Merewether's Ryan Callinan into semi-finals on Surfest Sunday

The Advertiser

08-06-2025

Merewether's Ryan Callinan has stormed into the semi-finals of Surfest at Merewether beach on Sunday with a commanding quarter-final victory.
Callinan, the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday, set up the win over American Dimitri Poulos with two quick, high-scoring waves..
The 33-year-old goofy-footer opened with an 8.17-point ride that included several impressive manoeuvres before backing it up with a 7.33.
The Novocastrian won the quarter-final with a two-wave score of 15.50 points while Poulos (3.44) struggled to find a decent wave.
Callinan will meet the winner of the quarter-final showdown between Tahiti's Kauli Vaast and Brazilian Peterson Crisanto.
"I just got kind of lucky, in a way ... a couple of waves really lined up for me and an eight and seven to start off a heat is pretty magical," Callinan said after his quarter-final win.
"There wasn't much at the back, but just to have that feeling and to be surfing at home in front of this incredible crowd is beautiful."
Callinan is attempting to become just the second local male to win Surfest. Fellow Merewether surfer Jackson Baker achieved the feat in 2022.
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, the 2009 women's champion, is the only local woman to win at Surfest.
A large crowd is gathered at Merewether beach for the final day of the opening stop on the World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series.
"Walking down, just hearing everyone cheering, I nearly had a tear in my eye just feeling that, so I feel like I've already won the comp in that way," Callinan said.
"It's so nice to have everyone down and around and supporting, and while the waves are cooking, it's nice to surf good waves as well."
Morgan Cibilic, also from Merewether, bowed out in the round of 16.
Three-time Surfest winner Sally Fitzgibbons, from Gerroa, has lined up a semi-final exchange with Portugal's Teresa Bonvolat after both won their two-person quarter-finals on Sunday morning.
Francisco Veselko, also from Portugal, has also booked a semi-final appearance against 14-year-old Tahitian Tya Zebrowski.
Semi-finals will follow the quarters with the championship finals set to start around 2.15pm.
Surfest is the first stop on the 2025-26 World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series. It will also be the last event with another contest set for Merewether beach next March.
Upcoming men's quarter-finals: HEAT 1: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS); HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Winter Vincent (AUS); HEAT 3: Dimitri Poulos (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS), HEAT 4: Kauli Vaast (FRA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA).
Merewether pair advance in epic Surfest conditions - June 6, 2025
Home-grown pair Morgan Cibilic and Ryan Callinan lapped up pumping Merewether surf to progress to the last 16 Surfest men's competitors with a one-two finish in their heat on Friday.
Surfers were met with clean, and at times barrelling, conditions and put on a show for the crowd of Novocastrians lining the promenade between Merewether and Dixon Park beaches.
Cibilic quickly got to work in heat five, which also featured Callinan and Hawaiians Eli Hanneman and Imaikalani deVault, with high-scoring back-to-back waves.
The 25-year-old opened with a 6.17-point power-packed ride, backed it up with a 6.83 then sealed progression when he tucked into a barrel to the delight of local spectators and earned a wave score of 7.30 with seven minutes remaining.
He won the heat with a best two-wave score of 14.13 points. Callinan was second with 13.03, which included a heat-high 7.50-point ride, while deVault (8.77) and Hanneman (6.13) were eliminated.
Cibilic brought strong form into the opening event of the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS).
He was third at Bells Beach as a wildcard into the WSL top-tier Championship Tour (CT) contest and backed it up with fifth at the Gold Coast Pro as a replacement for Callinan, who sat out the CT event due to the birth of his daughter Penelope.
"It felt good," Cibilic said of Friday's heat.
"A couple of waves came towards me this heat, so I was stoked and just put it together on the waves. I felt like I didn't really oversurf them and it was enough."
The 25-year-old was mobbed by local kids on the beach after his heat and was lapping up the home-town support.
"It's epic," Cibilic said.
"It's so different to every other event. You walk two metres along the footpath and somebody is saying, 'Hey' to you, so it's unbelievable, and you come in and the froth levels are so high. It's so special.
