Mirroring the success of team rider Kelly Slater’s victory in Portugal, surf brand Quiksilver defeated 14 of their industry rivals to win the Jim Beam Surftag Industry Challenge in Sydney.

The industry challenge pits surf industry employees against each other in teams of four in a one-hour relay style competition format.  Each surfer must catch a total of three waves with their second “Power Wave” doubled.

In less than perfect 1.0m waves at Curl Curl Beach, Quiksilver’s powerhouse team of Jesse Low, Tom Myers, Marcus Stocker and Fraser Standen narrowly edged out newcomers Powerlinez Surf Shop (Isaac Buckley, Ben Short, Nathan Mouncey, Mike Psillakis), Aloha Surf (Dustin Atkinson, Ollie Ingham, Beau Walker, Tim Hanrahan) and O’Neill (Rama McCabe, Rob Bain, Timmy Taplin, Justin Cook) to take the win.

The shock exit of defending champions Hurley in the opening round of competition paved the way for the Quiksilver team who were out to secure their second ever Industry Challenge title.

It was a two horse race in the decider as Powerlinez took a strong opening lead courtesy of some brilliant surfing from Issac Buckley.  Quiksilver answered back strongly at the half way point when second surfer Tommy Myers entered the water, locking in a 28.70 out of a possible 40.00 to give the team a narrow lead.

Aloha surf mounted a late comeback, which ultimately fell short while O’Neill struggled to find rhythm.  The final scores were Quiksilver 69.38, Powerlinez 65.79, Aloha Surf 57.87 and O’Neill 31.01.

“We won it 2008 and made the finals last year where Hurley absolutely smashed us, so it’s good to get back up there again,” said Quiksilver team captain Fraser Standen.  “We have had a different line up in the teams each year, it’s a great day and everyone has a bit of fun, absolutely no training goes into it though.”

“We all had a slumber party last night watching Kelly win in Portugal, today is obviously a result of that,” he joked.  “Quiksilver is a massive company and we have the luxury of picking the best surfers from around Sydney, from all of the retail stores and the office departments here as well.”

Quiksilver were awarded 20 cases of Jim Beam and 12 month bragging rights as the best surfing brand in Australia for their effort.

“It’s always good to get on top of the other brands,” he said.

Young Tom Myers with a little fins out fun for team Quiksilver.

Quiksilver’s Tommy Myers was also awarded a Sanyo Video Camera for the days highest scoring Power Wave, locked in during his blistering performance in the final.

Tomorrow will see the second event of the 2011 Jim Beam Surftag Series, the “Trade Off” take place at Curl Curl.   Trades from around Sydney including Lifeguards, Fire Fighters, Builders, Tilers, Lawn Mowers, Financial Advisers, Fashionistas, Hospitality, Personal Trainers, Transportation and others will surf it out to determine the city’s number one surfing trade.

The 2011 Jim Beam Surftag is proudly supported by FCS, Sanyo and O’Neill.  Media partners for the series are Swellnet and Tracks surfing magazine.

Industry Challenge (Final Team Results)

1.             Quiksilver (Jesse Low, Tom Myers, Marcus Stocker, Fraser Standen)

2.              Powerlinez (Isaac Buckley, Ben Short, Nathan Mouncey, Mike Psillakis)

3.             Aloha Surf (Dustin Atkinson, Ollie Ingham, Beau Walker, Tim Hanrahan)

4.             O’Neill 1 (Rama McCabe, Rob Bain, Timmy Taplin, Justin Cook)

5.             Manly Surf School (Christo Hall, Nick James, Shane Conwell, Matt Grainger)

6.             RVCA (Tim Keith, Josh Simpson, Jason Salisbury, Ellis Ericson)

7.             Warner (Tim Vlandis, Beau Mitchell, Shannon Warner, Stuey Blake)

8.             SDS (Matt Carbon, Dane Pittman, Matt Owens, Luke Stuttfield)

9.             Volcom (Joel Spillane, Zahn Foxton, Matt Bemrose, Dave Hyslop)

10.             Tracks (Ben Budgen, Col Bernasconi, Luke Kennedy, Ben Whittmore)

11.             Hurley (Matt Cattle, Mitch Ross, Todd Prestage, Jason Maclean)

12.             Waves (Sam Paterson, Ethan Smith, Derek Recio, Marcus Hucker)

13.             FCS (Lee Keates, Richie Lovett, Mike Sullivan, James Kiloh)

14.             Rip Curl (Scotty Warren, Tom Mathew, Luke Winn, Vaughan Cole)

15.             O’Neill 2 (Dave Fairbairn, Sean Busson, Ben Starky, John Peard)

2010/11 Jim Beam Surftag Dates And Locations

Oct 15              Industry Challenge (Curl Curl)

Oct 16              Trade Off (Curl Curl)

Nov 13              Women’s Surftag (Dee Why)

Dec 11              NSW North Surftag (Newcastle)

Dec 18              Victoria Surftag (TBC)

Jan 8                West Australia Surftag (TBC)

Jan 15              Queensland Surftag (Duranbah)

Jan 29/30              NSW South Surftag (Cronulla)

Feb 3/4/5              Surftag Australian Final (Northern Beaches, Sydney)