The VW State Classic 2025, a historic event, brought together five Surfing NSW State Titles: Junior, Masters, Longboard, SUP, High School, under one banner for the very first time.
Taking place in Coffs Harbour from May 27 – June 1, the six day event featured over 600 of NSW’s best surfers, aged 9 to 80+.
Surfing NSW CEO Lucas Townsend said the VW State Classic signals a new focus for the organisation on uplifting grassroots competition and bringing community together to celebrate our surf culture.
“The VW State Classic is a first for Surfing NSW, bringing shortboard, longboard and SUP together in one flagship event. It’s a celebration of grassroots competition and the legacy of being a NSW State Champion.
Beyond the lineup, it unites competitors and the local community at Aanuka Beach House to honour the region’s rich surf culture and coastal spirit.
We’re stoked to have Sawtell, Woolgoolga and Coffs Harbour Boardriders Clubs involved, and we’re grateful to the local surf community for generously sharing their waves with our State competitors.”
The evolution of the State Titles has been made possible through the support of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, who have extended their partnership with Surfing NSW into its eighth year. Volkswagen continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening surf culture across New South Wales. The brand provides critical support to the state’s boardrider club network, athlete development programs, and major events, helping to ensure the next generation of NSW surfers has the support they need to succeed.
The VW State Classic 2025 provides a crucial platform for NSW’s best surfers, offering a pathway to the Australian National Titles.
Surfers from Manly to Palm Beach have featured across the event with the evening of Wednesday May 28 marking a special part of the celebrations of surfing when Tim Reilly was inducted as a Life Member of Surfing NSW, joined by other outstanding Life Members and surrounded by the NSW longboard community.
Surfing NSW said:
''Tim’s unwavering dedication to the grassroots of our sport and his support for the next generation run deep. He’s been a vital connector for longboarding within Surfing NSW, always showing up with open arms, knowledge, and a full heart. Whether it’s funding junior competitors out of his own pocket or creating pathways that didn’t exist before, his impact speaks for itself.''
Curl Curl Longboard Club's Tim Reilly - Surfing NSW's latest Life Member
A Curl Curl Longboard Club President Tim Reilly, along with fellow clubmates John Fraser, Jason Livingston, Tom Bennetts, Matthew Anderson and Adam McManus were also competing, with great results for some. Local high school teacher Neale Ashby also had a great run, bowing out just before the semi-finals.
In the Junior event, Ocea Curtis and local surfer Ben Zanatta claimed the Under 18 Girls and Boys titles, while Lucy Darragh and Joey Silk secured wins in the Under 16 divisions.
Keira Buckpitt took out the Open Women’s title, with Koda Killorn claiming victory in the Open Men’s division.
NASA surfer Shane Carroll took out his division, with fellow Pittwater surfer Shane Conwell rounding out the final 4 in their Masters comp.
Former Avalon Beach and Barrenjoey High School alumni Col Bernasconi won his age division in the Masters shortboard competition - not the first time Col has been a State Champion.
In Longboard, Mahli Abbott and Archy Bemrose were crowned Open champions while the aforementioned Jason Livingston won both his age divisions again this year, something he has achieved every year since 2019 - and hen gone on to take out the Australian National titles as well as part of the NSW State Team.
Illawarra Sports High cemented itself as one of the state’s most dominant High Schools, taking top honours in both the Senior Boys and Senior Girls categories, although teams from local schools appear among the placings too, with St Augustine's College and Narrabeen Sports High School in the final 4 for the Seniors and Narrabeen's Junior team winning their age division.
The event also showcased strong SUP performances, with Skyla Rayner and Wesley Fry winning the Open Men’s and Women’s divisions. Narrabeen High School alumni and Mona Vale resident, Andrew Cassidy, won his age division in the SUP competition.
There were other peninsula winners among the finals results two worth noting are the Grainger girls.
In a Community recognition statement tabled by Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby in the Parliament of New South Wales on Wednesday June 4, the local member stated:
‘’I'm excited to spotlight two young surfers from Pittwater who have been making waves at the state titles recently. At just 12 and 9, Mila and Chloe Grainger are sisters who both won first place at the NSW Junior State Titles in their age group.
Following in their dad's footsteps, both girls have been surfing solo from about 4 years old. Now very confident in the swell and ready to take on competitions, the girls are exceeding at a state and national level.
The commitment both girls have shown to their training is outstanding. They are often at the beach five or six times a week practising their skills in the water. On other days, they head to the local skate park to learn new tricks out of the water. The girls both love their local surf community who have been extremely supportive of their training and competitions.
They are excited to be part of a new wave of women joining the sport in Pittwater and have made many new friends. I would like to wish the girls good luck for their future competitions and I can't wait to see what they achieve.’’
We've pulled out all the Finals Results - and you can access all results from heats HERE - and thank you to Surfing NSW for all the great photos.
