Christian surfers are carving a place for themselves in Manly’s surf-dominated community.
The Jesus Pro Am - the premiere surfing event in the Christian calendar - hit Queenscliff Beach on May 3 and 4 and saw Maroubra surfer Blake Thornton win the blue ribbon in the Open Men's division. He defeated Ulladulla surfer Ashley King to take the title.
In small but highly contestable waves, both finalists employed great small wave surfing tactics on their way to the final.
In what was a very close man on man final, both surfers opened up their accounts with mid range scores, but King got the better of the opening exchanges to hold a narrow lead.
With Thornton left needing a wave in the good range to regain the lead, he showed his competitive experience in waiting for a higher scoring wave.
His patience paid off with Thornton jagging a great right-hander with five minutes remaining, on which he put his sharp forehand attack to work all the way to the beach.
King picked up the next wave of the set, but was not as strong on his backhand and fell short of the 6.0 score he required by a mere 0.5 with Thornton holding his lead to the end to take victory.
"I'm super happy with a win here. It's been a long time between wins for me so it's great for my confidence for the rest of the year," Mr Thornton says.
"I knew I needed a good one to get ahead of Ash and luckily that wave came through near the end of the final which allowed me to link three full rail turns and get the score I needed."
For his win, Thornton took home $1,000 cash and a Line Up Surf Trip to Samoa.
In the Open Women's, the winner was defending Jesus Pro Am champ Yvonne Byron from Figtree.
Surfing with a twist
The Jesus Pro Am seeks to offer a different style of contest for competitors and according to Open Men's Winner Blake Thornton, the event achieved did just that.
"The vibe at the Jesus Pro Am is always so friendly and really family orientated, which is so different from most contests. My family was here today which was a great support!"
Jesus Pro Am commentator, Michael Crisp agrees.
"The Jesus Pro Am aims to provide a safe, professional contest that is hospitable for its elite competitors," he says.
"We aim to show the competitors God's love through serving them with great food and providing a healthy, enjoyable contest atmosphere."
While the contest has no "in-your-face' evangelism, fantastic opportunities for sharing the gospel of Jesus were created through a short message at the contest presentation and the "Win-a-surfboard' contest.
Contestants were required to answer several simple questions about who Jesus is by looking up verses in the Surfer's Bible " a Contemporary English Version of the New Testament that is aimed at surfers.
The 2008 event also saw Christian Surfers Australia and local mission partnership Manly-Manado join forces to raise awareness and funds for people in Manado, Indonesia who have suffered poverty and persecution.
Photo Credit: Matt Johnson
