As a highly anticipated swell began to fill in, 3 to 4 foot waves were grinding off the wall at the southern end of the beach and it was the veterans of Jim Beam Surftag who took the title. However, among their outfit was a debutant in Mitch Parkinson and he dominated in each heat. Scoring a personal total in the final of 28.5, Snapper Rocks didn’t give the other finalists a look in, running away with a monstrous, 117.43 score.

“I’ve been in Snapper all my life, there’s a lot of history with it and my whole family is a part of this club,” said Parkinson. “To get the call up was really cool. I was rapt to represent the club and to get the win is even better.”

Under the guidance of 13-year star of Jim Beam Surftag, Jay Phillips, Parkinson along with Shaun Gossman, Dan Pryor and Blake Ainsworth returned the club to the top.

“I got in good rhythm with the waves and got some really nice ones, I’m stoked,” said Parkinson. “We all played our role, everyone needed to be smart with their time and we were able to lead the whole final.”

“Shaun Gossman gave us the perfect start with a huge Powerwave and I guess we kept building from there.”

“The waves have been really good, it was great size swell for off the wall and it really turned on for the final. It was really fun.”

North End (86.17), Burleigh Heads (85.3) and D’BAH (77.67) were the other finalists but were forced to chase the entire final.

“It was epic to get all the boys down there to support us. Being my first time, it was pretty nerve-wracking knowing you can only get three waves and can’t fall on any of them,” said Parkinson.

“Confidence is the key to it. You can’t hold back because if you do that’s when you’ll fall. I just concentrated on surfing the way I usually surf and I got a couple of good ones. I was stoked.”

Parkinson was awarded the Tee Ink Man of the Match for his huge score in the Final and will go up against Merewether’s Ryan Callinan and Le-Ba’s James Wood in the Tee Ink Tee Off at the Australian Championships. This speciality event will see the Man of the Match from the six Jim Beam Surftag Qualifiers compete in a 15-minute heat with each surfer only to catch one wave.

The win is the perfect stepping stone for Snapper on their hunt for another National title. The country’s best clubs will do battle on March 27-29 at D’BAH for the Jim Beam Surftag Australian Championships.

With the top six teams from the QLD Jim Beam Surftag qualifying to the Australian Championships Kirra and Coolum will join the four finalists after both club’s finished third in their Semi Final.

Kirra’s Andre Teixeira posted the day’s highest BOSCH Powerwave locking in an 8.93 during the Semi Finals.

Morning Highlights, Final Highlights.

Perfect Wave Travel, BOSCH and TEE INK proudly support the Jim Beam Surftag. Visit www.globalsurftag.com and www.facebook.com/surftag for all the latest results, photos and videos.