Younger Parkinson takes win

ANOTHER Parkinson from the Gold Coast has grabbed the surfing spotlight after winning the So Sri Lanka Pro at the classic wave known as A-Bay on the island country’s southeast coastline.

But it wasn’t former world champion Joel Parkinson who took the glory at the weekend.

Rather, his younger cousin Mitch stole the show with a great victory and some massive scores.

Mitch Parkinson posted two perfect 10 rides during the event, including his opening 10-point effort in the final. All his rides included massive aerial moves, a specialty of his.

Mitch Parkinson displays the same smooth surfing style as his more famous cousin, with the genetic similarities extending through to Mitch’s father Daryl, who was a stylish professional surfer in the 1980s.

Regardless of Mitch Parkinson’s win, his second at the QS3000 level, I’m not convinced we’ll see him at the elite CT level any time soon.

He’s a happy-go-lucky character more suited to the quality second-tier events around the world. He struggles with the pressure-cooker environment at the high end of the scale and quite possibly the training commitment required to challenge at that level.

The event in Sri Lanka proved a huge success and for the first time included surfers from India and Malaysia.

India is an interesting case, with reports of lots of perfect point breaks on both its east and west coasts, along with a host of emerging youngsters taking to the sport.

A few Indian surfers at the event in Sri Lanka progressed through the early rounds, and while it’s hard to see an Indian surfer winning a WSL event in the next few years, a bit further down the track, in say five years, anything is possible. Four-day surf forecast: Good weather, good winds and good waves. Spring can be great and with the water noticeably warming, all days ahead should be good with small to moderate clean swells suiting reefs and beaches right along the Surf Coast accompanied by excellent clean winds.

Good surfing.