"And, just to be able to compete here with good waves, it doesn't get much better than that."
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, however, was a round-of-32 casualty on Friday morning.
The 33-year-old surfing instructor could not buy a decent wave in her heat, which was won by teenage prodigy Eden Walla.
The 15-year-old American had the crowd in raptures with an 8.83-point tube ride to set up her heat-five win.
"I was actually dropping in and thinking about going around the section and then I thought my brother would be really mad at me, so I better just pull in," Walla said.
Walla posted a best-two-wave score of 13.10. Portugal's Franscisca Veselko (10.67) was second , Spain's Nadia Erostarbe (10.27) third and Anderson (5.30), the 2009 Surfest women's winner, fourth.
Three-time Surfest winner and veteran world tour campaigner Sally Fitzgibbons also progressed to the round of 16 with victory in heat one.
Central Coast surfer Macy Callaghan, the event's 2022 champion, failed to progress in heat four.
Former CT surfer Josh Kerr, 41 and from Tweed Heads, continued his good form by winning a tight heat two and advancing to the next round on Saturday.
Merewether's Ryan Callinan has stormed into the semi-finals of Surfest at Merewether beach on Sunday with a commanding quarter-final victory.
Callinan, the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday, set up the win over American Dimitri Poulos with two quick, high-scoring waves..
The 33-year-old goofy-footer opened with an 8.17-point ride that included several impressive manoeuvres before backing it up with a 7.33.
The Novocastrian won the quarter-final with a two-wave score of 15.50 points while Poulos (3.44) struggled to find a decent wave.
Callinan will meet the winner of the quarter-final showdown between Tahiti's Kauli Vaast and Brazilian Peterson Crisanto.
"I just got kind of lucky, in a way ... a couple of waves really lined up for me and an eight and seven to start off a heat is pretty magical," Callinan said after his quarter-final win.
"There wasn't much at the back, but just to have that feeling and to be surfing at home in front of this incredible crowd is beautiful."
Callinan is attempting to become just the second local male to win Surfest. Fellow Merewether surfer Jackson Baker achieved the feat in 2022.
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, the 2009 women's champion, is the only local woman to win at Surfest.
A large crowd is gathered at Merewether beach for the final day of the opening stop on the World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series.
"Walking down, just hearing everyone cheering, I nearly had a tear in my eye just feeling that, so I feel like I've already won the comp in that way," Callinan said.
"It's so nice to have everyone down and around and supporting, and while the waves are cooking, it's nice to surf good waves as well."
Morgan Cibilic, also from Merewether, bowed out in the round of 16.
Three-time Surfest winner Sally Fitzgibbons, from Gerroa, has lined up a semi-final exchange with Portugal's Teresa Bonvolat after both won their two-person quarter-finals on Sunday morning.
Francisco Veselko, also from Portugal, has also booked a semi-final appearance against 14-year-old Tahitian Tya Zebrowski.
Semi-finals will follow the quarters with the championship finals set to start around 2.15pm.
Surfest is the first stop on the 2025-26 World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series. It will also be the last event with another contest set for Merewether beach next March.
Upcoming men's quarter-finals: HEAT 1: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS); HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Winter Vincent (AUS); HEAT 3: Dimitri Poulos (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS), HEAT 4: Kauli Vaast (FRA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA).
Merewether pair advance in epic Surfest conditions - June 6, 2025
Home-grown pair Morgan Cibilic and Ryan Callinan lapped up pumping Merewether surf to progress to the last 16 Surfest men's competitors with a one-two finish in their heat on Friday.
Surfers were met with clean, and at times barrelling, conditions and put on a show for the crowd of Novocastrians lining the promenade between Merewether and Dixon Park beaches.
Cibilic quickly got to work in heat five, which also featured Callinan and Hawaiians Eli Hanneman and Imaikalani deVault, with high-scoring back-to-back waves.
The 25-year-old opened with a 6.17-point power-packed ride, backed it up with a 6.83 then sealed progression when he tucked into a barrel to the delight of local spectators and earned a wave score of 7.30 with seven minutes remaining.
