Maz Quinn, image courtesey NZ Surfing Magazine 

Hyundai National Surfing Championships 2006

Surfing New Zealand
Pines, Ahipara Northland
7 - 14 January 2006

KEREOPA-QUINN SHOWDOWN STILL ON TRACK

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 11 January, 2006 : - - The insane waves of yesterday turned somewhat tame today as competitors in the 2006 Hyundai National Championships had to battle with an inconsistent swell that was on the decrease.  The smaller 0.5-1.0m waves didn’t stop the Open Men’s Division from keeping the pace hot with the final six surfers being determined. 

Daniel Kereopa (Rag) kicked things off leading his heat throughout the 20 minutes as did Maz Quinn (Quinn).  In a career best result, 19 year old Luke Hughes of Raglan also made the most of the waves picking off two excellent rides to win his heat.  Kereopa and Quinn were convincing in their performances showing some brilliant flare along with world class talent that they possess.  Hughes’ backhand surfing which has been crafted from the long left handers of Raglan clearly impressed all including himself and he heads into the semi finals as the youngest competitor remaining. 

Also progressing through was Issac Petterson (Tara) who has cruised through the stacked field of surfers relatively unchecked to find himself sitting in the final six with the underdog tag and happily so.  On the comeback trail Dane Simpson (Gis) continued his run of form with some lightning fast turns and Damon Gunness also of Gisborne managed to progress in second place and find himself in familiar territory amongst the elite of the Open Men’s Division. 

Swell predictions suggest no significant swell on the horizon but with three days remaining in the event, organisers will look to hold the prestigious Open Men’s Division in the best possible conditions. 

Daniel Kereopa , image courtesey NZ Surfing Magazine

The Hyundai Open Longboard scored the best waves of the day earlier in the morning with Michael Fitzharris (Gis) again dominating the division, one that in recent years he seems to have ‘owned’ winning six titles in the last ten years.  Fitzharris scored 17.70 including one 9.0 point ride.  Fitzharris’ biggest rival in recent times, Kelly Ryan (Gis) was kept at bay in second place by Daniel Kereopa (Rag) who won his second heat in a row.  Wellsford’s Tony Baker won his heat over Emmanuele Lai (Piha) and Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) won out over Matt Gillespe (Auck) in the closest heat of the round eliminating Daniel Procter (Gis) and Paul Culpan (Auck) with only 0.25 points separating first through third. 

Please see below for the results of several other divisions that were contested throughout the day.  The decreasing swell is likely to lead competitors back to the Bluff along Ninety Mile Beach.  Almost all divisions have been contested up to the semi finals.  The event concludes on Saturday with the finals of the majority of events.

Below are all of the results from Day 5 at the Hyundai National Surfing Championships.

Hyundai Open Men’s Quarter Finals 

Heat one
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 1, Issac Petterson (Tara), 2, Nat Parsons (Kaik), 3, Ben Kennings (WGM), 4 

Heat two
Maz Quinn (Gis), 1, Dane Simpson (Gis), 2, Luke Cederman (Rag), 3, Mark Dovey (Mnt), 4 

Heat three
Luke Hughes (Rag), 1, Damon Gunness (Gis), 2, Jarrod Hancox (Tara), 3, Leon Santorik (Rag), 4

Hyundai Open Men’s Semi Finals (To be surfed) 

Heat one
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), Dane Simpson (Gis), Issac Petterson (Tara)

Heat two
Luke Hughes (Rag), Maz Quinn (Gis), Damon Gunness (Gis)

Hyundai Open Longboard Quarter Finals  

Heat one
Michael Fitzharris, (Gis), 1, David Ivory (Mgwhai), 2, David Storck (Piha), 3, Roger Lyell (Whan), 4

Heat two
Tony Baker (Wellsford), 1, Emanuele Lai (Auck), 2, Phil Morris (Auck), 3, Jay Reeves (Mnt), 4

Heat three
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 1, Kelly Ryan (Gis), 2, Mathew Cockayne, 3 (Mang),  Brendon Young (Hbay), 4

Heat four
Thomas Kibblewhite (Akl), 1, Matt Gillespie (Akl), 2, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 3, Paul Culpan (Akl), 4

Hyundai Open Longboard Semi Finals (To be surfed)  

Heat one
Michael Fitzharris, (Gis), David Ivory (Mgwhai), Tony Baker (Wellsford), Emanuele Lai (Auck) 

Heat two
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), Kelly Ryan (Gis), Thomas Kibblewhite (Akl), Matt Gillespie (Akl)

