Hi All,

The Western districts competition was planned for the weekend of the 20th-21st January. This has been moved to the weekend of 26th-28th Jan. We don't think organising accommodation for that weekend should be an issue if you book soon.
As usual, the 1st day will count towards the SFD aggregate and the combination of both days scores will contribute to the Western Districts Title.

We will post further information closer to the date.

The Southern Freedivers is an AUF Club. Should not be running a Comp over the Nationals - no respect.

They should not run the nationals on the traditional date of the western districts. The nationals will be a joke anyway. The best divers won't win... only the best divers who show up.

As far as I’m aware, the AUF were notified of this comp BEFORE the National dates were set, yet still decided to run it over the same weekend anyways???? Silly time to run a nationals anyways $$$$$$$$

Paul the recent change to the dates for western district were an error on the calender.

1) I confirmed with Riddler back in July/Aug when SCS were disbanding that he would continue to run/host the WD on the Australia day weekend. Regardless of the National dates as brett pointed out this has been the traditional weekend. You can go back as far as 2007 on the forum to see that.

Andrew only picked up on the error recently on the calender thus the reason for us letting everyone know that the calender was wrong.

2) Of the few vic members that regularly attend nationals that ive spoken with. Most dont see a conflict and are not choosing one comp over another. Instead most have work or family commitments or cannot afford the costs involved.

3) Lastly the SFD has always supported the AUF and has encouraged at our meetings and on social media for our vic members to attend nationals on numerous occassions. Further to this i as well as other members have discussed at length with Adrian the vic attendance.

_________________
Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnsjOA1G3wE&sns=em

love a good old fashioned forum stoush! Been way too long...

_________________
bluedevilspear@hotmail.com

It’s always hard to keep the non members happy!

2-1 Petersen!!

_________________
bluedevilspear@hotmail.com

Hi All,

This coming long weekend (26-28th) we are planning to run the Western District comp and is held in Port Fairy and is a 2 day shore based comp.
The 2 days with the best conditions will be chosen out of the 3 available days for the comp.
As usual, the first competition day will count towards the Southern Freedivers club aggregate and the combined scores from both days will go towards the Western Districts trophy.

Please note, there is also a perpetual trophy for the heaviest King George Whiting. This and other Western Districts trophies will be awarded at the Southern Freedivers presentation night that is held at the end of the competition season.

Please inquire about accommodation soon, as it may be busy during the Australia Day long weekend. Historically a lot of divers stay at the Southcombe caravan park, but there are other options around town.

At this early stage the forecast looks good for Friday and Saturday, however the final call will be made on Wednesday night and will be posted on in this thread on the forum and on the Facebook page.

Look forward to seeing you all there!

Hi All,

The Western Districts competition has been called ON for this weekend. The nominated days for the competition are Saturday (27th) and Sunday (28th).
The Saturday will count towards the Southern Freedivers aggregate.

The meeting place for both days is IN the carpark across the road from the Southcombe caravan park, as marked with the red star on the below image.
We will then drive to the dive site from there.

Google Maps dropped pin

Sign on for this comp commences at 8:00am will finish at 8.30am.
Please bring your entry forms filled out with the correct money ( $15 per day and $5 Junior per day). (Forms from me will be $5 each).
If you will be using a handspear only please note this on the sign on sheet.

Safety equipment checks will be performed, Floats and flags all as per comp rules.
If you haven't already done so, please ensure you have signed up to the AUF (and select Southern Freedivers as the club).

