Central Coast Pro 2016 has its champions: Justine Dupont & Adrian Buchan

 Buchan surfed an amazing event, posting consistently high scores from heat to heat. The Final was an all Central Coast affair with Buchan coming up against North Shelly powerhouse Shane Holmes. Buchan took control early posting and excellent 8.50 (out of a possible 10) on his first wave with a display of stylish yet critical backhand surfing; something Buchan is renowned for. His next wave was a solid 7.65, leaving Holmes to chase a 9.05 for the remaining twenty minutes of the Heat, a feat he was unable to achieve. 

 “I could never win the Avoca Pro Junior back in the day so this really makes up for it,” Buchan said. “It was so good to see how many entrants there were into this contest, of a high caliber as well. It really shows that the Central Coast is such a great surfing destination.”

 “It was really special surfing against Shane (Holmes). He has been surfing amazingly this summer, first at the Boardriders Battle and now here. People are really starting to take notice of his surfing. I hope this result inspires him to do more Qualifying Series (QS) events in the future.”

 Holmes exhibited great bravery, surfing the majority of the event with a knee injury he suffered on the second day while free surfing.

 “My knee is super sore so I’ll have to head home and rest up before getting back in the water on Monday,” Holmes said. “Ace surfed a really smart heat and I made a couple of mistakes. I’m just stoked to have made the final against Ace, it’s not every day you get to surf a heat with one of the World Tour guys.”

 Dupont looked to be the form surfer of the contest, so it was no surprise to see her in the final where she came up against Philippa Anderson (Merewether, NSW). Dupont surfed with great variation in manoeuvres, earning two excellent scores early, an 8.50 and a 8.40, leaving Anderson chasing two scores for the majority of the heat. This win is just the start that Dupont was looking for to kick off her 2016 campaign.

 “I’m so happy with the way I surfed in that heat,” Dupont said. “I wanted to surf in this contest as training for the bigger events and I feel like I improved throughout the week and picked up on some little things that needed improving. I’m really excited for 2016 and having a go at Qualifying for the CT. This win is the perfect start to my year so I’m really really happy.”

 Anderson - although falling just short of a win for the second time this season - will rocket up the Australasia QS rankings, giving her a solid base to build on for the rest of the year.

 “Looking at the heat draw and the girls that were in the event I knew this would be a tough one,” Anderson said. “I have never surfed here either so I’m really glad I made the final. I did want to win, but Justine surfed so well in the final, I’ll definitely take a second.”

 Competitors now turn their focus to the Kommunity Project Great lakes Pro presented by Rockstar Energy Drink which runs from February 15-18 at the Beautiful Boomerang beach.

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