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Images: Hayden-Smith/ASP
Chiko MP
Classic
The 2014 Chiko MP Classic came to a climactic finish this year
with an all-star action packed final with Michael Wright taking
out the event followed by Garrett Parkes, Bede Durbidge and Tom
Whitaker who finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.
The final was one of the most
exciting heats of the event,
with surfer’s placing’s constantly shuffling, and the final
four surfers fighting hard to
take home the prestigious
Chiko MP Classic title and
Michael Peterson replica surfboard.
Michael Wright showed competitive maturity beyond his
years as the 17-year-old took
down a current WCT surfer –
Durbidge, a former WCT surfer
in Whitaker and ASP QS campaigner Parkes. Wright was left
needing a score in the 7-pointrange in the final five minutes,
he caught a wave and unloaded two deadly turns, breaking his board on the third, but
the turns were some of the
best seen all event and a score
of 8.10 was punched in by the
judges and a worthy winner
was crowned.
“It was great to have MP’s mum
present me with a board, that
was a huge honour,” Wright
said. “This event had so many
good surfers in it, I can’t really believe I won. I got that good
wave at the end and then I
broke my board and I didn’t
know if I’d get a good score
and it turned out that I did and
it was enough to win. I’m so
happy. I’ve had some problems
with my back and I almost
didn’t compete, but I’m so glad
that I did.”
This year’s Chiko MP Classic was bolstered with the support of the ASP, upgrading
the event to 1-star rating and
allowing for World Tour competitors to surf on home soil.
Bede Durbidge, the Chiko
MP Classic No.1 seed was the
standout surfer of the event,
posting excellent scores all
event for a variety of powerful
carves and explosive snaps. In
the final he struggled to find a
wave that allowed him to open
up, and had to settle for third
in a very tight heat that saw
1st and 4th separated by only
1 point.
“I really wanted to win this
event!” Durbidge said. “I think
it must have been the hardest
1-Star ever, the level of surfing was so high. It was great
to see Mikey (Wright) get the
win though, he’s a great surfer
and he was on fire all event. He
got that great wave in the final
and if he didn’t break his board
it probably would have been a
10-point-ride.”
18 – autumn IssuE surfingqueensland.com.au