Elder Divisions Hit The Water At The 2017 Australian Longboard Titles

The elder divisions in the Australian Longboard Titles got their moment to shine today when the event resumed in shifty two foot peaks at Cabarita.

Former Australian Champion Jason Livingston (Curl Curl, NSW) showed the same skills that had bagged him a title in previous years, taking a win in the opening exchanges in the Over-40 and Over-45 Men’s division. The stocky natural-footer used his powerful frame to throw around his nine-foot plus board with ease, posting an impressive 14.20 two-wave heat total in the 40s and an 11.75 total in the 45s.

Other Over-40 Men’s round one winners included: Ben Dickens (Lennox Head, NSW), Nigel Canterbury (Grange, Qld) and local surfer Ben Johnson (Pottsville, NSW).

Hayden Swan (Noosa, Qld) and John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach, NSW) managed to replicate Livingston’s dual division heat wins with both surfers taking out their opening exchanges in the Over-45 and Over-50 Men’s division. Swan put on a consistent display of powerful frontside carves and snaps, while Schmidenberg relied on his free-flowing backhand prowess. Both surfers will skip the repechage round and seal a position straight into the quarterfinals.

Neil Thompson (Trigg, WA) was the remaining round one champion in the Over-45 Men’s division, posting a respectable 12.00 heat total to cement his spot in the quarters.

The 2017 Australian Surf Festival continues tomorrow from 7:30am the more of the Australian Longboard Titles.

For all results and more information, please visit: www.australiansurffestival.com

2017 Australian Surf Festival – Tweed Coast, NSW, July 28-August 14

– Opening Ceremony – July 28

– Australian Surfmasters Titles – July 29-August 2

– Australian Longboard Titles – August 2-10

– Australian Logger Titles – August 3-10

– Big 4 North Star Holiday Resort & Caravan Park Australian Bodyboard Titles – August 10-14

The 2017 Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is also proudly supported by Destination Tweed, Big 4 North Star Holiday Resort & Caravan Park, bcu, Hydralyte Sports, Toyota, Pacific Longboarder, NBN, mySURF.tv, Surfing Australia and Surfing NSW.