That was something special; once again the Shaw and Partners Summer of Surf Shannon Eckstein Classic delivered on every level – the racing, the surf, the prizes and prizemoney, Matt Hall Redbull Air show, skydivers, fireworks, free ice cream and some of the best finishes you will ever see in surf sports; plus we had the great man himself on the beach – offering advice and getting back in the thick of the action, what more could you want.
The event wrapped up a huge summer for the team; 13 events in 4 states and 2 countries, something like 3,000 competitors had a race in the Shaw and Partners Summer of Surf – there was highs, lows, and everything in between. Congratulations to the behind-the-scenes team who make it happen; and thankyou the officials who have a thankless job getting us to the line and the sponsors who keep this giant circus on the sand rolling!
MY PICKS:
Who knows how many I got wrong or right this summer – TBH I got a lot of obvious ones correct and a splattering of picks that people would be impressed with. Picking Ali in the Iron and Jemma Smith in the ski doesn’t take much – but I hope you all enjoyed it.
IF I COULD TAKE A MOMENT FOR MYSELF TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF – I did predict that it’d take a 10k point win and all top 6 finishes to win a series. I missed that by 1 place…. 6 of the 8 overall winners had a 10k win and all other top 7 finishes (as a minimum) – Only Lana Rogers in the Ironwoman had a 22nd (but 2x 10k wins) and Corey Fletcher in the Ski carried an 18th – consistency is key but winning a 10k ended up being the difference in a few of those rounds.
Enough of this… let’s take a look at the results.
WOMEN’S BOARD
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Emma Woods (Alex)
2. Electra Outram (Sunshine)
3. Tiarnee Massie (Maroochy)
Woodsa had a day out on Super Saturday and deserved to get a big win like this – she’s been one of the most underrated paddlers of the last few summers and performed when it mattered most. Outram and Massie also deserved a big result after coming so close for so long in this one.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Hannah Sculley (Northcliffe)
2. Tiarnee Massie (Maroochy)
3. Emma Woods (Alex)
Sculley put the exclamation mark on her summer with this win. I walked past her earlier in the morning blowing up about getting knocked from the Iron final; Earl said to her “I think you’ll win the board now.” Damn good prediction (maybe him and I should swap jobs) and she followed through like the champion she is…. Easy work.
OVERALL SERIES: Hannah Sculley (Northcliffe) 42,250 points
This was a series that seemed really open but Hannah Sculley ended up dominating it with the most points out of anyone.. She really is a class above at the moment and is only missing an Australian title to be considered one of the all-time greats of board paddling. Sculley’s ability to produce in the biggest moments and then an upset with Zoe Longhurst at Manly really made this series the simplest of all of them.
This was a back-to-back-to-back overall title for Sculley; she’s the best board paddler in the world and may be the best board paddler of all time not named Hayley Bateup…. But that’s a conversation for another day.
MEN’S BOARD
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Corey Fletcher (Burleigh)
2. Charlie Brooks (Newport)
3. Jake Morris (Northcliffe)
This was the result that sealed the overall title for Fletcher – despite Auden Parrish still having a mathematical chance to steal it on Sunday, his win here over Charlie Brooks was essentially the final nail in the coffin. Jake Morris rounded out the podium and continues to impress – JMo is sometimes the forgotten of the Morris boys given Zac and Mitch’s success in the Ironman Series but I have a sneaky feeling Jake’s ceiling is sky high, but it might take a little longer, this is just the first step for him.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Justin McMorland (Redhead)
2. Corey Fletcher (Burleigh)
3. Auden Parrish (Northcliffe)
This was a win for the good guys and basically a victory lap for Corey Fletcher in the overall Series. Justin McMorland is a really really really good board paddler but after his Bronze at the Aussie Titles a few summers back he hasn’t been able to produce another giant killing performance. That changed here with a performance that was so far ahead of the field someone asked me if he was coming last in the race prior. Redhead are doing good things in the sport and McMorland is part of that – it was a big win for the Novocastrians.
