Eighty eight young groms who descended on Nine Mile Beach at Tuncurry on the NSW Mid North Coast to compete in the Reflections Cadet Cup this weekend enjoyed “great waves and prime conditions”, organisers say.
The Tuncurry event was held by Reflections, the largest holiday park group in New South Wales, in partnership with iconic surfing festival Surfest, after the inaugural Reflections Cadet Cup was held at Rainbow Beach, Bonny Hills, in February this year.
Surfest director Warren Smith said there were cracking surf conditions on both competition days on Saturday and Sunday.
“The competitors really enjoyed prime conditions on both days and today we double banked some heats because we were keeping an eye on possible storms and thought we’d get ahead of ourselves by a couple of hours,” Mr Smith said.
“Tuncurry has really turned it on, weather wise and surf wise, and everyone has really loved it.”
The Reflections Cadet Cup is a 5500-rated event and the winners were:
Under 12 Girls – Coco Woolley (first, Boomerang Beach), Alani Morris (second, Shelly Beach), Matilda Harrigan (Emerald Beach, third)
Under 12 Boys – Noah Kornek (1, Austinmer), Clement Piellard (2, North Sydney), Sonny Leong (3, Cronulla)
Under 14 Girls – Frankie Freudenstein (1), Lily Sain (2, Ingleside), Zara Hyland (3, Cronulla)
Under 14 Boys – Hamish Harrigan (1, Emerald Beach), Zeke Woollam (2, Bonny Hills), Joakim Bjorck (3, North Bondi)
Under 16 Girls – Poppy O’Reilly (1, Bronte), Chelsea Darling (2, Hat Head), Malia Barron (3, Byron Bay)
Under 16 Boys – Mateus Leal (1, Dee Why), Frederick Chidambaram (2, Elanora Heights), Lucas Leal (3, Dee Why)
Mr Smith said the standard of surfing at the Tuncurry event had been excellent despite sometimes challenging conditions, with the young competitors rising to the occasion at Nine Mile.
“These young competitors really gave it their all and will be tomorrow’s champions. It was great to witness them progress in their surfing journeys and also be able to catch up with their competitor buddies surfside and after the competition.”
Reflections Chief Marketing Officer Peter Chapman said the competition had been top-notch from both a surfer and spectator perspective, and it was great to see the families of the competitors, tourists and Reflections guests enjoy the competition and activities nearby.
“The Eats and Beats area we set up in our Tuncurry holiday park with pop-up food trucks and live music was really popular and it was great to see everyone connecting in nature and beachside, which is what Reflections specialises in,” Mr Chapman said.
“The Cup has gone from strength to strength since we partnered with Surfest to bring it to NSW and we can’t wait to keep building the event in the New Year.”
Contact details:
Warren Smith 0412 127 525 - Surfest
Penelope Green 0437 144 526 Reflections