Tuesday, March 3, 2009
News
Beginning a Life in Australia Welcome to Victoria English May 2008
Geelong City second to none Community spirit and a sparkling waterfront define Geelong for Liz Cincotta….It's that spirit that makes this city on the shores of Corio Bay tick, whatever time of year. The soul of Geelong is evident from the helpful volunteers at information centres, to the guides at the city's many museums and landmarks, and affable staff in the shopping precincts of Ryrie, Malop, Moorabool and Yarra Streets.
Victoria Skilled Sponsored Subclass 886 Visa Elibibility List for Graduates Migration Occupations under the Skilled - Sponsor. This list is intended for eleigible international students and graduates to take advantage of the career and lifestyle opportunitiesVictoria has to offer. State sponsorship is a free service and you can stay in Australia while your visa application is being processed.
Skill shortages in Victoria including regional andf state wide: Engineers, Accountants, Registered Nurses all types including "Managers", Health Specialists, Secondary Teachers including: Technical Manual Arts Studies, Physics and Mathematics, Electric or Electronic Trades, most Construction Trades, Food Trades.
Holmesglen TAFE Melbourne has new MODL related courses commencing 2009, Cetificate III General Construction in Wall & Floor Tiling, Wall & Ceiling Lining and Solid Plastering with Certifricate IV Construction (Building). If you apply through AIEC the AUD250 application fee does not apply.
Dr (Nick) Cave is a law unto himself FANS take note: from now on, it's Dr Cave. In a small meeting room at Monash University's Clayton campus yesterday a handful of Nick Cave's nearest and dearest gathered around a rectangular boardroom table as the self-confessed art school drop-out became Dr Nicholas Edward Cave.
News
Adam Zervas became the first person to stand up paddle surf the Cribbar reef in Newquay, when he took on the notorious big wave spot during a monster swell in January.
The stand up paddle surfer took on huge waves, more than double overhead, for this surfing feat. Adam, who has been surfing for quarter of a century, has had his eye on the Cribbar since he took up the paddle last year.
“With a paddle, it is much easier to get into big waves like the Cribbar,” explained Zervas. “Conditions weren’t great but it was very exhilarating. It was just a big drop really.”
The Newquay surfer has become passionate about this new sport, which is gaining popularity around the world. In November he visited Hawaii, where he was invited to take part in the Waterman's Day at Makaha.
He was there as a guest of legendary surfers Brain Keaulana and Todd Bradley, who are also sponsored by C4 Waterman.
While there, Zervas experienced some very big waves as the biggest swell in years struck Hawaii. He entered a contest where the world’s best stand up paddle surfers competed on a point break with 30ft faces.
He said: “It was awesome to compete alongside people like Brain Keaulana, Tom Carroll, Bonga Perkins and Nolan Keaulana in these conditions.”
A few days later at Makaha, the Cornwall based surfer witnessed someone stand up paddle board into a wave with a 40 to 50ft face.
Now back on home surf, Zervas will keep practicing and hopes to tackle the Cribbar again the next time it gets big enough.
Masters of the surf
Navy surfers ruled the waves at the 2006 Tri-Service Surfing Championships held at Bendalong Beach, north of Ulladulla, during March 28-30.
Navy surfers wiped out their rivals from Army and Air Force, winning the overall title with 224 points, ahead of Army on 186 and RAAF 114.
AB Jordan Dank claimed the men’s shortboard title, AB Tricia Muller won the women’s equivalent and LCDR Steve Johnson was first in the men’s longboard competition.
AB Dank, an ATV at 723 SQN at HMAS Albatross (CAPT G.I. Ferguson), blitzed his rivals with flashy re-entries and off-the-lip board-manoeuvres.
“I’m pretty happy with the win because I have been surfing for 15 years and only gave up competing professionally when I entered the Navy in 2001,” he told Navy News.
AB Dank said he has seen almost every surfing movie ever made, including surf scenes in Apocalypse Now, and jokingly attributed his victory to the fact that “Diggers don’t surf!”
The carnival, noted for some controversy and mid-water spectators, was held in solid two-to-three-metre waves at Bendalong Beach.
Cyclonic conditions in the north generated a powerful swell for the first two days of competition, resulting in some difficult surfing conditions, extending heats to 25 minutes and testing the fitness of surfers.
The longboarders were fortunate that the swell was large enough to get into the Bendalong boat ramp, which rarely breaks.
The ramp provided perfect two-to-three-foot right-handers that peeled up to 75 metres offshore, a stark contrast to the beach on the southern side of the headland where the shortboarders were battling it in very random conditions.
After catching a wave, the shortboard surfers were forced to run all the way back up the beach and paddle out off the point.
Shark-girl Bethany tears it up
INSPIRATIONAL American surfer Bethany Hamilton is training on the Gold Coast as she chases her dream of competing in the world championship.
Hamilton, whose left arm was bitten off by a 3.5m tiger shark in 2003, tore into the 2m swell at Burleigh yesterday.
Gliding across the waves with style, the 17-year-old passed as a local before being spotted by a Bulletin photographer.
Hamilton is preparing for the Roxy Surf Festival at Phillip Island in Victoria later this month, an event on the ASP World Qualifying Series and a stepping stone to the top level ASP Women's World Tour.
