Julian Wilson (AUS) and Jahly Stokes (AUS) have claimed victory at the EJE Men's Pro and Genesis Health & Fitness Women's Pro as part of Newcastle SURFEST. The World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 wrapped up today at Newcastle Beach in a super fun, clean surf in the two-to-three-foot range.
Former Championship Tour (CT) standout and World No. 2 Julian Wilson (AUS) this week announced he'd be making a comeback to competitive surfing. Today, he got his return off to the best possible start, winning the EJE Pro. Wilson, who hasn't competed since 2022, looked sharp all week, posting some of the highest single wave scores of each round, to eventually find his way to the Final, where he came up against Axel Curotta (AUS). After Wilson took an early lead, the youngster Curotta moved back in front and left Wilson chasing a score for the majority of the heat until the last few minutes, where his experience paid off, and he utilised priority to earn the score and win with a two-wave total of 13.70 (out of a possible 20).
"This has been a really fun event," Wilson said. "Thanks to all the crowd funders for supporting it and to the local community who always gets right behind it, as well as to Warren Smith for putting it on. There have been some great waves throughout the window, so it's just been such a cool experience. Congratulations to Axel on having a great run through the event, and I wish him all the best. This is the last event I won five years ago, so it's cool to be back as I step back into competing. It's so nice to do it at home with my family and my kids down on the beach. I love being a part of this community, so thank you to Newcastle."
Axel Curotta (AUS) has given himself every chance of Challenger Series qualification with a runner-up finish in Newcastle, seeing him move into 8th place on the regional rankings. Although he was unable to claim his maiden QS win, Curotta was over the moon to share a Final with one of the biggest names in surfing.
"It was so surreal to share a heat with Julian, especially a Final," Curotta said. "I've looked up to his surfing since I was a child, so it was amazing to compete with him and trade some scores. It was a sick experience."
Jahly Stokes (AUS) has put on another massive performance in the 2024/25 Regional QS season to solidify her second spot on the rankings ahead of the last event of the season. Stokes claimed victory today at the Genesis Health & Fitness Women's Pro, overcoming fellow goofy footer and Newcastle local Sarah Baum (RSA) in the Final. Stokes utilised her frontside and backhand attack to earn a two-wave total of 13.44 to win the event.
"That was a tough heat against Sarah," Jahly said. "She's an amazing competitor, so it feels good to get a win," Stokes said. "The waves were slow out there but super fun when they came. I'm glad to get a win, especially ahead of the last event of the season."
Sarah Baum (RSA) fell just short of the win but was spurred on by the support of her adopted hometown, Newcastle, as she hopes for another big year of competition in 2025.
"I'm super stoked with how I've gone this week," Baum said. "I've done a lot of work in the off-season, so it's nice to make some heats and see it all pay off early in the year. Jahly has been ripping at all of the events, so it was always going to be a tough final against her. You couldn't ask for a better day than this at the beach, so It's great to be here and be a part of it."
The 2025 Newcastle Surfest QS 1000 will ran at Newcastle Beach, NSW, from March 13 - 15, 2025.
Julian Wilson and Jahly Stokes Win Newcastle SURFEST QS 1,000 Event
WSL
Julian Wilson (AUS) and Jahly Stokes (AUS) have claimed victory at the EJE Men's Pro and Genesis Health & Fitness Women's Pro as part of Newcastle SURFEST. The World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 wrapped up today at Newcastle Beach in a super fun, clean surf in the two-to-three-foot range.
Former Championship Tour (CT) standout and World No. 2 Julian Wilson (AUS) this week announced he'd be making a comeback to competitive surfing. Today, he got his return off to the best possible start, winning the EJE Pro. Wilson, who hasn't competed since 2022, looked sharp all week, posting some of the highest single wave scores of each round, to eventually find his way to the Final, where he came up against Axel Curotta (AUS). After Wilson took an early lead, the youngster Curotta moved back in front and left Wilson chasing a score for the majority of the heat until the last few minutes, where his experience paid off, and he utilised priority to earn the score and win with a two-wave total of 13.70 (out of a possible 20).
"This has been a really fun event," Wilson said. "Thanks to all the crowd funders for supporting it and to the local community who always gets right behind it, as well as to Warren Smith for putting it on. There have been some great waves throughout the window, so it's just been such a cool experience. Congratulations to Axel on having a great run through the event, and I wish him all the best. This is the last event I won five years ago, so it's cool to be back as I step back into competing. It's so nice to do it at home with my family and my kids down on the beach. I love being a part of this community, so thank you to Newcastle."
Axel Curotta (AUS) has given himself every chance of Challenger Series qualification with a runner-up finish in Newcastle, seeing him move into 8th place on the regional rankings. Although he was unable to claim his maiden QS win, Curotta was over the moon to share a Final with one of the biggest names in surfing.
"It was so surreal to share a heat with Julian, especially a Final," Curotta said. "I've looked up to his surfing since I was a child, so it was amazing to compete with him and trade some scores. It was a sick experience."
Jahly Stokes (AUS) has put on another massive performance in the 2024/25 Regional QS season to solidify her second spot on the rankings ahead of the last event of the season. Stokes claimed victory today at the Genesis Health & Fitness Women's Pro, overcoming fellow goofy footer and Newcastle local Sarah Baum (RSA) in the Final. Stokes utilised her frontside and backhand attack to earn a two-wave total of 13.44 to win the event.
"That was a tough heat against Sarah," Jahly said. "She's an amazing competitor, so it feels good to get a win," Stokes said. "The waves were slow out there but super fun when they came. I'm glad to get a win, especially ahead of the last event of the season."
Sarah Baum (RSA) fell just short of the win but was spurred on by the support of her adopted hometown, Newcastle, as she hopes for another big year of competition in 2025.
"I'm super stoked with how I've gone this week," Baum said. "I've done a lot of work in the off-season, so it's nice to make some heats and see it all pay off early in the year. Jahly has been ripping at all of the events, so it was always going to be a tough final against her. You couldn't ask for a better day than this at the beach, so It's great to be here and be a part of it."
The 2025 Newcastle Surfest QS 1000 will ran at Newcastle Beach, NSW, from March 13 - 15, 2025.
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