Phillip Island pair Harry De Roth and Lannia Fostin have claimed Open wins today at Cape Woolamai as part of the 2021 Victorian Open Series.

After multiple events being postponed due to COVID restrictions, the competition got underway in four foot offshore conditions. 

Ripping all day in the Open Men's division was Joe Van Dijk (Phillip Island), who saw himself get to an early lead in the final with a combined heat total of 16.03 (out of a possible 20). Van Dijk's powerful surfing saw him walk away with the highest individual wave score of the day (a 9.80 out of a possible ten). 

Despite his stellar performance, Van Dijk was still left chasing a 8.18 to snag the lead of eventual winner Harry DeRoth (Phillip Island).

De Roth had a slow start throughout his Open Men's final, however managed to score a right hander in the dying minutes of the heat which saw him post a 9.67 to seal the deal. He finished on top with a combined heat total of 16.20 (out of a possible 20).

“Conditions were fun out there,” DeRoth said. 

“I’m stoked to walk away with the win and am happy that I was able to find an opportunity towards the end of the heat,” he added. 

Other standout performers throughout the men's division were Cahill Bell-Warren (Torquay) and Billy Harrison (Barwon Heads). Both surfers were standouts in the opening rounds however were left needing scores in the 7 point range to claim the honours.

Lannia Fostin (Phillip Island) was victorious in the Open Women’s division, posting a combined heat total of 13.84. 

Fostin took advantage of the lefts on offer throughout the final, laying some serious rail and getting the job done. 

“We scored with the conditions down here today,” Fostin said. 

“There were some fun lefts on offer throughout the final, and I was lucky enough to be in the right spot.” 

Hot on Fostin’s tail was Mia Huppatz (Jan Juc), who posted a combined heat total of 12.93, however was left chasing a 6.92 (out of a possible ten) to get into the lead. 

Huppatz posted a highest score of a 6.93, however was unable to improve on her existing 6 point ride to advance into first position. 

Phillip Island's Poppy Corbett came third.

As a result of the cancellation of Open Series events, there will be a surf off held at URBNSURF Melbourne on March 30 to crown state champions in a surf-off, which will include the top six surfers from both the Men and Women’s divisions. 

There will be 3 wildcards for both Men and Women, which will be selected for the shoot out based on an application process and recent results (priority order being International events, Australian Events, State Events). The wildcard process has been put in place due to the Phillip Island event clashing with the Mad Mex Maroubra Pro QS1000 in NSW. 

Final results

Open Men

1. Harry De Roth
2. Joe Van Dijk
3. Cahill Bell-Warren
4. Billy Harrison

Open Women

1. Lanina Fostin
2. Mia Huppatz
3. Poppy Corbett
4. Lucy Naylor

Full results at liveheats.com/surfingvictoria