TWEED COAST PRO SHOWCASES STUNNING NEW SURF TALENT

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Jordy Lawler (AUS) and Sarah Baum (RSA) have kicked off their 2023 competitive seasons perfectly with wins at the Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 5,000 event, held at Cabarita Beach all last week.

As the World Surfng League explained: The pair battled a massive feld of Australia and Oceania’s best up-andcoming surfers with ‘Caba’ Headland turning on fne conditions for Finals Day with waves in the two-to-three foot range.

The men’s Final was a tussle between two of the most impressive surfers of the week, with the eventual winner Jordy Lawler (AUS) and Te Kehukehu Butler (NZL) runner-up.

The 30-minute matchup saw freworks from the get-go, with the competitors trading set wave for set wave and signifcant scores coming from every ride. There wasn’t much to separate the competitors until Lawler found a short left with a big ramp and took to the air, riding out of a super fast full-rotation that, so I just had to sit out there for a moment and take it all in. I forgot what this feeling was like, and I’ve got a lot of friends down here and my brother, so this feels really special.” air-reverse to post a 9.07 (out of a possible 10), the equal highest single ride of the entire event. In the end, Lawler’s two-wave total of 15.74 (out of a possible 20) was too much for Butler to chase down, leaving North Narabeen’s Lawler to take his frst major victory since 2019.

“I don’t know what feels better right now, the points or the winning feeling,” Jordy Lawler, Winner Tweed Coast Pro said.

“It’s been a few years since getting a win like

The women’s Final saw a generational clash as the veteran Sarah Baum (RSA) came up against teenager Coco Cairns (AUS) in a thrilling matchup between two event standouts. Cairns came out of the gates strong, posting multiple scores early, only to be chased down by Baum, whose backhand surfng had been impressing the judges all week. Baum took the lead with a two-wave total of 13.06 and then played defence for the remainder of the heat. Cairns found a couple of waves under priority, but in the end, the experience of South African-born Newcastle local Baum took the win, the biggest and most important of her career.

“I can’t even believe this; it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Sarah Baum, Winner Tweed Coast Pro said.

“I felt like I was struggling out there and couldn’t fnd the waves I was hoping for, but in the end got a couple of hacks in, and it was obviously enough to get me over the line.

“This is defnitely the biggest win of my career, and I’m stoked to get it done at the start of this run of events so I can surf with some comfort in the next few. It feels good to have all this hard work and commitment pay off, and I hope to keep it going now.” Competitors then moved north to the Gold Coast Open QS 1,000 at Burleigh Heads on the weekend, congratulations to Lennix Smith of Barrack Point/Shell Harbour in the Mens and Bilinga’s Isla Huppatz in the

Womens.

Northern Rivers’ rising stars, Dakoda Walters of Angourie and Tru Starling of Cabarita Beach (coached by Adam Dufner) were runners-up in the event presented by Cocobella.