Beau Nixon is Victorious at the Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Titles

Crowned at North Haven beach as the Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Champion for 2012, Beau Nixon (Naish) took the title against the most talented competitors the country has to offer. In what can only be described as a nail-biting final, the open men put on a jostling Stand Up Paddleboard battle for spectators and judges.

The lead up to the final saw a great exchange of aerials in the semis. Narrowing it down to the final four wasn’t easy but contending the open mens’ was defending champion Jackson Close (Coolangatta, QLD), Geoff Breen, (Sunshine Beach, QLD), Beau Nixon (Tweed Heads, NSW) and keahi De Aboitiz (Sunshine Beach, QLD).

The three Queenslanders surfed solidly. Aerial master, De Aboitiz, drove some big bottom turns before throwing it right up above the lip. Narrowing the gap between himself and first, before Close ripped a high speed top turn furthering himself from his competition with an 8.10, putting his competitors in a tough position.

Close held the strong hold for the last five minutes, De Aboitiz kicked his surfing up a gear with a huge front side air, but Nixon drove right down the line for a big floater and the 7.5 was enough to take the lead and claim the title back for NSW.

“I feel amazing I’ve trained so hard for this event, I’m so glad I came away with a win, I’m over the moon right now, I really can’t describe it”, said an elated Nixon after winning the open mens final that changed leads on numerous occasions.

“It went back and forth, I had a strategy for this to just sit and wait for the good ones. With twenty five minutes you have a lot of time out there so its kind of a good thing to just sit and wait”.

“I knew Jackson could pull anything out of the hat, he did it last year and the year before, but I just stuck to my guns and I knew I had the 8.5 backing me so I stuck to my strategy and my plan. Coming home with this win is amazing”, said Nixon.

Wrapping up the day in afternoon winds, the Technical Sprint race put competitors to the test for 8km at North Haven Beach, Port Macquarie. Kelly Margetts won with fellow Queenslanders Lincoln Dews and Jake Jensen (Naish) in second and third place.

Also completed as part of the two day Australian Stand Up Paddleboard Titles was a 20km marathon race. In trying conditions the Naish team paddled their Javelin 14’s to strong placings against the field.

RESULTS

OPEN MEN
1st: Beau Nixon (Naish) Hokua 8’3 GT
2nd: Jackson Close
3rd: Keahi De Aboitiz
4th: Geoff Breen (Naish) Hokua 8’0 GT

TECHNICAL SPRINT
1st: Kelly Margetts (QLD)
2nd: Lincoln Dews (QLD)
3rd: Jake Jensen (Naish, QLD) Javelin MC 12’6
9th: Andy Davies (NSW) Javelin GX 12’6
17th: Heath Meldrum (VIC) Glide Carbon 12’6

5th open womens: Molly Walker (QLD) Javelin GX 12’6

MARATHON OPEN MENS’:
5th: Jake Jensen (QLD) Javelin MC 14′
8th: Andy Davies (QLD) Javelin GX 14
14th: Heath Meldrum (VIC) Javelin Wood 14′

MARATHON OPEN WOMENS’:
6th: Molly Walker (QLD) Javelin Wood 14′