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| 07 Open Series Event #2 Makka March 17 |
| LUKE WILLIAMS PULLS ONE BACK AT
JSA NATIONAL OPEN SERIES EVENT #2 The race for the National Open Surfing Champion is on in earnest after Luke Williams pulled one back on Inilek Wilmot at the Makka surfing beach in South Haven Yallahs St. Thomas, winning event #2 of the 2007 JSA National Open Series held on Saturday March 17th 2007. The waves were �head high� with long walls that provided the raw material for Jamaica�s top surfers to clash for national honours. Twenty-three surfers registered in the men�s and four in the ladies divisions of the event which started at 9:30am at the famous West St. Thomas �surf spot�. First up were the Ladies who paddled out to loud supportive shouts from the crowd on the beach. Elim Beckford got things started with a lovely wave on which she executed a number of turns that set the rest of the field up to try and catch her. Her sister Esther caught a few but couldn�t find the manoeuvres to better her younger sibling. Danielle Ohayon then caught a beauty and she pulled a beautiful �off the top� which moved her into first place. Beginner surfer Sharea Samuels got loud cheers from the beach when she caught a large wave and made a successful �take off�. The rest of the heat was close with Danielle and Elim getting the better of the other two competitors. When the final horn sounded and the spray settled it was Danielle Ohayon claiming the 1000 points on offer for first, Elim Beckford took second and 860 points, Esther Beckford third and 730 points and Sharea Samuels fourth and 670 points. Next it was time for the men. The first round saw three heats of six competitors and one of five run to bring the field down to the top 12 athletes for the semi-final round, the start of which was met with a torrential downpour which delayed the contest proceedings for about 15 or 20 minutes. When the skies cleared enough for the event to continue, the two 20-minute 6-man semi-finals were run. After a flurry of surf action the top 6 surfers stood ready to face off for the 1000 points on offer. The top surfers from across the island had turned out for the event and now Kingston�s Luke Williams, Bull Bay�s three Wilmot Brothers, Inilek, Icah and Ishack, Young Shane Simmonds from Boston Bay in Portland and 06 Junior champ Ackeam Phillips also from Bull Bay would paddle out for the 25-minute final to see who was the best surfer of the day. The surfers Paddled out and the horn sounded. The wave exchanges were fast and furious with one contestant taking the lead after a good ride only to be outdone on the next wave by an even more impressive ride than the previous. The small crowd who braved the rain to witness the event had more than their fair share of excitement. as the tension built right to the end when Luke caught a. Inilek and Icah mounted impressive challenges, picking off impressive manoeuvres that got the beach cheering. Shane and Ishack were also in the mix with both catching nice �set waves� that kept them in contention. Ackeam was not to be outdone as he picked off wave after keeping the whole field tightly bunched. As the final seconds of the heat ticked by Luke caught a beautiful �set wave� from outside and proceeded to take it apart as he surfed down the line to resounding cheers from the beach. Then it was Ishack�s turn. He caught the next �outside wave� and he executed a number of powerful slashes that brought him into the limelight. But not to be outdone, Luke caught a sweet little �barrel� in the dying moments and emerged with hands raised claiming the victory. The results were very close with each judge having the results slightly different but after the tallying process was completed Luke Williams stood atop the pack with Icah Wilmot 2nd, Inilek Wilmot 3rd, young Shane Simmonds 4th, Ishack Wilmot 5th and Ackeam Phillips 6th. |
| CURRENT STANDINGS Place Open men NOS 1 NOS 2 total 1 Inilek Wilmot 1000 730 1730 2 Icah Wilmot 860 860 1720 3 Luke Williams 610 1000 1610 4 Ackeam Phillips 730 583 1313 5 Eneson Lightbourn 670 555 1225 6 Ishack Wilmot 583 610 1193 7 Shane Simmonds 475 670 1145 8 Joel Lawrence 555 475 1030 9 Junior Hibbert 450 500 950 =10 Omar Jacks 450 475 925 =10 Jason Pusey 475 450 925 12 Eugene Miller 500 400 900 13 Michael Panton 500 380 880 14 Ronley Lewis 413 450 863 15 Gawain Galimore 450 380 830 =16 Tony Williams 555 - - - 555 =16 Tristan English - - - 555 555 18 Drum Drummond - - - 500 500 =19 Odale Layne - - - 450 450 =19 Oshane Usher - - - 450 450 21 Richard Curtis 413 - - - 413 =22 Sean Laidley - - - 400 400 =22 Andrew Robinson - - - 400 400 =22 Dwayne Tracey - - - 400 400 25 Gabre Beckford - - - 380 380 Place Open women NOS#1 NOS#2 total 1 Elim Beckford 1000 860 1860 2 Danielle Ohayon 730 1000 1730 3 Imani Wilmot 860 - - - 860 4 Esther Beckford - - - 730 730 5 Sharea Samuels - - - 670 670 |