Heats conclude, and fans eagerly await news on who will be crowned inaugural Surfboard Empire E-Pro Australia Champion during the livestream SWS/FuelTV Awards Ceremony to be aired Monday 21st Dec 6pm Qld (AEST).
As voting closes after the final heat shootout, we now look forward to the livestreamed awards ceremony scheduled for Monday 6pm Qld (AEST) where the champion will be announced and confirmation of the 4 qualifiers to the SWS Global Finals will be made..
Reef Heazlewood and Sheldon Simkus, our 2 finalists did not disappoint, with 2 superb but contrasting waves submitted as their final nominations.
Heazlewood again went to the air while Simkus posted a double barrel clip that he made look so easy after a slight stutter on a steep drop. They were pretty much trademark waves from both finalists, but Heazlewood had also saved his biggest punt so far for the final in an attempt to get the attention of the judges.
With 24 hours to vote the fans also got in on the action with a pretty even share of votes being posted in favour of both surfers. A look inside the Instagram feed also gave us a hint of how families and friends have become engaged in this event, as both the Heazlewood and Simkus family trees lit up the feed!!
In a pre-final interview Heazlewood for one admitted that he had been rounding up family friends and fans as he now fully understood the format, also commenting on how much fun he had engaging with his fans and followers, and in particular how they had responded.
Similarly, in an earlier interview Sheldon Simkus had highlighted the importance of the fans, and the tactical aspects of the SWS format that you don't usually have to think so much about in a traditional contest.
Both surfers stressed the importance of selectivity in which wave you choose, since unlike any other event you don't have the opportunity to see what your opponent is doing, or what the judges are thinking, and how they are scoring in any particular heat.
You literally have to back yourself, trust in the quality of your waves, then just sit and wait, and of course get your fans voting!
Surf Web Series and Addo Animus the major sponsor of the E-Pro Australia would also like to take this opportunity of thanking all supporting sponsors, the surfers for their fantastic performances and most of all the fans who have made the event such a success. We hope to see you voting and commenting on all our global events including of course the Global Finals which will feature all top 4 finishers from every country from waves anywhere in the world, it promises to be a surfing extravaganza and we hope to see you with us all the way!
The awards ceremony featuring surfer interviews, sponsor, and supporter, and even fan interviews will be streamed globally with live broadcasts on Fuel TV through their new groundbreaking alliance with SWS, and of course this will be your only exclusive designated channel to see the announcement of the 2020 champion.