He won the heat with a best two-wave score of 14.13 points. Callinan was second with 13.03, which included a heat-high 7.50-point ride, while deVault (8.77) and Hanneman (6.13) were eliminated.
Cibilic brought strong form into the opening event of the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS).
He was third at Bells Beach as a wildcard into the WSL top-tier Championship Tour (CT) contest and backed it up with fifth at the Gold Coast Pro as a replacement for Callinan, who sat out the CT event due to the birth of his daughter Penelope.
"It felt good," Cibilic said of Friday's heat.
"A couple of waves came towards me this heat, so I was stoked and just put it together on the waves. I felt like I didn't really oversurf them and it was enough."
The 25-year-old was mobbed by local kids on the beach after his heat and was lapping up the home-town support.
"It's epic," Cibilic said.
"It's so different to every other event. You walk two metres along the footpath and somebody is saying, 'Hey' to you, so it's unbelievable, and you come in and the froth levels are so high. It's so special.
"And, just to be able to compete here with good waves, it doesn't get much better than that."
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, however, was a round-of-32 casualty on Friday morning.
The 33-year-old surfing instructor could not buy a decent wave in her heat, which was won by teenage prodigy Eden Walla.
The 15-year-old American had the crowd in raptures with an 8.83-point tube ride to set up her heat-five win.
"I was actually dropping in and thinking about going around the section and then I thought my brother would be really mad at me, so I better just pull in," Walla said.
Walla posted a best-two-wave score of 13.10. Portugal's Franscisca Veselko (10.67) was second , Spain's Nadia Erostarbe (10.27) third and Anderson (5.30), the 2009 Surfest women's winner, fourth.
Three-time Surfest winner and veteran world tour campaigner Sally Fitzgibbons also progressed to the round of 16 with victory in heat one.
Central Coast surfer Macy Callaghan, the event's 2022 champion, failed to progress in heat four.
Former CT surfer Josh Kerr, 41 and from Tweed Heads, continued his good form by winning a tight heat two and advancing to the next round on Saturday.
Merewether's Ryan Callinan has stormed into the semi-finals of Surfest at Merewether beach on Sunday with a commanding quarter-final victory.
Callinan, the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday, set up the win over American Dimitri Poulos with two quick, high-scoring waves..
The 33-year-old goofy-footer opened with an 8.17-point ride that included several impressive manoeuvres before backing it up with a 7.33.
The Novocastrian won the quarter-final with a two-wave score of 15.50 points while Poulos (3.44) struggled to find a decent wave.
Callinan will meet the winner of the quarter-final showdown between Tahiti's Kauli Vaast and Brazilian Peterson Crisanto.
"I just got kind of lucky, in a way ... a couple of waves really lined up for me and an eight and seven to start off a heat is pretty magical," Callinan said after his quarter-final win.
"There wasn't much at the back, but just to have that feeling and to be surfing at home in front of this incredible crowd is beautiful."
Callinan is attempting to become just the second local male to win Surfest. Fellow Merewether surfer Jackson Baker achieved the feat in 2022.
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, the 2009 women's champion, is the only local woman to win at Surfest.
A large crowd is gathered at Merewether beach for the final day of the opening stop on the World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series.
"Walking down, just hearing everyone cheering, I nearly had a tear in my eye just feeling that, so I feel like I've already won the comp in that way," Callinan said.
"It's so nice to have everyone down and around and supporting, and while the waves are cooking, it's nice to surf good waves as well."
Morgan Cibilic, also from Merewether, bowed out in the round of 16.
Three-time Surfest winner Sally Fitzgibbons, from Gerroa, has lined up a semi-final exchange with Portugal's Teresa Bonvolat after both won their two-person quarter-finals on Sunday morning.
Francisco Veselko, also from Portugal, has also booked a semi-final appearance against 14-year-old Tahitian Tya Zebrowski.
Semi-finals will follow the quarters with the championship finals set to start around 2.15pm.
Surfest is the first stop on the 2025-26 World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series. It will also be the last event with another contest set for Merewether beach next March.
