BEN Considine and Bea Conroy have claimed the opening round of the Victorian Longboard Titles on Phillip Island, edging one step closer to the Wildcard spot into the WSL Bells Beach Longboard Classic later this year.
In typical fashion, Considine was dominant across the event claiming at least an excellent ride in all but one of his heats.
"It feels great to get a strong start and take the win at Phillip Island, I had a really good nine months break from contests travelling after the WSL Bells Beach WSL tour contest last year and I just feel I’ve come back with a really fresh approach and super excited to get back into the contests."
"Phillip Island was my third contest for the year, and I feel each heat is just building off the next and I’m developing some really good momentum, so I can’t wait to take that to Noosa soon and then the final round of the Victorian State titles to hopefully secure that place for the bells wildcard!"
In the final, Considine finished on a heat total of 17.77 with two excellent scoring rides. He took down Thomas Fahey (Mornington Peninsula, 11.96 points), Nathan Rivalland (Jan Juc, 11.66 points) and Tas Dunton (Mornington Peninsula, 10.44 points).
Bea Conroy also cruised through to the finals on the fun lefthand bank at Surfies Point Beachbreak.
Locking in a heat total of 11.84, Conroy took down local Ebony Maier (Cape Woolamai) who finished in second on 8.53 points.
Natalie Van Der Heyden (Cape Woolamai) finished in third on 6.67 with Rori Reyntjes (Torquay) in fourth on 5.90 points.
Round 1 Event Champions:
Open: Ben Considine
Open Women: Bea Conroy
U18 Open: Josiah Skarratt
U18 Women: Delilah Chisholm
O40 Open: Liam McCafferty
O40 Women: Eglantine Balland
O50 Open: Liam McCafferty
O50 Women: Jacquie Chambers
O60 Open: Greg Brown
O60 Women: Sian Adnam
O70 Open: Graeme Burgan
The final round will be held at Point Impossible on the Surf Coast on May 17 and 18. Entries are open now via surfingvic.com/events.
Full results can be found at www.surfingvic.com/live