BRUNY ISLAND/TASMANIA (Monday,20th February,2023): The wind, waves and weather turned it on for finals day at the 2023 Bruny Island Classic as competitors where treated with 4-6ft waves and offshore winds to showcase their best surfing at Cloudy Bay yesterday.
In the Open Women’s Division it was Sienna Lawrence proving too strong for Claire Boost,Jo Goldfinch and Charlotte Beach in their Final heat of the day whilst Benn Richardson reigned supreme in the Open Men’s division with a heart stopping 8.5 point ride in the dying seconds of the Final to beat Kelly Nordstrom in second, Matt Kennedy in third and Marti Paradisis in fourth.
“That was an awesome event and it’s great being back competing and up the pointy end of the points again after fifteen years. Big ups to the boys in the final, everyone was ripping and raising the bar for surfing in Tasmania which is what we want!” said Richardson.
And on his last minute heroics, Richardson was casual about the clutch moment, saying: ” I knew i needed another score and that wave just popped up for me with some nice face and power to it, allowing me to get a few turns in and i got the score.”
Richardson doubled down to win the Over 30’s Men’s Masters Division finishing ahead of Paradisis whilst Richard Ramsden took out the Over 40’s Men’s Masters Final.
Event Manager Luke Johannesen was overwhelmed with the turn out at this year’s event and thanked everyone for their passion and patience over a weekend of varying weather conditions.
” We really had to do the hard yards Saturday afternoon with rain and a howling onshore for a few hours before it cleared up before sundown. The competitors, spectators and staff stuck it out and we reaped the rewards today with pumping surf and amazing performances. Congrats to all competitors and crew that helped make the event a banger. I can’t wait for next year’s event which could be even bigger and better!” said Johannesen.
RESULTS:
Open Men’s
Benn Richardson
Kelly Nordstrom
Matt Kennedy
Marti Paradisis
Open Women’s
Sienna Lawrence
Claire Boost
Jo Goldfinch
Charlotte Beach
O30 Men’s
Benn Richardson
Marti Paradisis
Matt Kennedy
Jake Woodberry
Josh Roberts
O40 Men’s
Richard Ramsden
Mark Wilson
Jake Woodberry
Luke Johannesen
O40 Women’s
Claire Boost
Jo Goldfinch
Michelle Fincher
Over 50 Men’s
John Gregory
Kim Gale
