JOHN Schmidenberg has been crowned a national champion.
The Emerald Beach surfer won the Men’s Over 60s title at the recent Australian Shortboard Titles in Wollongong.
He won the national title with a score of 14.17 in the final, winning by 0.44 points.
He had won his Round 2 heat with a score of 11.17, before qualifying for the final after coming second in his semi-final.
The national champion said the key was adapting to the tough conditions that Wollongong presented.
“They were grovely conditions, and it’s all about adapting to those conditions,” he said.
“Resorting right back to early school days when you had to surf bad waves.”
Having grown up surfing in his native Western Australia, he moved to the Coffs Coast in 2007.
“This one is really special, and they all come with a bit of honour, and each one has a different journey,” he said.
“I really had to scrap for it, and it made it more satisfying winning in tough conditions.
“It’s an individual sport,
“A big thank you to my wife for her support.”
The veteran surfer explained why it was such a lifelong passion.
“There’s so many aspects to it; the travel, meeting different people, spending time in the water, and the lifestyle it leads to,” he said.
“There’s so many different things I love about it.”
By Aiden BURGESS
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