BIG SCORES AND BIG TURNS CONTINUE ON DAY TWO OF THE VISSLA GREAT LAKES PRO PRES. BY D’BLANC.

**ABOVE**: Central Coast native and 2016 WSL Australasian Qualifying Series champion Shane Holmes made his intentions clear when he demolished his round two heat, posting a giant 18.35 two-wave heat total, the highest of the event so far.

**IMAGE CREDITS:** Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW

BOOMERANG BEACH, GREAT LAKES (Thursday, 8 February 2018): Big turns and big scores were the order of the day at the Vissla Great Lakes Pro pres. by D'Blanc as competition mowed through its second day.

As a previous event champion - taking out the Vissla Great Lakes Pro back in 2016 - Holly Wawn (Newport, NSW) showed she still possessed the skills to post impressive heat wins, taking out her opening heat. Wawn found a handful of little left handers over the duration of the heat, to notch up a respectable 13.25 two-wave heat total and lock in a second round berth.

“It’s always a nice feeling to get the first heat out of the way,” said Wawn. “There were a few fun little rights out there and while they didn’t have an insane amount of power, they were still fun. I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Having been in Australia since the World Junior Championship in January, South African Ford Van Jaarsveldt, has taken a liking to the punchy east coast beach breaks. Van Jaarsveldt made a solid impression in the second round when he performed an array of frontside snaps, carves and aerials to post a decent 14.25 two-wave heat total and take the heat out.

“I’m pretty stoked to get that win. I had a pretty tough loss when I was in the Carve Pro in Maroubra, so it felt good to turn it around,” said Van Jaarsveldt. “I've just been loving my time in Australia and how nice the water is. I live in Cape Town and the water is usually freezing, so it feels good to compete in the warmth and the fun wave."

Fresh off a runner-up finish at the recent Mothernest Tweed Coast Pro, Luke Hynd (Gold Coast, Qld) carried the same confidence into the second round at Boomerang today. Hynd synced his backhand attack with the playful right-handers on offer to post a series of solid scores, which allowed him to take out the heat with a 14.40 heat total.

“You’re only as good as your last heat, so I knew I needed to get another heat win under my belt,” said Hynd. “My gameplan was to just catch two sets and make sure they counted and thankfully it worked. My boards feel great at the moment so it’s filled me with a bit of confidence. Hopefully I can keep the ball rolling.”

Central Coast native and 2016 WSL Australasian Qualifying Series champion Shane Holmes made his intentions clear when he demolished his round two heat, posting a giant 18.35 two-wave heat total, the highest of the event so far. Holmes' score consisted of two excellent scoring waves (eight and above), including a near-perfect 9.60 for a combination of giant snaps and carves. Holmes will now meet Timothee Bisso (FRA), Kyuss King (Byron Bay, NSW) and Toy Tanaka (JPN) in the third round.

“That felt really good,” said Holmes. “I spent a solid chunk of 2017 injured so it’s a really nice feeling to get back into the rhythm of surfing heats again. The right-handers out there were actually really fun, so hopefully, they continue over the next day or so.”

The Vissla Great Lakes Pro pres. by D'Blanc will commence each day from 7:30 am with the call for the day's schedule and location confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45 am. The event hotline number is **0458 247 212** which will leave a voice recorded message each morning of the event.

Here's some more awesome Vissla events coming up:

**Vissla Sydney Surf Pro**, Manly Beach February 24th – March 4th, 2018

**Vissla Central Coast Pro pres. by Slimes**, Avoca Beach March 7th – 11th, 2018

The Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series was developed for Australian and international surfers to gain ranking points and prize money on the WSL Qualifying Series. The Series also creates a NSW coastal road trip for all to explore the variety of waves, visit local communities and enjoy NSW surfing culture.

More information on accommodation and the event series will be housed at nswprosurfseries.com

The 2018 NSW Pro Surf Series will be not only proudly supported by Vissla but also the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The series will also be proudly supported by Randwick City Council, Central Coast Council, Destination Tweed, Mid Coast Council and Tourism, NBN, Toyota, Coastalwatch, World Surf League and Surfing NSW. #visslanswprosurfseries