OVERALL SERIES: Corey Fletcher 41,150 points
Undoubtably Fletcher has been the best board paddler in the sport this summer and this result is a fair reflection of that – he scored the most points of any Open Male Series Champion and the second most points of any male Champion behind Stanley Jarrot (u15) and we should’ve seen the writing on the wall in November, when he was on fire in NSW. Fletcher deserves this after all his hard work and there are very few people who can argue that.
WOMEN’S SWIM
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Jasmine Rayward (Burleigh)
2. Olivia Corrin (Northcliffe)
3. Claudia Rose Slaven (Burleigh)
A couple of upsets (I use that term very loosely – as realistically it was a couple of young guns announcing their arrival) on both Saturday and Sunday in the women’s swim. Jaz Rayward’s background as part of the Aus Open water swim team will set her up for a lot of results like this one; while Corrin and Slavin finished on the podium, they actually helped Naomi Scott’s overall series points chances by keeping Lana Rogers off the top 3 steps.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Gemma Smith-Welch (Sunshine)
2. Charlotte Cross (Burleigh)
3. Naomi Scott (Northcliffe)
This came down to a body surfing extravaganza from Sunshine Beach’s Gemma Smith-Welch, if Ky Kinsela is the Oceanmaster, GSW was a close second.
Smith-Welch is from the ultra-competitive age group (think O’Sullivan, Cross, Meehan, Otto, Finati as well as Smith Welch) all of which have been in SOS finals and the IronSeries at just 19yrs old, so she hasn’t had the shine of some of those girls – with a bit of confidence her future is so bright she’ll have to wear shades. Charlotte Cross is the same in delivering her best result of the summer and Naomi Scott’s third essentially handed her the overall title.
OVERALL SERIES: Naomi Scott 34,000 points.
At the start of the weekend, I was adamant this would go a different way. Scott was in the lead, but Lana Rogers was in second and only had 3 scoring results; and I thought given Rogers form in the swim, it was going to be an easy win for her. But somehow Naomi Scott found a way to stay ahead all weekend and scrape home for a win with the equal tightest winning margin of the whole series – 1,200points. Scott deserves this, she’s been the best swimmer not named Lani Pallister for the last 2 seasons and while she’s won this series before, Tom Brady once said “My favourite championship is always the next one.”
MEN’S SWIM
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Nick Sloman (Northcliffe)
2. Bailey Armstrong (Northcliffe)
3. Nick Middleton (Wanda)
Nick Sloman was back and doing Nick Sloman things – Australia’s best open water swimmer in the last 8 years graced us with his presence fresh off qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the 10km Open water and showed everyone why he is the 5x Australian Surf Race Champion. He didn’t have it all his own way, with fellow Australian Swim Team member Bailey Armstrong standing up first before losing the sprint up the beach. While Wanda’s underrated young gun Nick Middleton wrapped up another podium place.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Nick Sloman (Northcliffe)
2. Callum Brennan (Currumbin)
3. Bailey Armstrong (Northcliffe)
Back-to-back for Sloman on Sunday and claimed a third Summer of Surf Swim win in 4 starts, dating back to last season. This time it was Armstrong who led with Callum Brennan who played spoiler – for the life of me, I can’t figure the Brennan boys out, their best work is as good as anyone in the sport (legitimately the talent is incredible) but it’s as rare as a parking spot on the goldy; ya know they’re there, but hard to find. If they get consistent the world is their oyster. Otherwise, it was all one way traffic for Sloman – without doubt he is the best swimmer in the sport right now (and for the last half decade) but with only two results for the summer; he was about 13k points short of the overall title.
OVERALL SERIES: Hayden Cotter 33,860 points
I had Cotter a special to win this at the start of the summer, he’s been in the Australian Swim Team for open water and given his ironman background the guy is a weapon. It wasn’t as easy a series win as I thought it would be but he got there nonetheless. This was the lowest men’s total to win a title, but Cotter did adhere to the 1x 10k win and all top 6 results that was predicted – I think Sloman just stole some of the big points late in the summer.
