Best surfers converge on Kiama

With 10 titles up for grabs, the best 200 surfers in the state are converging on Kiama for the NSW Open Surfmasters Titles this week. Heading the line-up will be national champion Dane Atcheson (Copacabana), ex-ASP World Tour surfer Toby Martin (Dee Why) and Brett Bannister (North Narrabeen). Leading the Illawarra and South Coast charge will be ISA world junior champion Dean Bowen (Gerroa), ASP Australasian pro junior standouts Ty Watson (Currarong) and Tim Bilmon (Thirroul) and Illawarra champion Nick Squiers (North Wollongong) in the open men's division.Skye Burgess (Lake Heights) and Yvonne Byron (Bulli) contest the female open and over 28 divisions. Competitors will fight it out for a berth at the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival next month. According to Surfing NSW CEO Mark Windon, the showcase of surfing talent at Kiama will be world-class."The NSW Surfmasters will feature the state's best male and female age surfers congregating in Kiama for what should be four days of extremely fierce competition," he said."The standard of surfing will be through the roof, with several world and Australian champions on show."