One local shortboard rider was heard to remark that Open division longboarders were pulling off manoeuvres that would be difficult on a shortboard. Also in this division local surfboard maker Terry Glass, an over 45 competitor, showed some of the younger brigade how an 8 footer could be ridden, coming second in his heat to Christian Pimm.

Surf conditions at the Point deteriorated with the outgoing tide, and the contest was shifted 100 metres into Gay Bay where the waves were more consistent although smaller. Other stand-out performers during the day included Louis English, a junior, in the Old Mal division, surfing on a board nearly three times older than his 18 years, and Samantha White and Claire Norman in the Women’s division.

Samantha also surfed against the lads in the Junior division with an excellent second place in her heat. Dave Wilson and Laurie Andrew both surfed on 11 foot cruisers in the Over 55 division, with Dave progressing direct to the semis from his heat surfing in his distinct 60s style.

The day finished at 4:30 with all programmed heats having been completed with a happy bunch of competitors looking forward to Sunday.

Most of the surfers had a great night at Commercial Hotel in Milton on Saturday night, where longboard surfing movies were shown and the competitor’s prize draw was held.

The contest continued at Dolphin Point on Sunday with conditions almost identical to Saturday, but not quite as consistent.

The day began with repechage heats in four divisions, with local rider Chris Welsh being stoked with a PB in progressing from the repechage round into the semis in the Over 45s.

There were few surprises in the progression of surfers through the semi-final stage, although Matt Fleming, the runner-up in the Over 35s in 2007 failed to progress.

Local riders Phil Schoer, Ross Murphy and Phil Jirsa made the final in both the Over 45 and Open 8 foot divisions. The waves remained good quality for the finals which had the spectators again frequently hooting in appreciation.

In the Old Mal final Matt Fleming, in the absence of his nemesis from previous years, Paul O’Grady, had a win in the Old Mal division with junior Louis English coming an excellent second.

Louis’ dad Mitch English progressed through the repechage round to win the Over 35 division from local rider Dean Cristallo in second place. The Women’s final had equal representation of seniors and juniors, with Claire Norman a clear winner from junior Bernie Murphy. In the Junior final the Jackson brothers finished first and second with Mitch claiming bragging rights over Jackson for the trip back to Sydney, and local Ryan Welsh came third.

The Over 55 final had five local riders, with Will Maris winning from Dave Wilson, and the only non-local, and previous winner at this contest, Dave Pimm was third. The Over 45 final saw Ray Blackman again relegated to second place this year behind Steve Beaumont. The Open 8 foot and Open 9 foot finals were a shoot-out between Christian Pimm and Ray Lawrence, with Christian being the victor in both divisions.

As in the heats on Saturday, Christian and Ray pulled off some incredible manoeuvres from both ends of the board in both finals, with one of Christian’s rides in the Open 9 foot final receiving scores above 9.2 from all judges.

Graham Sorensen was again the Head Judge, and provided low key advice and guidance to competitor-judges throughout.

He was assisted by John “Muttley” Beaumont, an accredited longboard judge, who provided a consistent reference standard for comparison with competitor-judges scores, and also passed on scoring tips. Steve Pinnington worked tirelessly as tallier throughout the contest.

Throughout both days the surfers and spectators were provided with food drinks and friendly conversation by the dedicated band of workers helpers and suppliers under Ken Greenhalgh’s direction.

Sponsors of the 2008 Charity Classic were: Southern Man Surf Shop; Ocean and Earth; IGA Mollymook; NAJO Contemporary Jewellery; Keith Purvis Podiatry; Thompson’s Commercial Hotel Milton; Boots Great Outdoors; Deering Street Printers; Ocean Art; Photos by David Milne; SDS; Soul Surf; FCS; Creatures of Leisure; Palmer Surf and Boost Mobile The Crest longboard 1st prize in the raffle was shaped and glassed by Ken Peek. First prize trophies were made and donated by Steve Rutten.

"Proceeds from the contest are donated to local charities and community groups"

RESULTS

Over 55 – 1 Will Davis, 2 Dave Wilson, 3 Dave Pimm, 4 Laurie Andrew, 5 Mike Greentree, 6 Wayne Hopkins.

Over 45 – 1 Steve Beaumont, 2 Ray Blackman, 3 Ross Murphy, 4 Phil Jirsa, 5 Steve Rutten, 6 Phil Schoer.

Over 35 – 1 Mitch English, 2 Dean Cristallo, 3 Robert Couriel, 4 Dave Hayes, 5 Keith Purvis, 6 Jeff Kelly.

Old Mal – 1 Matt Fleming, 2 Louis English, 3 Steve Beaumont, 3 Jeff Kellie, 5 Alex Kiss, 6 Ian Morton.

Junior – 1 Mitch Wright, 2 Jackson Wright, 3 Ryan Welsh, 4 Samantha White, 5 Damien Fargo, 6 Jye Glass

Women – 1 Claire Norman, 2 Bernie Murphy j, 3 Cloe Cummins, 4 Sam White j, 5 Katie Morton, 6 Lara Murphy j

Open 8 Foot – 1 Christian Pimm, 2 Ray Lawrence, 3 Phil Schoer, 4 Ross Murphy, 5 Sean Chivers, 6 Phil Jirsa

Open 9 Foot – 1 Christian Pimm, 2 Ray Lawrence, 3 Chad Andrew, 4 Nick Fargo, 5 Sean Chivers