A handful of the Peel region’s surfers showed off their skills on the longboard with good results at Surfing WA’s HIF Longboard State Titles in Denmark over the weekend.
Plenty of locals picked up podium finishes at the event, highlighted by Secret Harbour surfer Frank Gray being crowned state champion in the over 55 men’s category.
Gray used a strong backhand attack to secure victory ahead of Denmark's Mike Neunuebel, Brett Merifield (Yallingup) and Peter Le Grice (East Fremantle).
The new state champ was thrilled with his win.
“I’ve been working towards this moment for quite a few years,” he said.
“I’m stoked to be the state champion and I look forward to the challenge of the national titles in August.”
Gray also performed well enough to secure second in the over 60 men.
He wasn’t the only Peel surfer to enjoy success at the event, with several others placing in their respective categories.
Ryan Egan finished third in the open men, boasting a score of 12.60 that had him even with Margaret River’s Jarrad Davies, who took second spot on a countback.
Secret Harbour’s Jacob McIvor did enough to secure second place in the under 18s junior boys, while Zali Corry just narrowly missed out on winning her under 18 junior girls division, finishing in second by less than a point in her title defence.
Mandurah’s Brendan Collins fell just shy of Dunsborough’s Paul Burke as he finished second in the over 40 men.
The state titles put surfers to the test at Denmark’s Parry Beach over the weekend, with clean and consistent waves on offer.
Attention now turns towards preparing the team of 31 WA surfers that will compete at the Australian Surf Festival on the Tweed Coast, NSW in August.