Yesterday the Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro drew to a close in two to three-foot surf at Cabarita, with Dimity Stoyle and Kyuss King claiming victory.
The event signalled a return of surfing to the region, and with a huge field, the pair had to overcome the best up and coming surfer’s on their way to a win in the chase for qualification heats up ahead of the Gold Coast pro.
Kyuss King has been on the surfing world’s radar for over a decade, which is incredible when you find out he’s only 21 years old. However, the Byron Bay local was yet to put a WSL event victory to his name until yesterday, when he took the biggest win of his career. King was slowly building all event, peaking in the Semifinals before coming up against 2022 form surfer Joel Vaughan. In the Final against Vaughan, King looked unbeatable, posting his winning total of 11.84 in his first two waves. The exciting young natural footer now heads to the final stop of the Australia / Oceania QS, Newcastle Surfest, sitting in second place on the regional rankings.
“This is my first-ever WSL event win and I can’t even explain how stoked I am right now,” King said. “I’ve been dreaming of this day my whole life and it feels like the hard work has paid off. I live just down the road and feel really comfortable here so I’ve just enjoyed this week, having fun and taking it easy and that has seemed to work for me.”
After dropping off the Championship Tour at the end of 2015, Sunshine Coast competitor Dimity Stoyle has had one foot in the competitive surfing door and one in the ‘Shimmy Disco’ party DJ door with DJ’ing seeming to be taking priority for a few years. After a couple of encouraging results on the 2021 Challenger Series and the support of a new sponsor in Roxy, Dimity has a newfound fire for competition lit under her and yesterday it showed as she claimed her biggest win since Surfest Newcastle in 2014
“I went full Steph mode (Steph Gilmore) and only caught two waves,” Stoyle said. “That’s all I needed – but seriously though, I’m so happy right now – I feel like all the hard work from last year is only just starting to pay off. The last time I won an event this big was the year I qualified and in that year everything felt right. I’ve got the same feeling again this year so hope I’m heading in the same direction. It’s been such a fun week here at Cabarita, the waves have literally pumped everyday – we’ve been so lucky.”
