Competitive surfers can spend years chasing a perfect 10-point ride, but a Sunshine Coast teenager did it twice within a few minutes on his way to a national title.
Noosa Heads’ 15-year-old Landen Smales had a flawless opening-round heat in the under-18 logger competition at the Australian Surf Championships at Port Macquarie.
“It feels amazing to be able to do that,” he said.
“It (a 10-point ride) doesn’t happen very often, so it’s a special moment to do it.
“The waves had the best shape and were long-running rights, so I just surfed it to the best of my ability, and I managed to do that twice.”
Landen bagged his first perfect ride of the heat and it was only two or three minutes before he was at it again.
Contest Director Glen Elliot said the young gun’s performance amid 2-foot surf was extraordinary.
“A perfect heat score is extremely rare, and the judges jealously guard a 10-point-ride as it is considered technically perfect,” he said.
“In the case of Landen, his two waves could not be denied with a series of perfectly executed hang ten nose-rides, which were held in the critical sections of the wave, with excellent positioning grace and style.”
Landen went on to win the under-18 logger division (for traditional longboards) and the under-18 longboard title.
He’s regarded as one of Australia’s most talented young riders of longboards and shortboards.
Landen is the reigning Queensland under-18 longboard and logger champion and is in the state team for the Australian Junior Shortboard Titles.
He won the under-18 and open men’s events at the at the Australian Indigenous Titles and he has won the under-15 boys title at the Noosa Festival of Surfing for the past three years.
A member of North Shore Boardriders and the Alexandra Headland Malibu club, Landen is also part of the Surfing Excellence program at Sunshine Beach State High.
Prominent coach Tim Just said the young gun was heading in the right direction.
“We see each other a lot and he’s always willing to have a good go at whatever task is set for him,” he said.
“He’s a great kid with a huge future in all categories within our sport. He’s also an incredible skater.
“He’s a down to earth kid, who has bucket loads of potential as a hard-charging, high-flying, all-around surfer.
“Lando has a big bag of skills and tricks, and I don’t think he even knows what he’s going to do next on a wave or section.
“He’s developing an extremely dedicated work ethic out of the water as well.”
Tim said Landen could make an impact as a professional.
“He’s easy going to travel with and is always looking to connect with local communities wherever he goes,” he said.
“This will be vital once he starts travelling internationally, chasing the WQS (World Qualifying Series) and scoring amazing waves in exotic locations.
“There’s a big future for this kid and I’m just stoked to be a small part of his journey.”
Landen’s brother Kaiden is also a talented surfer.
The 18-year-old reached the semi-finals of the open men’s longboard competition at Port Macquarie after driving them to the event.
Their mother Natalie said she was proud of them.
“They often go surfing together and they’re getting more self-sufficient, which is great,” she said.
“It’s a great sport to be involved in and I’m proud of their achievements.”
She said Landen’s perfect heat was “pretty unbelievable”.
“It was surreal actually,” she said.
Kaiden told Landen he’d give him $10 if he scored a perfect 10-point ride, so that turned into $20 for two perfect rides.
“The juniors don’t get prize money, so that was like Landen’s prize money,” Natalie said.
She also said their experience at the Australian Indigenous Surfing Titles at famous Victorian surf break Bells Beach in May was something to savour.
“It was very important for them,” she said.
“Over the last couple of years, they’ve been exploring their heritage and going to Bells was amazing.
“It’s a very cultural area and they got the opportunity to meet Elders and get involved in surfing culture, along with Indigenous people. They had a great time and learned a lot.”
Natalie said Surfing Australia could run an Indigenous talent identification program.
“So, hopefully, the boys will get an opportunity to be involved in that,” she said.
“It’s the first of its kind, a pilot program, so hopefully it goes well. It’s a fantastic idea.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine Coast board riders Reef Heazlewood and Kirra Molnar claimed victories in some of the main divisions at the Australian Surf Championships.
Reef, who has surfed on the world Championship Tour, won the open men’s shortboard title.
Kirra won the open women’s logger division, with a 9-point ride late in the final.
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