Yallingup’s Claire Bevilacqua claims crown at epic Trigg Point annual surf contest

Yallingup veteran Claire Bevilacqua was crowned Queen of the Point at the annual competition held at Trigg at the weekend.

The three-day contest culminated in a series of epic finals across multiple divisions that also saw some of Margaret River’s younger female surfers in fine form.

Olive Hardy won her under-21s division against a strong Margaret River cohort to claim the Princess of the Point title as well.

Fresh from her warm-up taking out the Margaret River Senior High School surf academy’s private competition, Kaleisha Launders was also recognised for her efforts with the Expression Session prize sponsored by Rusty.

The win for Queen Bevilacqua and King of the Point Jake Hagan from Geraldton also secured the pair wildcard entry for next month’s Margaret River Pro.

Bevilacqua snatched her fifth Queen of the Point title in a closely fought battle against Cowaramup’s Mia McCarthy.

The former World Surf League Championship Tour competitor showed her experience and class edging out McCarthy by less than half a point, finishing on a two-wave total of 11.83 from a possible 20.

“I love this contest and I’m so happy to still be a part of it,” Bevilacqua said.

“Mia is such a great competitor and she brought out the best of my surfing today.

“The trials is always pretty scary, it’s usually pretty big and a full-on day, but I love the test and I love pushing myself.

“It’s always an adventure to say the least at Margaret River.”

Hardy was lauded by the Surfing WA judges who said “her star is well and truly on the rise with a near flawless performance” punching well above her age.

Hardy amassed a huge two-wave total of 16.10 that included an 8.60 and 7.50.

“This win means a lot to me,” she said.

“All the girls were ripping and I’m really happy with my performance.”

Junior Capes surfers were well represented at the event, with second-place finishes for Jack Mitchell and Launders in the under-21 divisions.

Cowaramup’s Ace Flynn narrowly missed out on the under-16 Jester of the Point award to Swanbourne surfer Jake Scott.