Under 16 Boys Quarter Finals 

Heat one
Ryan Hawker (Piha) 1, Braedon Williams (Whmata) 2, Alex Dive (Tga) 3, Todd Hale (Kait) 4  

Heat two
Oliver Bone (Sandy Bay) 1, Stefan White (Whmata) 2, Adam Cranston (Gis) 3, Tane Wallis (Piha) 4 

Heat three
Keone Campbell (Tara) 1, Ryan Heath (WGM),  2, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 3, Mathis Smith (Tara), 4 

Heat four
Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 1, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 2, Matthew Hewitt (Mnt) 3, Karne Pitcher, (Whmata), 4

Under 16 Boys Semi Finals (To be surfed) 

Heat one
Ryan Hawker (Piha), Braedon Williams (Whmata), Oliver Bone (Sandy Bay), Stefan White (Whmata) 

Heat two
Keone Campbell (Tara), Ryan Heath (WGM), Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), Johnny Hicks (Gis) 

Senior Over 28 Round 1 

Heat one
Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 1, Ben Kennings (WGM), 2, Tui Eves (Whan), 3, Derek Tanser (HB), 4 

Heat two
Dean Hishon (Rag), 1, 2, Steve Thompson (Whan), 3, Roger Lyell (Whan), 4 

Heat three
Matt Hishon (Rag), 1, Mark Dovey (Mnt), 2, Nick Ngau Chun (Piha), 3, Jason Woods (Kait), 4

Senior Over 28 Semi Finals (To be surfed) 

Heat one
Geoff Hutchison (Rag), Scott Casey (Auck), Ben Kennings (WGM),  

Heat two
Matt Hishon (Rag), Dean Hishon (Rag), Mark Dovey (Mnt) 

Masters 35+ Semi Finals 

Heat one
Seth Matthews (Tara), 1, Shawn Collier (Gis), 2, Derek Tanser (HB), 3, Clinton Ashill (Whan), n/s 

Heat two
Rick Lasch (Auck), 1, Billy Hale (Kait), 2, Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 3, Glenn Shuker (Chch), 4

Masters 35+ Finals (To be surfed) 

Seth Matthews (Tara), Shawn Collier (Gis), Rick Lasch (Auck), Billy Hale (Kait) 

Veterans 40+ Semi Finals (Yet to be surfed) 

Heat one
Billy Hale (Kait), 2, Doug Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), 3, Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 4, Teddy Colbert (Gis), 1

Heat two
Rod Welch (Gis), 1, Seth Matthews (Tara) 2, Glenn Shuker (ChCh), 3, Phill Wallis (Piha), 

Veterans 40+ Finals (Yet to be surfed) 

Billy Hale (Kait), 2, Doug Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), Rod Welch (Gis), Seth Matthews (Tara)

Grandmasters 45+ Semi Finals 

Heat one
John Gisby (Gis), 1, Peter Bramble (Waihi Bch), 2, Doug Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), 3, Chris Connolly (Tara), 4 

Heat two
Rod Welch (Gis), 1, Brendon Young (Whan), 2, Rupert Newbold (Whan), 3, Alistair Goodwin (Piha), 4,

Grandmasters 45+ Finals (To be surfed)

John Gisby (Gis), Peter Bramble (Waihi Bch), Rod Welch (Gis), Brendon Young (Whan) 

Legends 50+ Semi Finals 

Heat one
John Gisby (Gis), 1, Viv Tracey (Whan), 2, David Stork (Piha), 3, Chip Jaffurs (Whan), 4 

Heat two
Tony Ogilvy (Ohope), 1, Paul Atkin (Kait), 2, Mark Shanks (Kait), 3, Jeff Joyce (Piha), n/s

Legends 50+ Finals (To be surfed) 

John Gisby (Gis), Viv Tracey (Whan), Tony Ogilvy (Ohope), Paul Atkin (Kait)

Previous reports:
# 1 : Hyundai Surfing Championships draws top NZ surfers 
# 2 : Pines turns it on for Hyundai National Surfing Champs  
# 3 : Jay Quinn leads hot round 2 action at NZ Nat'l Champs
# 4 : Fitzharris pushes boundaries at Hyundai Longboards.. 
# 5 : Hyundai NZ Nat'l Surfing Champs as good as it gets...
# 6 : Coming soon
# 7 : Coming soon  

Complete lists of all National Champions are lavailable at;– www.surfingnz.co.nz/history.htm. 

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Ben Kennings
benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz

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