The third and final event of the Jesus Pro Am Series culminated in Cronulla in 2-3 foot contestable conditions over the weekend long competition.
Event organizers were nervous about the quality of the waves, however the Alley came to the party - providing plenty of rides with huge scoring potential, highlighted by a perfect 10 point ride by Cronulla's Jesse Horner in the preliminary rounds on Saturday.
The Jesus Pro Am festival in the park brought a great crowd on Saturday, with local church's providing an array of free activities, including skateboarding, jumping castle, bands, and a live broadcast by Hope 103.2.
The final of the Cadet boys came down to a local battle between Chris Robertson, and Zac Scott. Commentators built on the rivalry, as both surfers showcased great form all weekend. Scott appeared the favorite, coming off the back of an epic victory in Coffs Harbour early in the week at the Ripcurl Gromsearch. He held the lead until Robertson launched a blistering forehand array of critical turns to net a 7.8, the largest single wave of the final. The ride took Robinson from 4th to first place, to take out the $500 and his first Jesus Pro Am Cadet win.
Ellie-Jean Coffey reinstated herself as one of the most dangerous junior surfers in the country, taking out both the Cadet Girls, and Open Women's finals in front of hundreds of cheering spectators. 15 year old, Coffey showed amazing fitness and mature surfing to take out both finals. "Jesus ProAm is my favorite event to compete in." Coffey said during her acceptance speech. " Everyone is so friendly and there is such a great vibe. Thanks to Christian Surfers and thank you to Jesus for a great weekend."
In the Cadet Girls final Ellie-Jean Coffey edged out Jess Van Der Meer, Fiona Casey, and her sister, Holly-Sue Coffey.
The first place pendulum swung between Angie Koops and Coffey as the Open Women's finalists battled it out in testing conditions. A wave in the final minute saw Ellie-Jean Coffey take the lead when it mattered most. She collected $1000 for the win, adding to her $500 from the Cadet Girls final win.
The Open mens brought previous winners together to battle it out in a man on man format, with series rating leader and Gold Coast winner, Ice Periera Ryan from Coolangatta, taking on Wollongong local and winner of the Coffs Harbour event, Nick Squires.
Both surfers started the 20 minute final with high scores on the left at the alley rip bowl. Squires and Periera-Ryan proved their place in the final with massive turns and plenty of spray to keep the judges and spectators breathless. Squires, backed up with a solid right-hander, netting two big turns that impressed the judges, giving him a commanding lead. With 30 seconds remaining Ice required a 9.51, and pulled out a huge 'super-man' air, followed up with a vertical re-entry which had the Commentators and crowd cheering. But, Periera-Ryan fell just short of the required score leaving Nick Squires to claim the Jesus Pro Am Cronulla 2010 Open Mens Champion, ahead of Periera Ryan in 2nd, with Joel etherington of Cronulla, and Coby Nau of Woonoona, placing equal 3rd.
The expression session saw Dru Adler take $300 for a single front side air-reverse. Close behind him was Merewether surfer Philippa Anderson showing the boys some incredible surfing, almost landing a huge backside rotation that would have had her in first place. Other notable mentions go to Josh Hay and Dylan Hayllar.
The Jesus Pro Am Cronulla has been a huge success. During the Presentation, Christian Surfers Regional Coordinator, Dave Lovell reminded the crowd that "Surfers are often so busy chasing the next wave or experience; they may miss the free gift of eternal life offered by Jesus"
The event at Cronulla also was the last of a 3 competition series, which was held at the Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour and Cronulla, with the winners of the open men's and women's both walking away with a surf trip to Samoa from Line Up surf travel. Ice Periera-Ryan heading to Cronulla only needed to surf in round 1 to claim victory, and with his second place at Cronulla, he deservedly was crowned series winner for the mens open. In the open women's, Winni Paul and Angie Koops, both surfed at all events and where battling it out at Cronulla. It all came down to their placing in the finals to see which way the points would go. Both ladies draw on series points but with a both 500 points for the highest combined score over the competition, Winni Paul claimed victory with her 13.90 in the first round. Cadet series winners went to Mitch Parkinson from QLD & Ellie-Jean Coffey from NSW. The series also saw a very talented Jordan Lawler from Narrabeen, win a board sponsorship deal with Misfit surfboards.
Details can be found online at www.jesusproam.com.au
About Jesus Pro Am
The Jesus Pro Am is a professional/amateur surf competition run by Christian Surfers Australia. In 2010, the Jesus Pro Am has been running consecutively for 26 years. Jesus Pro Am has become a favored surfing event on the calendar for many of Australia's best surfers. Our aim is to provide a professional ran competition, which blesses the surfers, spectators & builds into the local surfing community.