A Torquay surfer has claimed the Victorian Masters title at the Mornington Peninsula over the weekend.
Torquay’s Tiffany Riggs reigned supreme in the over-35 women’s masters division in challenging onshore conditions at Gunnamatta Beach on Saturday.
The competition brought together the pioneers of surfing in Victoria with divisions ranging from over-35 through to over-60s, with competitors vying for a spot in the Victorian surfing team set to compete in the Australian Surf Championships later in the year.
Conditions were tricky in the morning under gloomy skies, however with a lower tide coming through in the afternoon, conditions did improve, giving competitors an opportunity to get a couple of longer rides across both left and right-handed peaks.
Riggs was able to find several left-hand runners in the difficult conditions to secure two solid scores (7.00 and 5.03) and leave her fellow competitors behind.
She claimed a 1.43 point win over Ricci Hawkins from Mount Eliza, while Phillip Island’s Michelle Fincher finished third.
“It’s always fun to be on the Mornington Peninsula and it was super exciting to get a couple of fun waves and get back into events again,” Riggs said.
In the over 35 men’s division, all four surfers could only be separated by a couple of points in the challenging tidal conditions.
However, it was Lachy McDonald (Blairgowrie), who was able to show some poise and take home the division’s bragging rights.
“The conditions were pretty tough, but I’m stoked to get a win on home turf,” McDonald said.
Jan Juc’s Tim Birnie finished in second place, just 0.64 points behind McDonald, while Torquay’s Joel Steven rounded out the top three.
Other divisional champions from the event included Andrew Hyde in the over-40 men, Arthur McKenzie In both the over-45 and over-50 men, Andrew Dell in the over-55 men, Joe Cervi in the over-60 men and Mark Miccoli in single fin.