Upcoming men's quarter-finals: HEAT 1: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS); HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Winter Vincent (AUS); HEAT 3: Dimitri Poulos (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS), HEAT 4: Kauli Vaast (FRA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA).
Merewether pair advance in epic Surfest conditions - June 6, 2025
Home-grown pair Morgan Cibilic and Ryan Callinan lapped up pumping Merewether surf to progress to the last 16 Surfest men's competitors with a one-two finish in their heat on Friday.
Surfers were met with clean, and at times barrelling, conditions and put on a show for the crowd of Novocastrians lining the promenade between Merewether and Dixon Park beaches.
Cibilic quickly got to work in heat five, which also featured Callinan and Hawaiians Eli Hanneman and Imaikalani deVault, with high-scoring back-to-back waves.
The 25-year-old opened with a 6.17-point power-packed ride, backed it up with a 6.83 then sealed progression when he tucked into a barrel to the delight of local spectators and earned a wave score of 7.30 with seven minutes remaining.
He won the heat with a best two-wave score of 14.13 points. Callinan was second with 13.03, which included a heat-high 7.50-point ride, while deVault (8.77) and Hanneman (6.13) were eliminated.
Cibilic brought strong form into the opening event of the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS).
He was third at Bells Beach as a wildcard into the WSL top-tier Championship Tour (CT) contest and backed it up with fifth at the Gold Coast Pro as a replacement for Callinan, who sat out the CT event due to the birth of his daughter Penelope.
"It felt good," Cibilic said of Friday's heat.
"A couple of waves came towards me this heat, so I was stoked and just put it together on the waves. I felt like I didn't really oversurf them and it was enough."
The 25-year-old was mobbed by local kids on the beach after his heat and was lapping up the home-town support.
"It's epic," Cibilic said.
"It's so different to every other event. You walk two metres along the footpath and somebody is saying, 'Hey' to you, so it's unbelievable, and you come in and the froth levels are so high. It's so special.
"And, just to be able to compete here with good waves, it doesn't get much better than that."
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, however, was a round-of-32 casualty on Friday morning.
The 33-year-old surfing instructor could not buy a decent wave in her heat, which was won by teenage prodigy Eden Walla.
The 15-year-old American had the crowd in raptures with an 8.83-point tube ride to set up her heat-five win.
"I was actually dropping in and thinking about going around the section and then I thought my brother would be really mad at me, so I better just pull in," Walla said.
Walla posted a best-two-wave score of 13.10. Portugal's Franscisca Veselko (10.67) was second , Spain's Nadia Erostarbe (10.27) third and Anderson (5.30), the 2009 Surfest women's winner, fourth.
Three-time Surfest winner and veteran world tour campaigner Sally Fitzgibbons also progressed to the round of 16 with victory in heat one.
Central Coast surfer Macy Callaghan, the event's 2022 champion, failed to progress in heat four.
Former CT surfer Josh Kerr, 41 and from Tweed Heads, continued his good form by winning a tight heat two and advancing to the next round on Saturday.
Merewether's Ryan Callinan has stormed into the semi-finals of Surfest at Merewether beach on Sunday with a commanding quarter-final victory.
Callinan, the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday, set up the win over American Dimitri Poulos with two quick, high-scoring waves..
The 33-year-old goofy-footer opened with an 8.17-point ride that included several impressive manoeuvres before backing it up with a 7.33.
The Novocastrian won the quarter-final with a two-wave score of 15.50 points while Poulos (3.44) struggled to find a decent wave.
Callinan will meet the winner of the quarter-final showdown between Tahiti's Kauli Vaast and Brazilian Peterson Crisanto.
"I just got kind of lucky, in a way ... a couple of waves really lined up for me and an eight and seven to start off a heat is pretty magical," Callinan said after his quarter-final win.
"There wasn't much at the back, but just to have that feeling and to be surfing at home in front of this incredible crowd is beautiful."
Callinan is attempting to become just the second local male to win Surfest. Fellow Merewether surfer Jackson Baker achieved the feat in 2022.
