The hosting of the NSW state junior surfing titles in the Illawarra seems to have paid off with two local surfers winning the Under 18s male and female events at East Corrimal Beach on Saturday.
Lennix Smith from Barrack Point defeated Sydney northern beaches surfer Kobi Clements, surfing to victory in the small, windblown waves.
"I was just trying to keep busy the whole time and trying to find one with a little corner that would give me a little section to hit," Smith said.
Shellcove surfer Oceanna Rogers won the female U18s defeating Keira Buckpitt from Culburra, who is also a member of the Ulladulla Boardriders Club on the south coast.
Rogers showed patience to wait for the right wave and utilise her priority in the 20-minute, four-person final.
"I had priority so I wanted to go the best wave possible. I waited so long but finally the wave came through," she said.
Event delayed from earlier in the year
Surfing NSW had to delay the event due to COVID-19 and the numbers were down with a double vaccination policy for over 16s.
But for spokesman Ethan Smith the delayed event was well worth the wait.
"Give the kids something to work towards," he said.
"A lot of them have been putting in a fair amount of work over the course of the last 12 or 18 months so it was nice to be able to give them an event.
Champions were also crowned in the Under 16s event with Eden Hasson from Port Stephens winning the males, Hughie Vaughan from the Central Coast second, and Port Kembla's Samuel Lowe fourth.
Milla Brown from Newport in Sydney won the U16s female event with another Illawarra local, Zahlia Short from Austinmer, second.
The Under 14s event is continuing with more state champions due to be crowned on Monday.
