A Solent sports journalism student has finished sixth overall in the World Ocean Series after a dramatic, weather-hit final weekend in Australia.
Competing for North Burleigh Surf Life Saving Club, Piran Phillips went into the final event of the global surf lifesaving league sitting second in the standings — the same position he held heading into last season’s finale.
“It’s very competitive — in the field there are probably around 10 Olympians racing,” Phillips said. “Gold medallists compete as well. Every year is competitive.”
The World Ocean Series operates like Formula 1 on water, with athletes building points across 20 races staged worldwide. This season’s calendar included events on Australia’s Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Adelaide, as well as Hossegor in France, Cornwall, New Zealand and Poland.
Phillips led the overall standings from July through to October and remained top of the table until January. His campaign featured standout performances of first place in Hossegor and second-place finishes in both Cornwall and Adelaide.
With more than 500 athletes competing across the year, Phillips was in genuine contention to become one of the few non-Australian or New Zealander athletes to win the title outright.
But the final weekend on the Gold Coast brought extreme conditions.
“It was like monsoon or cyclone levels,” he said. “Pouring down with rain and about 30km/h winds, I definitely didn’t pack for that type of weather.”
After entering the finale still in contention, Phillips’ position fluctuated sharply in the deciding race, ultimately finishing 19th in the final wave — dropping him to sixth overall in the standings.
“Variables like weather can affect performance and it did for me unfortunately,” he admitted.
“Got to the Apex Buoy in the quarter-final then suddenly a wave the size of a house landed on top of me, I had to grab my handles and roll under the wave with the surf ski!”
Financially supported by Frank Developments (a property developer based in Newstead, Australia) and Solent University, Phillips has now gone into the final weekend in second place for two consecutive seasons.
Next year will see a new race in Warnemünde, Germany, while the UK event will open the season in June.
His target for 2026 is clear: “Win it all next season, I need to be the first winner that’s not from Australia or New Zealand”.
