The first day of the Australian Surf Festival got underway at Macauleys Beach

The first day of the Australian Surf Festival (ASF) got underway today in junky two-foot peaks at Macauleys Beach, Coffs Harbour. The Australian Surf Festival at Coffs Harbour is set to attract more than 500 surfers from around the country over the 18-day event period. Philippa Anderson (Merewether, NSW) kicked off her ASF campaign with a bang, successfully locking in a 9.00 ride to get the edge over her opposition in the first round of the Open Women. The Novocastrian natural footer managed to pick off numerous punchy righthanders, which allowed her to lock in the highest heat score of the division. As a result Anderson booked her spot straight into the second round where she is set to face off with Paris Whittaker (Caringbah, NSW) and Phoebe McGregor (Yallingup, WA). Due to locking in the aforementioned 9.00 wave score, Anderson was awarded the FCS Performer of the Day award and scored herself a new legrope and tailpad courtesy of FCS. Despite being the youngest surfer in the Open Women, 13-year-old Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW), showed she was more than capable of posting heat wins, when she locked in a healthy 13.50 heat total (out of a possible 20 points) to take the win over her fellow competitors. Shane Holmes (North Entrance, NSW) made his mark on the Open Mens division locking in the highest heat total of the day, 15.90. The Central Coast surfer managed to link together a chain of excellent and critical backhand jabs to post the score and book his position in the second round. Not to be outdone, Hayden Blair (Mollymook, NSW) posted a near perfect 9.00 ride in his first Open Men Requalification heat to give himself another chance to move back into the main round. Blair threw down a series of forehand layback snaps and power-turns to lock in the previously mentioned score and book himself a spot into the next round. Jake Paterson (Yallingup, WA) and Harry McPherson (Mandurah, WA) flew the flag for the West Australians in the Open Men division, both posting solid heat wins. Former World Championship Tour competitor Paterson opted to surf a slower heat in an attempt to only catch the best possible waves, while McPherson chose to lock in scores early in the peace. Both surfers will move through to the second round. Coffs Harbour is home to a number of great beach break options that work in a variety of wind and swell conditions. The main base for the event will be Park Beach which is located north east of the Coffs Harbour CBD. The event is fully mobile in the Coffs Harbour region with numerous beach break options which include Park Beach, Macauley’s Beach, Diggers Beach, Jetty Beach, Gallows, Arrawarra Beach, Mulloway Beach, Woolgoolga Beach, Emerald Beach and Sapphire Beach. A hotline – 0458 247 212 – is operating for the festival which will feature a recorded message updated at 6:45am each morning with the confirmed daily schedule and contest venue. Live results and daily news will be updated at www.australiansurffestival.com. The 2014 Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is also proudly supported by Coffs Harbour City Council, Coffs Coast Tourism, Wahu, The Hoey Moey, Nikon, Toyota, Pacific Longboarder, FCS, Australian Institute of Sport, Surfing NSW and Surfing Australia. 2014 AUSTRALIAN SURF FESTIVAL SCHEDULE 1 August – Australian Surf Festival Opening Ceremony 2-6 August – Australian Surfmasters Titles 2-3 August – Australian Single Fin Titles 6-14 August – Australian Longboard Titles 7-10 August – Australian Logger Titles 14-18 August – Wahu Australian Bodyboard Titles]]>