In solid consistent swell, the 2005 Australian Titles were held in Coffs Harbour, the home of the Big Banana, on the north coast of NSW. The event tested the skills of our surfers, warranted for a National event....it's not often you have swell over 3 feet for the duration of a comp. A new format was devised for event, with seeded riders starting in Round 2 and the rest battling to qualify for the main event from Round 1. Repercharge rounds only applied to the first two rounds and from the 4th round on the final became a man on man contest. There were many great performances and the following gives you a snapshot of those stood out amongst the rest.

Rees Duncan reigned supreme winning his 6th Australian Title. The former multiple World and Australian champion took the sport of waveski surfing to another level to blitz a quality field of 40 plus riders including current and former world champions Neil Decker and Darren Kearns. His execution of manoeuvres was clinical, performing aerials and vertical re-entries at will with an uncanny ability to consistently remain in the power zone of the wave. Rees also took out the senior’s division, now the most competitive age division in the sport and the only rider to ever achieve this dual result.

Darren Kearns came a close second. Having reached the pinnacle of the sport in Bakio in 2001, Darren was out to claim the one major title to allude him. Riding the latest Dekka design, Darren had to fight hard through the man on man rounds with close results against Brett Cronin, Travis Best and Khane Duncan to reach the final, only to come up against a rampaging Rees Duncan.

Khane Duncan, the defending champion and younger brother of Rees was also in the mix until the end. Performing his trademark tail flick air at will, Khane took out Steve Farthing and Dale Randahl in the man on man rounds before running into a committed Darren Kearns. Khane must have felt a little de ja vu having come 2 nd to Darren 4 years ago in the world final in Spain.

Bill Campbell, what a performance. Not only did Bill take out the current world champion in the round of 16, he was also the highest placed master ever in the open division of an Australian title. Bill is a pioneer of the sport having competed for over 25years and can still pull out the big moves having landed a huge aerial in the Masters final. Karen Campbell, wife of Bill and former world women’s champion tells us his secret lies in boot camp training.

Graham Lancaster was another rider to come close. Performing aerials on a 12 year old Dekka that has seen better days. One amazing aerial he landed on his head and managed to recover. Graham was a victim of Rees Duncan in the round where only 8 surfers remained.

Justin Barnes, one of the Dee Why locals took his Gee board to new heights with the only 10 point ride of the competition and who could forget his massive aerial in the Seniors final.

Melissa Hardy not only blitzed the women’s final with a gutsy performance on some mighty big waves, she made it through to the top 20 in the open. Her aerial in round 2 left a couple of guys wishing they were in another heat. Melissa’s also taken on the president’s role for Association. I’m sure her enthusiasm for the role is going to pay big dividends for the sport in the future.

There were some fantastic performances throughout the four days of competition; you just had to be there. The man on man format from the round of 16 was a new innovation, let see more of it and can’t wait till next year.