THE Margaret River Boardriders Club have dug deep in tricky summer-like swells at Trigg beach last weekend to claim an impressive victory over Yallingup Boardriders at the fifth event of the Australian Boardriders Battle series.
Five of WA's best grass-roots boardriding clubs converged on Trigg Beach, where they battled small but highly contestable conditions.
A stacked field of current, former and aspiring WA surfing champions made the most of the swell on offer with hopes of qualifying for the National Final in Newcastle, NSW in February 2018.
Led by the performance of Jacob Willcox, Margaret River secured top spot on the event leaderboard, thanks to a solid performance in the Skins, Women’s and Teams divisions.
Willcox’s lightening fast forehand attack proved fatal as he dropped excellent scores at will in the groomed one- to two-foot waves on offer.
Willcox gave Margaret River an early lead through the Skins heats which they never relinquished for the remainder of the event.
“Yeah the conditions are pretty small, but the bank out there is really good and the wind is super clean offshore,” Willcox said.
“It's a hot day down here and all the clubs are really getting into it and I'm stoked to have done what I can to Margs help get the win.”
Mia McCarthy added some valuable points to Margaret River’s overall total with victory in the Women’s division.
Using her small and light weight frame perfectly, McCarthy posted an 8.33 (from a possible 10), defeating rising stars Emma Cattlin (Yallingup), Arabelle Gibson (Cowaramup Bay), Taiana Duncan (Geraldton) and Rosie Mahoney (Trigg Point).
Willcox kicked off the final in empathic style for Margaret River, dropping a near perfect 9.17 (from a possible 10) and back it up with a 6.83 (from a possible 10), setting his club up perfectly for victory.
Following in Willcox's footsteps, Ben Spence, Jerome Forrest, Mia McCarthy, and Andrew Sheridan all scored highly, leaving Margaret River on combined total of 64.16, finishing ahead of Trigg Point on 57.83, Cowaramup Bay in third on 55.49 and Yallingup in fourth on 46.60.
“After the disappointment of bowing out early last year and having to rely on the wildcard process to make the National final, it's a really satisfying feeling to claim the win here today,” Margaret River club captain Andrew Sheridan said.
Forecast:
A plague of onshore westerly winds will dominate this week from Wednesday to Saturday, but there will be a rising three-metre swell which will peak on Saturday at 4.5-metre so there should be waves in the bays.
Sunday should see south-westerly winds and a solid four-metre swell.
Hotspot:
Bunkers Bay.