WHILE the host club's Sam Hamilton won a place in the elite series, the Cudgen contingent was less fortunate in the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman trials at Tugun at the weekend.

Finishing 12th in his series debut last season, Hamilton qualified fifth (of eight qualifiers) for the 2010-11 series.

Matt Poole won the qualifying event while Wes Berg, Dylan Newbiggin, Alex Tibbits, Josh Minogue, Mitch Miller and Mark Simpson also sealed their places in the series proper.

However, the Cudgen duo of Jarrod Cain and Rohan Small found the 1.5 metre waves dumping on the sandbank difficult to negotiate.

After finishing outside the top 20, the pair must now hope to receive one of six potential wildcards if they are to figure in this year's series.

The qualifiers will join reigning champion Shannon Eckstein, 2009-10 runner-up Hugh Dougherty. Others to automatically qualify for the series proper were Ky Hurst, Corey Jones, Ali Day and Rhys Drury.

Sunshine Coast teenager Jordan Mercer ensured her famous surname will again grace the sands of professional ironman racing after she was one of 10 female qualifiers for this year's series.

Daughter of Darren and niece of Dean, 16-year-old Mercer finished eighth behind Harriet Brown, Bonnie Hancock, Gemma Newbiggin, Amy Nurthen, Rebecca Creedy, Brodie Moir and Miranda Davies, and ahead of Alyce Bennett and Terri Sullivan in a hotly-contested final.

They will line up alongside Alicia Marriott, Elizabeth Pluimers, Naomi Flood, Kristyl Smith, Hayley Bateup (if fit) and Courtney Hancock when the series proper begins at Currumbin on November 21.