She is currently ranked 41 and hopes to improve to 30 by the end of the season.
At just 13, the young Hawaiian was a US teenage surfing sensation -- but she was attacked while surfing in Hawaii.
A friend's father and her brother helped her paddle to shore safely, fashioning a tourniquet out of a surf leash below her shoulder.
If the shark had bitten 5cm further in, the attack would have been fatal.
Not one to let the devastating attack get in the way of her dreams, Bethany was back on the board within a week of her stitches being removed, just 10 weeks after the attack.
After teaching herself how to surf again with one arm, Hamilton made the finals of a top surfing competition three months later.
Then in January last year the shark attack survivor emerged as a genuine threat against top-seed surfers Stephanie Gilmore and European champion Alize Arnaud at last year's Roxy Surf Festival, clocking a combined score of 15.5 out of a possible 20.
Speaking not long after her recovery, Hamilton said the trickiest part of surfing with one arm was 'getting up and paddling'.
"For instance, say you're trying to do a push-up and you only have one arm, push-ups are hard with one arm," she said.
"Getting up on a board is kind of like that and try swimming with one arm, you'll go half the speed."
Since her miraculous recovery and return to her passion for surfing, Hamilton has become an inspiration to teens the world over.
In 2004, the devout Christian wrote her first book on the ordeal titled, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.
The book was written to encourage teenagers to 'tackle any obstacles in their lives'. It is being turned into a movie.
Swansea and Gower surf weekend for Women only 4th and 5th of April
The weekend will aimed at beginner surfers up to intermediate level, come along by yourself or with a group all are welcome.
The weekend will include a talk on 'what surfboard should I buy?' and surfing coaches will be available to give other valuable tips to help progress your surfing.
You can choose to do a day's surfing or both days, up to you.
We provide all the equipment needed.
A days surfing (Indoors and Outdoors) £50
Two days surfing (Indoors and Outdoors) £80
Hotel rooms start from £40 p.p including breakfast and use of health suite.
ASP Top 17 Prepare for Explosive Showdown at Roxy Pro Gold Coast
The start to the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour is less than two weeks from commencing and the world’s best surfers are gearing up for an assault on one of the world’s best waves, Snapper Rocks, host of the 2009 Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile.
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, reigning and two-time ASP Women’s World Champion, will return to the singlet once again in 2009, looking to collect her third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title.
“Second time around, the title has definitely sunk in quicker and having experienced the process that follows winning a world title this time last year, I’ve really been able to enjoy the attention, rather than be overwhelmed,” Gilmore said. “This season feels great. After the celebrations settled down mid-January, everything is now completely fresh and I’m really utilizing my time at home to get stuck into some training and surfing the Snapper and D’Bah as much as possible.”
Despite possessing a wealth of local experience at her homebreak of Snapper Rocks, Gilmore’s track record at the opening event of the year has been less than stellar since claiming victory as a wildcard in 2005.
“Having bad results here the last two years hasn’t ever affected my year-end result so I’m quite at ease with the first event,” Gilmore said. “However, in saying that, not having done well here since 2005, I’m really going to push myself to be on top of my preparation and equipment, carrying nothing less than a win in my mind.”
Absent from this year’s competition will be former seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, who announced her retirement from full-time competition at the end of last season. Even without the threat of a well-rounded veteran such as Beachley, Gilmore confesses that 2009’s rookie class will bring challenges of their own.
“I feel about 40-years older than the new rookies (haha),” Gilmore said. “But I think all the girls will put on some great performances at Snapper and create some exciting new rivalries within the tour. I think Sally Fitzgibbons will have a very mature, well-rounded approach to her rookie year. Coco Ho and Alana Blanchard will bring some upsets as well.”
Gilmore will face Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 22, and the winner of the Roxy Pro Trials in Round 1 of competition when the Roxy Pro Gold Coast commences.
Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 25, defending Roxy Pro Gold Coast Champion and current ASP World No. 3, is excited to return to the Gold Coast and aims for a repeat performance to kick off her 2009 ASP Women’s World Title campaign.
“The gold coast is such a cool place and the waves there are super fun,” Mulanovich said. “It is for sure really important to start the year with a good result so I hope for a good result at Snapper.”
Mulanovich, who claimed her historic ASP Women’s World Title in 2004, has been a consistent Top 5 finisher ever since, but has yet to reclaim her place at the top of the ASP Top 17.
“Well, my goal is always the ASP Women’s World Title, but it just keeps getting harder and harder with the new talent on tour,” Mulanovich said. “I have been just surfing lots and I hope to have a good year full of achievements and fun.”
Mulanovich will face former ASP Women’s World Champion Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 25, and 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Coco Ho (HAW), 18, in Round 1 of competition when the Roxy Pro Gold Coast commences.
The Roxy Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Mobile will be webcast LIVE via www.roxypro.com.au
The event will incorporate the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Mobile, the opening event of the 2009 ASP World Tour.
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
Roxy Pro Gold Coast Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL)
Heat 2: Amee Donohoe (AUS), Jacqueline Silva (BRA), Alana Blanchard (HAW)
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), TBA
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Megan Abubo (HAW)
Heat 5: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Coco Ho (HAW)
Heat 6: Melanie Bartels (HAW), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
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