The biggest swell of the season arrived in time for the inaugural Ocean Beach Boardriders Club summer session. Club secretary Wendy Newbold said conditions at Ocean Beach were perfect for Sunday's event. "With a light offshore wind and 1.5m waves, plus the odd bigger set rolling through, we saw some great surfingin all divisions," she said. Of the 55 competitors from around Northland, it was the women and juniors who impressed in bigger conditions than some were used to. "The women and juniors especially stepped up to the challenge, some surfing well out of their comfort zone. The women faced some of the biggest waves of the day in their heats and again in their final," Newbold said. Heather Easterbrook won the women's division, ahead of Lee Orton and Elle Gibson, while Paul Moretti claimed the junior title. In the open section, Joe O'Donnell thrived on the bigger sets, striking a chord with the judges, who awarded him the winning score for the division to keep out Joe Moretti and Ben Douglas. North Island longboarding champion Viv Treacy showed his dominance in the division, while Clinton Ashill secured the title in the senior section. With the first summer session such a great success, Newbold said the club would definitely host another contest next year, with the hope of encouraging more Northlanders to get into competitive surfing.