VW State Classic 2025 - NSW Junior State Titles
2025 Surfing Australia Junior Series - National Rolling Seeding
Under 12 Girls
1 Chloe Grainger
2 Matilda Harrigan
3 Cleo Beesley
4 Sage White
Under 12 Boys
1 Maverick Macgugan
2 Hayden Mee
3 Beau Hall
4 Clive Morriss
Under 14 Girls
1 Mila Grainger
2 Eve campbell
3 Olive Morriss
4 Ruby Neill
Under 14 Boys
1 Jacques Callebaut
2 Noah Kornek
3 Zeke Woollam
4 Phoenix Talbot
Under 16 Girls
1 Lucy Darragh
2 Madora Barton
3 Talia Tebb
4 Malia Barron
Under 16 Boys
1 Joey Silk
2 Ashton Crowley
3 Eli Clarke
4 Jacob Sheehan
Under 18 Girls
1 Ocea Curtis
2 Alice Hodgson
3 Mia Baker
4 Mia MacMahon
Under 18 Boys
1 Ben Zanatta
2 Lachlan Arghyros
3 Taj Air
4 Max Mcgillivray
VW State Classic 2025 - NSW Surf Masters State Titles
Open Women
1 Keira Buckpitt
2 Bonnie Hills
3 Chelsea Darling
4 Alice Mood
Open Men
1 Koda Killorn
2 Van Whiteman
3 Shane Cadden
4 Shane Carroll
O30 Women
1 Alice Mood
2 Talina Wilson
3 Brittani Nicholl
O30 Men
1 Shane Carroll
2 Kelly Mills
3 Mitchell Dawkings
4 Shane Conwell
O40 Women
1 Ellen Northey
2 Talina Wilson
3 Fiona Bamberry
4 Audrey Hills
O40 Men
1 Paul Snow
2 Matt Hoar
3 Tim Davy
4 Joel Gribble
O50 Men
1 Col Bernasconi
2 Paul Parkes
3 Dan Dignam
4 Karl Herrmann
O50/60 Women
1 Fiona Bamberry
2 Belinda Koorey
3 Tash Gee
4 Susan Levett (O60)
O55 Men
1 Scott Myers
2 Carl Musker
3 John Schmidenberg
4 Ged Cook
O60 Men
1 Dean Shaw
2 Maris Luidmanis
3 Christopher Lambert
4 Jon Hastings
O65 Men
1 Mark Gobbe
2 Stephen Cox
3 Richard Sargeson
4 Lyle Eder
VW State Classic 2025 - NSW Longboard State Titles
U18 Junior Women
1 Mahli Abbott
2 Heidi van Leest
3 Salomé Villoing
4 Freya Abbott
U18 Junior Men
1 Kobi Chau
2 Elijah Cornejo
3 Gwil Barnes
4 Max Ticknor
Open Women
1 Mahli Abbott
2 Sonorilyn Adlawan
3 Juliana Scopel
Avalon Beach surfer Blaze Angel Roberts placed 3rd in the first heats.
Open Men
1 Archy Bemrose
2 Luke Redmond
3 Tom Bennett
4 Aaron Howe
O40 Women
1 Juliana Scopel
2 Sonorilyn Adlawan
3 Talina Wilson
4 Wendy Stevenson
O40 Men
1 Ben Proudfoot
2 Stephen Barton
3 Ryan Chelman
4 Andrew Tyler
O50 Women
1 Anne Duncan
2 Sam Wilson
O50 Men
1 Jason Livingston
2 Alan Morrison
3 Marshall Duncan
4 Andrew Jackson
O55 Men
1 Jason Livingston
2 Tony Rae
3 Alan Morrison
4 Tom Bennetts
O60 Women
1 Andrea Bohm
2 Anne Duncan
3 Di Smith
4 Dimiette Walker
O60 Men
1 Tony Rae
2 Ron Galea
3 John Fraser
4 Tom Bennetts
O65 Men
1 Craig Jones
2 Renne Kocis
3 Raymond Gleave
4 John Murray
O70 Men
1 Neil Fredericksen
2 John Murray
3 Danny Bond-NSW
4 Greig Beddgood
VW State Classic 2025 - NSW SUP State Titles
Open Women
1 Skyla Rayner
2 Rebecca Dunning
Open Men
1 Wesley Fry
2 Mathew Russell
3 Blaire Moore
4 Connor Linz
O40 Women
1 Rebecca Dunning
2 Madeline Rayner
O40 Men
1 Richard Feeney
2 Mathew Russell
3 Craig Caldwell
4 Rohan Evans
5 Marty Cole
O50 Women
1 Madeline Rayner
2 Linda Gleave
3 Lesa Prowse
O50 Men
1 Andrew Cassidy
2 Danny Jeffries
3 Adam Robinson
4 Blaire Moore
O60 Men
1 Craig Caldwell
2 Drew Brown
Open Men 9ft +
1 Wesley Fry
2 Connor Linz
3 Nathan Dobbs
4 Rohan Evans
5 Richard Feeney
O50 Men 9ft +
1 Andrew Cassidy
2 Blaire Moore
3 Dean Hiscox
4 Jason Barbour
O60 Men 9ft+
1 Craig Caldwell
2 Phil Baggs
VW Classic 2025 - NSW Highs School State Titles
Senior Boys- High School (16 teams overall)
- Illawarra Sports High - Ethan Rule and Taj Air
- St Augustine's College Sydney - Aussie Kelaher and Ben Zanatta
- St Francis Xavier's College - Jye Kelly and Felix Byrnes
- Narrabeen Sports High School - Louie Ewing and Rene Galloway
Senior Girls- High School
- Illawarra Sports High
- Cronulla High
- Byron Bay High School
- McAuley Catholic College
Junior Boys- High School
- Narrabeen Sports High School - Jaggar Phillips and Eli Clarke
- Illawarra Sports High - Cruz Air and Ashton Mekisic
- Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School (2)- Jay Whitfield and Charlie Cairncross
- Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School (1) - Hunter Sutcliffe and Marvin Freeman
Junior Girls- High School
- Illawarra Sports High
- St Peters Anglican College (1)
- St Peters Anglican College (2)
- McAuley Catholic College (1)
Report: A J Guesdon - photos; Surfing NSW - some action pics below, more available via Surfing NSW's social media platforms.