Look forward to seeing you all there!

yewww

_________________
hunt it,kill it,eat it!!!!

Hi All,

We held the Western Districts 2 day competition over the weekend, where most of the divers headed down to Port Fairy on Thursday night after work. The Saturday and Sunday were chosen for the competition days due to the weather forecast for wind on the Friday. A few still got out for a social dive on the Friday, but the wind prevented anyone staying in the water for too long.
Pete organised with the owner of the Ab farm for us to go through and dive the bays in front (note: This is private property and should not be accessed without permission). 15 divers signed on and most stayed in the bays due to the big swell out the back. There were some good fish seen and the usual species were taken. Some good KGW were also seen and while some were able to land them, the fish proved too flighty for others. Some good fish weighed in were whiting 705gm (Dean Riddle), Bearded Rock Cod 1440gm (Mac Riddle), 580gm Bream (James Beckman), a 565gm Snapper (Alan Fitzy) and Garfish to 27.5cm (Mac Riddle)



Most of us caught up for dinner that night, but we didn't make it a big night like previous years. (I learnt my lesson from last year hehe)

Day 2 was forecast for lower swell and lower wind, so we headed to Grifith Island. 6 competitors signed on and we all agreed to have a 5 hour comp. There were a few social divers that joined in on the fun also. The calm conditions and good visibility made it for a cracker dive. There was no current so a few of us went outside past the breakers and enjoyed visibility upto 12 or so meters and it felt like diving in a lake. In close the visibility was even better with upto 20m in places. There were good numbers of fish and although there weren't as many whiting as the first day, there biggest of the weekend was taken. The standout fish weighed in were a 490gm Squid (Mac Riddle), 440gm Trevally (Scott Kelly), 620gm Boarfish (Stoj Pavlovski) and the biggest whiting at 935gm (Blake Riddle).



See below for the scores.
Please note the first day counts towards Southern Freedivers club aggregate.

Day 1 Scores

Pete Riddle (10 fish) 1146.25 pts 100%
Mac Riddle (9 fish) 1013.3 pts 88.4%
Dean Riddle (8 fish) 905.75 pts 79.02% (non-member)
Odie Charles (7 fish) 745.8 pts 65.06%
James Beckman (6 fish) 687.85 pts 60.01%
Geoff Gannon (6 fish) 687.75 pts 60%
Blake Riddle (6 fish) 657.45 pts 57.36% Jnr (non-member)
Scott Kelly (5 fish) 579.25 pts 50.53%
Alan Fitzy (4 fish) 452.55 pts 39.48%
Stoj Pavlovski (4 fish) 426.15 pts 37.18%
Brendan Waller (4 fish) 426.05 pts 37.17%
Scott Walker (2 fish) 214.5 pts 18.71%
Jess Hough (2 fish) 212.6 pts 18.55%
Tim Fitzpatrick (1 fish) 108.1 pts 9.43%
Cameron Fitzpatrick (1 fish) 107 pts 9.33% Jnr


Day 2 Scores

Mac Riddle (11 fish) 1227.45 pts 100%
Scott Kelly (9 fish) 1024 pts 83.42%
Pete Riddle (9 fish) 960.95 pts 78.29%
Blake Riddle (8 fish) 884.85 pts 72.09% Jnr
Stoj Pavlovski (8 fish) 881.85 pts 71.84%
Dean Riddle (8 fish) 869.75 pts 70.86%


Overall Competition scores

Mac Riddle 1013.3 pts + 1227.45 pts = 2240.75 pts
Pete Riddle 1146.25 pts + 960.95 pts = 2107.2 pts
Dean Riddle 905.75 pts + 869.75 pts = 1775.5 pts
Scott Kelly 579.25 pts + 1024 pts = 1603.25 pts
Blake Riddle 657.45 pts + 884.85 pts = 1542.3 pts
Stoj Pavlovski 426.15 pts + 881.85 pts = 1308 pts
Odie Charles 745.8 pts
James Beckman 687.85 pts
Geoff Gannon 687.75 pts
Alan Fitzy 452.55 pts
Brendan Waller 426.05 pts
Scott Walker 214.5 pts
Jess Hough 212.6 pts
Tim Fitzpatrick 108.1 pts
Cameron Fitzpatrick 107 pts

Well done to Mac Riddle for winning the Western Districts competition and to Blake Riddle for the heaviest Whiting.

Thanks to everyone that attended and a big thanks to Pete and Tanya Riddle for organizing everything for the competition!