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, the 2009 women's champion, is the only local woman to win at Surfest.
A large crowd is gathered at Merewether beach for the final day of the opening stop on the World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series.
"Walking down, just hearing everyone cheering, I nearly had a tear in my eye just feeling that, so I feel like I've already won the comp in that way," Callinan said.
"It's so nice to have everyone down and around and supporting, and while the waves are cooking, it's nice to surf good waves as well."
Morgan Cibilic, also from Merewether, bowed out in the round of 16.
Three-time Surfest winner Sally Fitzgibbons, from Gerroa, has lined up a semi-final exchange with Portugal's Teresa Bonvolat after both won their two-person quarter-finals on Sunday morning.
Francisco Veselko, also from Portugal, has also booked a semi-final appearance against 14-year-old Tahitian Tya Zebrowski.
Semi-finals will follow the quarters with the championship finals set to start around 2.15pm.
Surfest is the first stop on the 2025-26 World Surf League second-tier Challenger Series. It will also be the last event with another contest set for Merewether beach next March.
Upcoming men's quarter-finals: HEAT 1: Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS); HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Winter Vincent (AUS); HEAT 3: Dimitri Poulos (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS), HEAT 4: Kauli Vaast (FRA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA).
Merewether pair advance in epic Surfest conditions - June 6, 2025
Home-grown pair Morgan Cibilic and Ryan Callinan lapped up pumping Merewether surf to progress to the last 16 Surfest men's competitors with a one-two finish in their heat on Friday.
Surfers were met with clean, and at times barrelling, conditions and put on a show for the crowd of Novocastrians lining the promenade between Merewether and Dixon Park beaches.
Cibilic quickly got to work in heat five, which also featured Callinan and Hawaiians Eli Hanneman and Imaikalani deVault, with high-scoring back-to-back waves.
The 25-year-old opened with a 6.17-point power-packed ride, backed it up with a 6.83 then sealed progression when he tucked into a barrel to the delight of local spectators and earned a wave score of 7.30 with seven minutes remaining.
He won the heat with a best two-wave score of 14.13 points. Callinan was second with 13.03, which included a heat-high 7.50-point ride, while deVault (8.77) and Hanneman (6.13) were eliminated.
Cibilic brought strong form into the opening event of the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS).
He was third at Bells Beach as a wildcard into the WSL top-tier Championship Tour (CT) contest and backed it up with fifth at the Gold Coast Pro as a replacement for Callinan, who sat out the CT event due to the birth of his daughter Penelope.
"It felt good," Cibilic said of Friday's heat.
"A couple of waves came towards me this heat, so I was stoked and just put it together on the waves. I felt like I didn't really oversurf them and it was enough."
The 25-year-old was mobbed by local kids on the beach after his heat and was lapping up the home-town support.
"It's epic," Cibilic said.
"It's so different to every other event. You walk two metres along the footpath and somebody is saying, 'Hey' to you, so it's unbelievable, and you come in and the froth levels are so high. It's so special.
"And, just to be able to compete here with good waves, it doesn't get much better than that."
Merewether's Philippa Anderson, however, was a round-of-32 casualty on Friday morning.
The 33-year-old surfing instructor could not buy a decent wave in her heat, which was won by teenage prodigy Eden Walla.
The 15-year-old American had the crowd in raptures with an 8.83-point tube ride to set up her heat-five win.
"I was actually dropping in and thinking about going around the section and then I thought my brother would be really mad at me, so I better just pull in," Walla said.
Walla posted a best-two-wave score of 13.10. Portugal's Franscisca Veselko (10.67) was second , Spain's Nadia Erostarbe (10.27) third and Anderson (5.30), the 2009 Surfest women's winner, fourth.
Three-time Surfest winner and veteran world tour campaigner Sally Fitzgibbons also progressed to the round of 16 with victory in heat one.
Central Coast surfer Macy Callaghan, the event's 2022 champion, failed to progress in heat four.
Former CT surfer Josh Kerr, 41 and from Tweed Heads, continued his good form by winning a tight heat two and advancing to the next round on Saturday.