Wrap Up of Queensland Surf Championships

Tayla Green and Zeb Stokes showcased their textbook surfing in the Open division, winning the Queensland State Title and securing a spot in the Australian Surf Championships.

On May 18, the blue-ribbon divisions lived up to their expectations, with surfers putting on an excellent display of surfing, laying it all on the line for the top spot. 

Coolum Beach delivered excellent conditions for the marquee surf discipline to display their talent, with two-to-three foot clean swell to close out the Queensland Surf Championships pres. by Travla.

Tayla Green was the first victor to be crowned in the four-person final, with Green narrowly beating Holly Williams with a decisive final wave.

"I am stoked to get the Queensland Title and look forward to competing with these talented girls at the Aussie Shortboard Titles." Said Green

"I would like to thank Surfing Queensland, the judges and all the people involved who put together this fun event, I'm already keen for next year!"

The all-star, highly anticipated Open Mens final saw Zeb Stokes claim victory against his brother Taj Stokes and Luke Brumby, who lead for the majority of the heat. Cooper Davies narrowly clutched third place in the last five-seconds of the event. 

Holding last priority to secure a wave, Stokes thought it was all over until he achieved an excellent score of 7.60 (out of a possible 10) in the heats closing minutes.

"I thought that was it for me to be honest," said Stokes.

"It's always good getting a one-up on my brother, especially seeing as he already has a Queensland Title. It won't be long before he tries to get me back!"

All four finalists from both the Open Men and Women divisions will be competing in the Australian Surf Championships at Port Macquarie from 31 July to 8 August, 2024.

All results can be found on Live Heats.

Shortboard Open Women:

1st: Tayla Green, 2nd: Holly Williams, 3rd: Giorgia Lorentson, 4th: Sasha Baker

Shortboard Open Men:

1st: Zeb Stokes, 2nd: Luke Brumby, 3rd: Cooper Davies, 4th: Taj Stokes

Highlights from the six day event 

May 13 - Sup Surfing Champions Crowned On Day One Of The Queensland Surf Championships

SUP competitor in action on a wave at Alexandra Headland beach

SUP divisions ranging from the Open Men's and Women's to the Over 60’s hit the water on May 13 at Alexandra Headland beach, battling for a position at the Australian Titles to be held later this year. The conditions were favourable all day with light winds and clean point break waves.

Standout performances included Michael Mccall in the Mens 040, Mens O50 and Open Mens Divisions, Karmen Karmbren in the 040 Womens LB and Kaelan Lockhart in the Open Mens and Open Mens 10ft. All of these athletes surfed multiple heats and divisions, scoring high heat totals and claiming Queensland Titles in their respective divisions. 

Michael Mccall was crowned champion in three separate divisions and is one of the five members of the SUP State Team, set to compete in the Australian State Titles on Phillip Island. Joining Mccall will be Scott Penwarn, Kaelan Lockhart, Juanita Read and Karmen Karmbren.

SUP Champions:

Scott Penwarn
Juanita Read
Kaelan Lockhart
Peter Turner
Michael Mccall
Michael Mccall
Karmen Karmbren
Michael Mccall

May 14 - Inaugural Kneeboard Division

It was pristine weather and clean surf conditions for Day Two of the 2024 Queensland Surf Championships at Alex Bluff on the Sunshine Coast.

Along with the kneeboarders, longboard divisions took to the water battling for a position in tomorrow's Finals Day. Longboard divisions range from our Open Men and Women all the way up to the Longboard Grand Legends Over 70.

Standout performances include 2006 ASP World Champion, Josh Constable with an impressive heat total of 17.84 (out of possible 20) in the Longboard Grand Masters Men Over 40. 

Kirra Molnar surfed a textbook five-woman heat in the Longboard Open Women, progressing into tomorrow's Longboard Finals Day. Gary Slater was crowned the Champion of the inaugural Kneeboard Open division featured in the Queensland Surf Championships pres. by Travla.

All of the longboard athletes surfed multiple heats and divisions, scoring high heat totals to gain a spot in the Finals.

Winners standing together - the Kneeboard division presentation.

