Coordinators of the Talented Surfer Program at Illawarra Sports High School always suspected the program was working a treat.
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Know they have proof.
The boys’ surf team from ISHS won the prestigious Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota High School Teams Challenge on February 14-15.
But the team featuring Darcy DeClouett, Ben Duncan and Kyen Stuart were made to work extremely hard to secure the trophy.
The boys’ final at Merewether beach produced the closest ever result in the ‘’unique’’ teams event.
When the siren sounded, Illawarra had squeezed past Narrabeen Sports High A by one-tenth of a point, with less than two points separating first from fourth.
Some 40 teams from 16 high schools took part in the two-day competition on Nobbys and Merewether beaches.
Helping ISHS win was extra special for 16-year-old Darcy DeClouett.
The weekend prior the Wombarra surfer was knocked out in the second round of the Pro Junior on the same Merewether beach.
But the winner of last November’s 16-and-under Rip Curl GromSearch on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, said team surfing was something quite different to individual competition.
‘’Getting the bonus points on offer means it’s so important to get a strong result from the first wave. This is our first victory as a team and the first victory for our school,’’ he said.
Darcy produced some stylish and powerful surfing to help his team become the first from Illawarra Sports High to claim the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota High Schools Team Challenge at Surfest.
‘’We practised catching waves in under five minutes last week and the drill of this actual set up,’’ Darcy said.
Fellow team member Kyen Stuart from Thirroul also ‘’came up big’’ in the final.
Kyen, who finished 10th in the Cronulla Pro Junior and also surfed in the recent Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota Pro Junior, has turned his attention towards trying to get some good results in the remaining 2017 Pro Junior competitions.
ISHS surfing program coordinator Geoff Latimer was ‘’extremely proud’’ of his team.
He said the work the students have been putting in both the surf and the gym is paying rewards.
‘’This program started three years ago….it is designed to really help the surfers on the South Coast,’’ Mr Latimer said.
‘’It’s about ensuring educational development as well as surfing development and joining those two passions together.
‘’I guess this is our breakthrough win for the program and it’s a great result for the boys.
‘’The South Coast nursery is such a large talent pool and what you’ve seen with Owen Wright and Tyler Wright and Sally Fitzgibbons and Mick Lowe – that’s what we are trying to build on and it’s the variety of breaks in the area that gives our surfers such a grounding in variable conditions.’’
Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College (Tumbi Umbi Campus) won the girls challenge trophy.