The prodigal son
By Jed Smith
It’s half an hour before the start of the opens semi-final and Bondi’s prodigious surf talent Perth Standlick can’t do a turn. A crew of locals has grouped on the hill to watch the prodigy in one of his rare turnouts for the local boardriders. As Standlick strokes for a wave conversations stutter, cigarettes pause before mouths and heads rotate toward the line-up like tennis enthusiasts watching a Wimbledon rally.
His constant falls send alarm bells ringing. At 18 Standlick is at a crossroad in his career. The next two years will be the litmus test that decides whether he will fulfil his potential or fall victim to the pressure cooker of professional surfing. The men on the hill are all too aware of the pitfalls Bondi poses in pursuit of the surfing dream. This is not Ulladulla or Burleigh. Metropolitan life brings distraction, and Bondi has witnessed a scale of wasted surfing talent perhaps unmatched the world over.
Ian Wallace arrived the morning of the contest with his hand-shaped Buttons Kaluhiokalani twin fin under his arm, the prize for winning last year’s single fin contest. The long, waist-high lefts are perfect for the loose, rail-to-rail surfing required of the Twin fin. On his way to the final Wallace displayed a previously unseen side of his surfing. A refreshing respite from his usual attitude of more turns equals more points, a style of surfing that disappeared from competitive surfing the day MP won ‘Bells’ on the Moonrocket.
Come the final, Wallace is the form favourite but it is the surfer in yellow who takes the first wave. Thwack, he pushes his board to 11 o’clock. One pump then swish goes a slicing cutback to foam rebound, he regathers, bang vertical reo, bang vertical reo, PSSSH he throws his lithe frame into the two foot closeout section. A stick of ash breaks from the cigarette of a man on the hill. Conversations were replaced by primal grunts and guttural groans as the surfer threw up each turn.
It’s Standlick. Come final time, come business time. He wins the competition by a mile, Wallace second, Shane Thomas third and Luke Kennedy fourth. Honourable mention goes to el presidente Sevastos for his season best semi-final finish. Congratulations to Billy Houban for a performance in the juniors that revived memories of a young Phil McDonald, and to Jack Priest who not only won the cadets, but placed fourth in the juniors. The Brad Valenti memorial is the next contest to be held on August 16.
