Lester Wins the Coopers Pro
Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 09:18
2011 Coopers Knights Beach Pro Champion Andrew Lester.
All Photos // joshtabonephoto.blogspot.com
ANDREW LESTER WINS COOPERS KNIGHTS BEACH PRO
Written by Terry McKenna
The Coopers Knights Beach Pro was held yesterday in epic conditions, with 3-4ft wedges providing boosts and barrels aplenty. Cold and cloudy conditions cleared up quickly and some of the worlds’ best put on a spectacle for the crowd in good waves for the sixth year running.
As the sun shone, so did the riders, with New Zealand rider Ben MacKinnon busting a massive invert in his round 2 heat against local Jasper Ashmore, who was also impressive.
With the infamous Knights Wedge providing plenty of ramps for the top riders, every heat was a nail biter, with inverts and flips setting the standard for some epic semi final showdowns.
Lachlan Cramsie, Runner-Up in the Shed 9 Pro the previous weekend, put on a dominant display taking down his heroes Mitch Rawlins and Dave Winchester consecutively. In his semi final against Winny, Cramsie dropped in late into a thick Knights tube, coming out the spit with a massive roll, leaving the crowd in hysterics with a score of 9.83. “It’s really fun out there. I just had to wait for the good ones and I’m pretty glad I got lucky. The conditions are good, I know the final’s going to be tough, but I’m looking forward to it” said Cramsie.
Semi final 2 featured tour veteran Andrew Lester up against the versatile skill of Michael Novy. Going wave for wave, Novy landed a huge back-flip, and Lester answered back with a solid invert, both scoring waves in the six point range. Novy needed a 9.5, but couldn’t match it against the experience of Lester, and the 2007 Australian Tour Champion would duel it out against the young gun Lachlan Cramsie in the final. “It’s been a while between drinks for me. I’m really looking forward to the final. Lachlan is such a talent, he was a part of the training camp I held last year and he was head and shoulders above everybody else.”
Prior to the final, The South Australian State Titles were held with Karl Morgan, Tom Ling, Jack Thomas, Aaron Brane battling out to the be the state champ of 2011. Brane landed a huge roll at the start of the heat, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the local knowledge of Jack Thomas, who strung together a few solid scores to take the title. “It was fun out there. I sat down the beach and a couple of good ones came my way, so I’m really stoked that it paid off and I won.”
The crowd lined the rocky outcrop of Knights beach in anticipation of the final that was truly Master vs the Apprentice. Lachlan Cramsie opened up with two solid, yet mid-range scores, landing a big backflip to put Lester on the ropes. But Lester showed his experience by answering back with two waves of his own, landing a solid invert and riding out of the turbulence to the cheers of the crowd. In a combo situation, Cramsie landed a huge roll to get an 8-point ride, but time was the enemy and he was unable to surpass his mentor Lester.
Andrew Lester joins David Winchester in becoming one of the only surfers to win the Knights Beach Pro twice. “I haven’t won a comp for ages, so it’s a great feeling. I love surfing lefthand wedges, so I think that really helped. I’m just really happy to win.”
The Knights Beach pro was presented by Coopers, Surfing SA, SATC, Cutloose, Alexandrina Council Office of Recreation and Sport and the IBA Australasia.
The Lester reverse.
A neon Novy flipping.
A classy Jones Russell invert.
Australian Tour Overview with IBA Head Judge Craig Hadden
Last week's event (Victoria) was won by Mitch Rawlins and this week's event (South Australia) was taken out by Andrew Lester. Incidentally, Andrew’s win saw him become the first Australian to pass $30,000 in career prizemoney earnings.
The Top 10, after 7 of 8 Aus Tour events, are:
1 Michael Novy QLD
2 Mitchell Rawlins QLD
3 Andrew Lester NSW
4 Jones Russell NSW
5 Dallas Singer NSW
6 Chase O'Leary NSW
7 Sam Bennett NSW
8 Lachlan Cramsie QLD
9 Thomas Rigby QLD
10 Dave Winchester NSW
The final event on the Rebel Sport Pro Tour will be held at Kiama, NSW, from October 20th – 23rd. This event will be run in conjunction with the RAW Australasian Amateur Titles and caps off a great year for bodyboarding in Australia.
The all-important final places on the IBAA Pro Tour will count towards IBA World GQS qualifying points for those competitors trying to make next years GSS Tour.
The past Australian Pro Tour Champions have been:
2010 Dave Winchester New South Wales
2009 Corey McLean Queensland
2008 Dave Winchester New South Wales
2007 Andrew Lester New South Wales
2006 Ryan Hardy Western Australia
2005 Ben Gohl New South Wales
2004 Mitch Rawlins Queensland
2003 John Cruikshank New South Wales
2002 Shaun Cooper New South Wales
2001 Sean Virtue Western Australia
2000 Ben Player New South Wales
1999 Andrew Lester New South Wales
Who are you picking to take the 2011 Australian Tour Title? A veteran like Lester, or a World Tour competitor like Winny or Novy, or a new-gen like Russell, Bennett or O'Leary, or a young gun (who happens to be on a hot streak) like Lachie Cramsie?
Here's some bonus shots for you thanks to Damon Arandelovic.
Lachie Cramsie pulling a pretty solid invert.
Classic Lester, carving his way to the win.
Tom Rigby with a textbook invert.
Winny joining everyone with another invert.
Joe Clarke slicing Knights apart.
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Comments
rigby's invert was sooooo big! pity it didn't stick.
it was obvious that lester was gonna win from the first heat i saw him surf (round 2).
kudos to the crew 4 putting on a good show!!!