WOMEN’S SKI
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Emily Doyle (Northcliffe)
2. Piper Harrison (Newport)
3. Jemma Smith (Newport)
I was told a preseason injury forced Emily Doyle to just ski paddle for an extended period throughout the winter – Her form this summer proves that hard work pays off – she has quietly become one of the best Ironwoman ski paddlers but I think this result proves she is just one of the best ski paddlers full stop… Newport filled the podium again, with Harrison’s speed up the beach keeping the overall series alive against Smith.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Jemma Smith (Newport)
2. Taylah Haliday (Alex)
3. Brianna Massie (Kurrawa)
Cometh the moment, cometh the (wo)man. Jemma Smith put an exclamation mark on her summer with a big win here; she broke away and looked dominant early with Haliday the only one who could challenge her. Brianna Massie made it an amazing day for the family finishing up with the Bronze for Kurrawa.
OVERALL SERIES: Jemma Smith 41,010 points
This was legitimately just the Newport show, a clean sweep of the podium, 6 girls in the top 20 overall & 7 different girls finishing with podiums throughout the summer (it would’ve been 8 if “Golden Child” Minogue had found wheels up the beach). Jemma Smith is the best ski paddler in the sport (Ally Bull might disagree and she might be right to be honest) so this was a fitting win; but the shock came from Piper Harrison’s ability to hold onto the lead until the final weekend of the summer. Early on, Harrison seemed like the young gun who did well at smaller carnivals, but the big stars would come out to play when it mattered, and take over the series lead, but when she was still mixing with the best on Northcliffe Beach everyone understood she is the real deal. Either way Newport is where it’s at with regards to women’s ski paddling and Jemma Smith leads the pack.
MEN’S SKI
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Jayke Rees (Newport)
2. Oscar Jones (Manly)
3. Mitch Trim (Newport)
Jayke Rees used pure speed to win this one – a little on the ski, a lot on the sand. Oscar Jones is one of the most inform ski paddlers in the water but Rees’ speed across the sand was just too much. A Bronze here for Trim set up what would become an epic showdown for the title on Sunday.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Corey Fletcher (Burleigh)
2. Mitchell Trim (Newport)
3. Fergus Morgan (Sorrento)
What do you say about this race; the crowd favourite in Mitch Trim about to fulfil his potential and finally take a race win and the overall series crown being chased by the MVP champion and lightning quick Corey Fletcher – it was pure sport in the best way.
The sprint finish was one of the most iconic moments in Summer of Surf history – The event, the athletes, the stakes and the result couldn’t have been scripted any better.
I can’t add any insight to this race, just go back and watch it..
OVERALL SERIES: Corey Fletcher 35,800 points
The win obviously handed Fletcher his 2nd of 3 overall titles (Board, Ski and MVP) and this one was probably his least obvious at the start of the season; but certainly, he worked the hardest for this one. The guy is a jet and if he can get his swim together could potentially contend for that Iron title next summer.
While the masses wanted Mitch Trim to win – nobody was upset Fletcher did, he is a fan favourite as well. He even went onto 7plus social media to defend all the commentators when the “casuals” were calling the TV commentary bias – IYKYK – Fletcher is one of the best.
IRONWOMAN
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Emma Woods (Alex)
2. Naomi Scott (Northcliffe)
3. Electra Outram (Sunshine)
This result made me smile, if you know Emma Woods, you know what this will do for her and her career – the biggest stage and she delivers! It’s a shot of confidence the often-underrated Alex flyer deserves; combine that with Scott back on the podium and Electra Outram continuing her stella summer – this was a great way to start the weekend.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Tiarnee Massie (Maroochy)
2. Lana Rogers (Northcliffe)
3. Georgia Miller (Northcliffe)
This delivered on so many levels – a three-way sprint finish for the race, the title and with 5000 people going ballistic on the beach this one was special. Massie made it a huge weekend for herself and the family claiming their 4th podium and $25,000 as well as the biggest win of her career. This might be a turning point for Massie, she’s always sat 4-8th on the “non-existent, in my head” Ironwoman rankings – the big 3 of Rogers, Miller and Welborn might just become a big 4 as of next season.
Rogers and Miller filled the podium in a result that would decide the overall title – what more could you say – this race had it all.
