The DP Battle Royale surf comp has once again been a roaring success with East Corrimal’s Nick Squiers taking out the event at Stanwell Park last weekend.
One to threet foot waves with offshore conditions and excellent sandbanks greeted the 32 males and eight females who turned out for the event, run by Scarborough Boardriders.
Squiers set the standard early with a 17.50 total score out of 20 in round 1, eclipsing Rhys Bombaci with 16.00 in the same heat.
Other first round stand outs included Stanwell Park local Kalani Ball with a 13.33 total, Jones Beach boardrider’s Brett Connellan with 13.16 and last year’s winner Shane Campbell with 12.70.
Round 2 switched to man-on-man and Squiers continued to pile on the pressure powering into tricky lefts down the beach to rack up a heat total of 18.23, again the highest score of the round.
The conditions held up throughout the day, as Squiers went on to eliminate Shane Campbell in the quarter finals then edge out Kalani Ball in the semis.
On the other side of the draw Dean Bowen, well known to Squiers through their shared goal of climbing up the world QS surf rankings, eliminated Cronulla’s Jay Brown to set up a showdown with Squiers in the final.
Squiers got out in front early but had to fight off a strong finishing Bowen who rode his last wave with just seconds to go.
The surf coach and Scarborough Boardriders club member bagged the $2,500 prize money, while Bowen walked away with $1,500.
In the women’s division Wollongong surfer Skye Burgess came out firing to post a heat total of 15.16 in the semi finals with local Kasey Hargreaves finding her groove to win the other semi with a heat total of 14.93.
In the final Burgess picked off the larger steeper waves while Darcy Air and Kasey Hargreaves battled it out for 2nd and 3rd with upcoming junior, Culburra’s Keira Buckpitt, surfing well beyond her years to finish 4th.
The day went off with hardly a hitch. A small shower of rain arrived moments after the tents were pulled down but most were already on their way to Beaches Hotel in Thirroul for the post-event celebrations.
Shane Campbell picked up the James Cruickshank Award for best recovery.
Thanks to sponsors 4020Beer, Beaches Hotel, Sisstrerevolution and DP Surfboards for making the day possible.
Scarborough Boardriders
