Warwick Wright : photo Duane Ciaglia
2A Rated Hutchison Handcrasted Pro
Pro Surfing Tour/Surfing South Africa Balito, KZN North Coast South Africa 15 - 17 December 2006
Top seeds dominate in tricky conditions on the first day of the Hutchison Handcrafted Pro
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 December, 2006 : - - In small, tricky conditions at Surfers Point, Ballito, surfers taking part in the 2A rated Hutchison Handcrafted Pro, were forced to earn their points if they wanted to advance to day two of the event.
All went according to plan for Jordy Smith (DBN) who adapted well to the small conditions on the opening day to advance through to the Quarter Finals in the Pro Junior Division as well as advancing through to the round of 32 in the Men’s Division.
Smith, who is fresh off the plane from a second place at the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach in Hawaii as well as claiming the prestigious Van’s Triple Crown of Surfing’s Rookie of the Year Award, is a hot favourite in both divisions of the Hutchison Handcrafted Pro. Smith will face tough competition from a handful of surfers who looked to be in scintillating form throughout the first day of competition.
Durban’s Justin Saunders is one such surfer who seemed to ignore the fact that he was not seeded for this event, by comfortably winning both his heats today. The lightning fast goofy-foot made light work of the tricky conditions and will look to continue in the same vein tomorrow when he comes up against Smith as well as Durban’s Simon Nicholson and Dylan Stone (PE).
As the tide filled in throughout the afternoon, the fickle onshore waves levelled the playing field making patience and wave selection crucial. Current PST ratings leader Warwick Wright (DBN), however, had little difficulty linking his waves from the outside to the crunching shorebreak and was rewarded with a comprehensive second round victory over first round standout, Shane Warren (Bluff).
Earlier, Warren recorded the day’s highest scoring ride, an 8.75 out of a possible 10 points, on his way to the highest heat total of the day (15 out of a possible 20). Warren’s smooth approach saw him glide into the round of 32, where he will meet up with top Junior competitors Josh Redman (Umhloti) and Klee Strachan (Toti), who were impressive on the first day of competition in both the Men’s Open Division and the Pro Junior Division.
Chad du Toit was another young gun hoping to make waves in both the Pro Junior and Open Men’s Division and comprehensively achieved this after placing first in all three of his heats today. The pint-sized Durbanite used his weight advantage to glide through both his Men’s Division heats as well as dominate his Pro Junior heat.
Tomorrow’s action will kick off with the Open Men’s round of 32 taking to the water, followed the first round of competition in the Women’s Division. Also competing tomorrow will be the quarter finalists of the Pro Junior Division as well as the first round of the Retro Expression Session.
The Retro Expression Session is a unique event that will see competitors riding retro boards that will mimic the surfboard designs of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Competitors in this speciality event will have the chance to wow the crowds with “old school” manoeuvres as well as supplying some insight into where surfboard design has come from and where it will be going in the future.
The Hutchison Handcrafted Pro is the final stop of the 2006 Professional Surf Tour (PST) and is a Surfing South Africa (SSA) sanctioned event. The Hutchison Handcrafted Pro is proudly supported by: Bedboys Ballito, Furnishings by Conrad, Friendly Supermarket, Sailors Bottle Store, Dream Nails, U Investing in Health, Secret Spot. The revamped SubZero nightclub is the official party host for the event.
Previous reports: # 1 : 2A rated Hutchison Handcrafted Pro amps for Balito SA # 2 : Hutchison Handcrafted Pro lands in Balito South Africa # 3 : Coming soon # 4 : Coming soon
www.hh-surfboards.com www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
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Brendon Thomas
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