OVERALL SERIES: Lana Rogers 38,690 points
A couple of 10k wins and a 22nd was enough to give Rogers her 3rd major title this season and like Ali Day keeps her chances of the “Perfect Season” alive (Gold, Series, Summer of Surf, Aussies and Worlds in one season) – It was a rocks and diamonds series for Rogers, as she missed a couple of finals but also had 10k wins at Manly and Nth Bondi and podium’s at Northcliffe and Alex, which was enough, but only just, with 1,200 points (or one place) separating her from Miller. You’ve got to feel sorry for Georgia Miller, a 10k win and all top 7s should’ve been enough but that’s how brutal the very pinnacle of this sport can be.
Either way we were lucky to get two of the all-time greats, at the peak of their powers going head to head for the Ironwoman crown and Lana Rogers is a worthy winner.
IRONMAN
SUPER SATURDAY RESULT:
1. Ky Kinsela (Tugun)
2. Ali Day (Surfers)
3. Ben Carberry (Burleigh)
The second-best body surfing effort I have ever seen in person… Ky Kinsela – number 2 all time. His wave in the final leg to pass the leaders and take the title was that good. Nobody was holding waves the whole way to the beach, but Kinsela did and got paid 10 gorillas for it.
Ali Day did everything right but continued his run of runner up finishes ahead of fellow South Coast superstar Ben Carberry. Day chipped away at Joe Collins overall lead here but left himself plenty of work to do on Sunday.
Kinsela has been the comeback athlete of the summer and deserved a big result here, hopefully there are plenty more in the future.
For the record – Ky Hurst 2009 Alexandra Headland, from 20th to 1st is the best bodysurfing wave ever. For me anyway.
SHANNON ECKSTEIN IRONMAN CLASSIC:
1. Ali Day (Surfers)
2. Finn Askew (Surfers)
3. Cory Taylor (Northcliffe)This was a worthy Shannon Eckstein Ironman Classic for so many reasons. The surf, the event, the showdown of Day vs Collins for the title; the expectation on Day to get a win this summer and the potential for an upset like the day before.
This race delivered in a lot of ways but not in others; Day’s dominance from the outset meant the title race looked run after the opening minutes, and poor old Joey Collins must be wondering what he must do to get a big one. The Surfers pair of Askew and Day cleared out in the swim and the rest was history, a surfers quinella and the defending champ rounding out the podium in third.
Big wrap on Joey Collins here, he is the future of Ironman racing, he reminds me of Shannon arriving on the scene and facing Zane Holmes and Ky Hurst – he came close so many times so early before his dominance really began. Collins dominance will come, mark my words.
OVERALL SERIES: Ali Day 39,320 points
Day became the first man, and second athlete, to win 2 Shannon Eckstein Ironman Classics and in doing that completed the set of World, Australian, Coolie Gold, Iron Series and Shaw and Partners Summer of Surf Crowns (I know he won a series and SOS crown together soooooo its complicated buuut were going with this) he stands alongside just Georgia Miller and Courtney Hancock with the full set.
Shannon Eckstein is still the greatest in my humble opinion – Trevor was culturally more significant – Grant nursed the sport through its infancy – Ky changed the sport like nobody ever did or will again; and Darren’s dominance (shouldn’t have been) but was watered down by the cereal wars – but after the weekend, I think Ali Day now sits happily in that group – just a kid from Kiama who was mid pack at 16 now has a better resume almost everyone who’s ever put their foot on the line.
We will never decide on who the GOAT is, but for me, if Ali Day isn’t in the conversation when you’re having a schooner after a carnival – then it’s a conversation not worth having.
Well, that wraps up the Shaw and Partners Summer of Surf Wraps and Previews for “The Call” this summer – I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.
If I got it wrong or right, they we’re all just guesses from a guy who’s watched every summer of surf race for the last ten years, but feel free to let me know what you thought.
There might be an Aussies edition to finish the year and a couple more articles to go, but I appreciate everyone who’s had a read, sent it on to the group chat and especially those who’ve let me know on the beach.
Cheers.