46th annual Hyundai National Surfing Championships
Presented by Quiksilver

Surfing New Zealand
Gisborne New Zealand
12 - 19 January 2008

Finalists Found and Finalists Crowned at the 46th annual Hyundai National Surfing Championships

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 January, 2008 : - - As temperatures soared into the thirties for the second day in a row in Gisborne, the Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver crowned a further two champions as well as finding finalists in another four divisions.  The intense heat of the day failed to bring in the strong sea breezes of the past three days leaving surface condition excellent for the small 0.50m – 1.0m swells that were on offer at Makorori Beach.

The finalists of the Quiksilver King of the Groms Under 16 Boys were found after some agonisingly close heats that had all eight surfers fighting it out until the dying seconds of their heats.  It was Blake Myers (WGM) that took a strangle hold on the first semifinal with a dominant display of powerful backhand surfing in the small 0.5m – 1.0m waves.

Myers started the heat with a 7.75 point ride to take the early lead and then worked on building up his score line throughout the rest of the heat until he posted a good 6.60 point ride on his last wave to nail home the win.

Behind Myers there was a royal battle for second place.  Todd Doyle (Mnt) held down second place for much of the heat after completing some big forehand top turns.  Meanwhile Johnny Hicks (Gis) persisted with an explosive style of surfing but fell on several occasions. 

With a minute to go in the heat Hicks found the lefthand wave that he had been waiting for and took a more subdued approach completing several nice turns to score a 6.75 points – well in excess of the 5.01 required for second.

Alex Dive : photo NZ Surfing Magazine

The second semifinal was a tighter low-scoring heat with a mere 2.0 points separating first through fourth.  Alex Dive (Mnt) always looked in control of the heat surfing with confidence and flare on the small waves.  However, not finding the bigger waves in the heat restricted his scoring potential to a two-wave total of 10.15 out of a possible 20.  That was enough for the win and progression through to the finals for a chance to win the King of the Groms.

The winner of the final takes home a trip for two to France and entry into the international Quiksilver King of the Groms held in France later this year where the top 48 under 16 surfers in the world fight it out for world domination.

Ben Poulter (Rag) was the other surfer to progress squeaking ahead of Tane Wallis (Piha) by a meagre 0.15 points.  Poulter put the pressure on Wallis by catching his best waves early in the heat.  Wallis on the other hand waited for the best waves to arrive and did post a 6.10 point ride – the highest in the heat but did not leave himself the time to ride a good second scoring wave.

In the Under 14 Boys Division it was Poulter that succumbed to the small conditions unceremoniously being dumped out of the event in the quarterfinals by a powerful Waretini Wano (Piha) and a flying Patxi Scott – Arrieta (Sandy Bay).  However come the semifinals time these two surfers were no match for the sharp and fast Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata) and smooth Dune Kennings (Piha) who progressed through to the final.

Tane Wallis (Piha) was again a standout posting the highest heat score of the event in his semifinal – 17.5 points for an easy win.  Wallis’ displayed technical know how beyond his years and together with Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Beach) they eliminated Peri Matenga (Mnt) and Fintan Cram (WGM).

The women’s and junior longboard divisions were completed late in the day with conditions remaining unaffected by the light sea breeze winds.  Daisy Thomas (Chch) won the final to make it two in a row on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour.  Thomas caught several great rides in the final to open out a huge lead over her opponents.  Late in the final Michelle Langdon (Mnt) fought back but the required 7.5 point ride for first place proved too much. 

Langdon fell just short after performing several good forehand turns in a last-ditch effort to score 6.1 points out of a possible 20.  Alexis Poulter (Rag) finished in third place with Demi Poynter (Whangarei) in fourth – both surfers competing in the longboard division for the first time having switched over from their usual shortboards.

In the under 18 longboard division it was Sam Guthrie (Mnt) who also won back to back events by easily winning the final.  Guthrie extends his lead on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour with this win while today’s second place getter Hone Douglas (Whakatane) moves into second place on the ratings. 

Tyler Anderson (Taranaki) was another surfer to ‘switch codes’ and make the most of his week in Gisborne and for his efforts he placed third with some big forehand turns while Christchurch’s Sam Hawke could not repeat the feats of fellow Christchurch surfer Daisy Thomas finishing in fourth.

Conditions are expected to be similar for day five of the Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver but there is a forecast increase in swell size that will please many surfers.  The senior divisions are likely to be held on Thursday as well as the kneeboard division which will be completed.  A decision on the location and order of events for day four will be made at 7am on Tuesday morning.

Results

Quiksilver King of the Groms Under 16 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1 Blake Myers, (Whamata), 1, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 2, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 3, Kahu Craig-Ranga (Waihi Bch), 4
Heat 2 Alex Dive (Tauranga), 1, Ben Poulter (Piha), 2, Tane Wallis (Piha), 3, Mark Parthemore (Tara), 4 

Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1  Tane Wallis (Piha), 1, Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), 2, Peri Matenga (Mnt), 3, Fintan Cram (Whmata), 4
Heat 2  Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangta), 1, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 2, Waretini Wano (Piha), 3, Patxi Scott-Arrieta (Whngrei), 4

Under 18 Girls Semifinals
Heat 1  Nicola Colson-Koster (Auck), 1, India Wray Murane, (Muriwai), 2, Demi Poynter (Northlnd), 3
Heat 2 Alexis Poulter (Piha), 1, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 2, Jayda Fitzharris (Gis), 3, Ella Williams (Whmata), 4

Under 16 Girls Semifinals
Heat 1 Rosa Thompson (Auck), 1, Ellla Williams (Whmata), 2, Gabe Marriot, 3
Heat 2 Alexis Poulter (Piha), 1, Jayda Fitzharris (Gis), 2

Under 18 Longboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1 Hone Douglas (Whakatane), 1, Tim Thompson, 2, Eli Barnfield, (Ohope), 3, Hugh Ritchie, 4
Heat 2 Sam Guthrie, (Mnt), 1, Tyler Anderson, (Tara), 2, Adam Rossouw, 3, Sammy Love (Auck), 4
Heat 3 Sam Hawke (ChCh), 1, Rick Williamson (Ohope), 2, Zen Wallis (Piha), 3, CJ Daniel Nield (Auck), 4

Under 18 Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1 Hone Douglas (Whakatane), 1, Tyler Anderson, (Tara), 2, Rick Williamson (Ohope), 3
Heat 2 Sam Guthrie, (Mnt), 1, Sam Hawke (ChCh), 2, Tim Thompson, 3

Under 18 Longboard Final
Sam Guthrie, (Mnt), 1, Hone Douglas (Whakatane), 2, Tyler Anderson, (Tara), 3, Sam Hawke (ChCh), 4

Women’s Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1 Daisy Thomas (Chch), 1, Demi Poynter (Nrthland), 2, Shereen Lobb (Port Wai), 3, Bryony Barlow (Orewa), 4
Heat 2 Michelle Langdon (Mnt), 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 2, Belinda Galley (Hbay), 3, Rea Ansin (Auck), 4

Women’s Longboard Final
Daisy Thomas (Chch), 1, Michelle Langdon (Mnt), 2, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 3, Demi Poynter (Nrthland), 4

Previous reports:
# 1 : NZ's Hyundai Nat. Surfing Champs by Quiksilver all set
# 2 : Hyundai National Surf Champs kick off in New Zealand
# 3 : Top seeds dominate Hyundai National Surfing Champs
# 4 : Mount Maunganui surfers shine at Hyundai Nat. Champs

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