool tables and table tennis to keep the masses happy.
After a very close tussle, Randy Morris came out the winner , just edging out Greg Shewman. Worst score of the night was won comprehensively by “the first lady” Jill Brown

John Mel from Freeline Surfboards very generously donated a new board to raffle and it was won by Neil Owen, and I can tell you that he is surfing on it and loving it.


Wednesday was golf at the Aussie Golf Ranch. A tough Par 3 , 9 hole layout at the western end of Cowes. I played with Kenny, Gaz Lanham, Brad Colwell and Randy Morris. It was a very even tussle with everyone having some good holes mixed in with some bad. The other groups were also having a fun time , but not scoring too good. The final result saw Gaz Lanham take out the prize for the best score off the stick. Kenny and Sharon shared the prize for the worst score.
Brad had a side bet with Jill Brown and after giving up 2 shots per hole he just got pipped. Sorry Brad I owe you an apology. It should have only been 1 shot per hole. I will have to make it up to you in Tahiti.


Thursday
Bay cruise/ We had a terrific night cruising from Rhyll around under the bridge and right out to the tip of Cape Woolamai. A good group on board , with some aussies, Tahitians and Americans all enjoying fine food , drink , and good company. Rumour has it, even a bit of Pole Dancing at one stage. After the cruise , we got the courtesy bus back to the Isle of Wight and continued the party there.
While we cruised under the bridge we drew the board raffles for Wednesday and Thursday. Gunther Frensch was lucky enough to win a Stewart Pontin Board., and he is very happy with it. The Dave Parkes board was won by John Cullen. He is a very generous supporter of kneeboarding and it was great to see him win.


Friday was the chance to get the cobwebs out of the throat . It was Karaoke night at the “Isle of Fright” A good crowd was building in anticipation of a fun night. All the boys and girls were there, along with some boy/girls and boy/boys. It was very funny to see who was dancing with what. The WAKA’s were the main show , Smurf was having a ball belting out songs , along with waka, and Mike. Its best if you see the photos of this night. I cant really put it into words . I may face legal action !!

Saturday was presentation night in the upstairs room at the Isle of Wight Hotel. A big crowd was in attendance. The magnificent hand made trophies by Dave Fincher were on display. He is one of the best trophy makers in the world . Each one was slightly different from the next. There was also a hand carved didgeridoo made by Steve Parker , and hand painted by all the local young Boonwurrung children. This was part of the Open first prize .
The highly sought after , “Island Kneeboard” that was hand painted by Steve Parker was won by an elated Maui Sanford from Tahiti. I know how much he appreciated winning it. Once the presentations were completed , local musician , Simon Curphey and his band The Roo Dogs kicked off. And boy did they play. The dance floor was jumping . Keg was flying, Parksey was leaping and Budgie was headbanging. It kicked on at a couple of places till the very early hours of the morning

It was a great finish to a great week.

I want to thank everyone for coming and enjoying your time here, and having fun.


Thanks again to Kenny for all the help. To Pete ,my right hand man. Slats, thanks mate. To Turtle, Tony, Neil, Rosey, Rod, Peter, Mike, thanks for your help .

[Mike Fernandez]

Great job with the contest Jim. The bowling night was epic also with Waka, entirely on his own, causing all the mayhem I believe. Their bowling shoes could have been larger, mine were still small.