Kneeboard Open winners:

1st: Gary Slater, 2nd: Karl Ward, 3rd: Jeremy Webb, 4th: Bevan Bache

May 15 - Toes On The Nose - Longboard Champions Crowned At Alex Bluff

The third day of the Queensland Surf Championships took place on May 15, with the spotlight on the Longboard divisions. With perfect longboard conditions and plenty of sun, the event took over Alex Bluff on the Sunshine Coast.

The competition was intense and exciting, with surfers from all over the state showcasing their skills in the two foot rolling waves of the right-hand point break. There were multiple divisions, ranging from the Under 18 Juniors to the Over 70's Legends.

2006 ASP (now known as the World Surf League) Longboard World Champion, Josh Constable claimed victory in both the Longboard Grand Masters Men Over 40 and the prestigious Longboard Open Men.

"I have had four months out of the water with a knee injury, so first things first I have to thank my physio Jess!" said Constable.

"It was a real privilege to surf with these guys. I have coached Landen and Kaiden for quite some time and they've turned into exceptional longboarders. I also want to thank Surfing Queensland for putting on such a fun event."

Kirra Molnar competing in the Qld Surf Championships

Kirra Molnar (pictured above), was the star attraction on Day 3, winning the Open Women's Longboard Division. Molnar recently represented Australia at the 2024 ISA World Longboard Championship in El Salvador, helping the Australian Longboard team achieve sixth place out of 39 competing countries.

"It was great to have such nice longboard waves for the event," said Molnar.

"I want to thank the girls for such a wonderful heat, they were all ripping and coming up close to my heels! Thank you to all my sponsors and I can't wait for the Australian State Titles."

Longboard Division winners:

Longboard Open Men: Josh Constable | Longboard Open Women: Kirra Molnar                                                       

Longboard Junior Men U18: Landen Smales | Longboard Junior Women U18: Nyjah Jay Duazo

Longboard Men O40: Josh Constable | Longboard Women O40: Honey Bec

Longboard Men O45: Glen Gower

Longboard Men O50: Robert Petric | Longboard Women O50: Kate Perry

Longboard Men O55: Wally Allan

 Longboard Men O60: Wally Allan | Longboard Women O60: Kate Perry 

Longboard Men O65: Bruce Dunne

Longboard Men O70: Denis Carberry

May 16 & 17 - Queensland Surf Championships Masters Showdown On Coolum Beach

It was a masterclass of surfing at Coolum Beach, as the Master's Shortboard Titles took to the water to compete for the prestigious Queensland Title and a chance to compete at the Australian Titles. 

Coolum Beach provided the ideal playground for the seasoned surfers, with two-to-three foot swell on offer for the Over 35 surfers to showcase their mastery of the sport. 

The competition was intense and exciting, with surfers from all over the state showcasing their skills in the various divisions ranging from the Over 35 to Over 60.

Joe Shwartz surfed a nail-biting final against fierce competitors, Murray Scott, Dean Carpenter and Gavin Potter. Both Shwartz and Scott will be representing Queensland at the Australian Surf Championships.

Leith Goebel and Kate Perry competed in the Over 50 and Over 60 Women divisions, with Perry winning Over 50 and Goebel claiming victory in Over 60. 

Masters Division winners:

Shortboard Women O35: Nathalie Rennie | Shortboard Men O35: Joe Schwartz

Shortboard Men O40: Matt Clark

Shortboard Men O45: Troy Dowker

Shortboard Women O50: Leith Goebel | Shortboard Men O50: Kyle Robinson

Shortboard Men O55: Paul Wayland

Shortboard Women O60: Kate Perry | Shortboard Men O60: David Masters

About the event

2024 Queensland Surf Championships is proudly presented by Travla.

Surfing Queensland have joined forces with Danny Green's Stop the Coward Punch Campaign who are proudly supporting the 2024 Queensland Surf Championships.

Surfing Queensland is proudly supported by Queensland Government, Suzuki, Sunshine Coast Council, Queensland Government, DriTimes, We Are Feel Good Inc, QMS Media, The Point Coolum, Blue Dinosaur, Ancestral Nutrition and Travla.

Photo credit: All images supplied by Surfing Queensland.