46th annual Hyundai National Surfing Championships
Presented by Quiksilver

Surfing New Zealand
Gisborne New Zealand
12 - 19 January 2008

Seniors Surf in Small Conditions

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 16 January, 2008 : - - Gisborne’s John Gisby, the record holder for the most national titles in New Zealand made his first appearance at this year’s Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver today (Wednesday).  Defending his two titles in the Over 50s and Over 45s Gisby was one of 76 senior competitors that took to the water today at Makorori Beach.  The surf remained small despite predictions of a rise throughout the day.

Gisby won his Over 50s heat in a commanding style today posting 16.25 points out of 20.  His agility in the small waves was not rivalled all day.  Makorori is one of the Gisby’s favourite waves and he surfs there regularly so it was no surprise to anyone that his performance was first class.  As quick as Gisby arrived at the beach he disappeared until later in the day when he had to contest his over 40s heat.

Tairua surfer Barry MacCulloch was another surfer to impress in the over 50s with his quick turns particularly on his forehand when he posted an excellent 8.5 point ride for his first scoring wave showing a good amount of speed for the small conditions on offer.  Other surfers to win their heats included the Gisborne duo of Rod Welch who posted a 10.0 point total heat score and Gary Stevenson who posted 9.90 for his total heat score.

As the tide pushed in it was the premier senior division that got their first opportunity to compete – the Over 28s.  Hardly classed as a ‘senior surfer’ at 28 years of age it is no wonder the division is stacked with some of the best surfers at the event including four of the 16 surfers left in the open men’s division.  Chris Malone (Rag) continued is run of form posting 15.0 points in his heat with a smooth display of surfing.  Fellow Raglan surfer Larry Fisher was not to be outdone posting the same score after obliterating a couple righthanders on his backhand.

Local surfers Damon Gunness, Blair Stewart, Clint Daly and Jason Green also progressed through to the quarterfinals where they will meet the top seeds for the event.

Competing today were many of the fathers of New Zealand’s top surfers.  Two that stand out are Gary Quinn – the Dad of the top brother pairing of Maz and Jay and also Bob Hansen Senior – father of New Zealand’s highest international ranked surfer Bobby Hansen.  Quinn progressed through the first round of the Over 50s but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Gary Stevenson and David Storck (Piha). 

Bob Hansen was a late entry into the event only confirming he would surf this morning.  Giving away fifteen years to some of his competitors didn’t bother him after entering in the only event that had room – the Over 35s.  The Over 35s were held late in the day with Hansen’s results unavailable.

Conditions are expected to improve for day six of the Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver.  The easterly swell is expected to kick in and the winds are supposed to remain light.  There is a chance that the open men’s and women’s divisions will be contested as well as the quarterfinals of the under 18 men and the longboard divisions.  A decision on the location and order of events for day six will be made at 7am on Thursday morning.

See below for results from day five of the Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver.

Over 28 Men Round 1
Heat 1 Larry Fisher (Piha), 1, Jason Green (Gis), 2, Doug Young (Auck), 3
Heat 2 Damon Gunness (Gis), 1, Clint Daly (Gis), 2, Aaron Whitehead (Gis), 3
Heat 3 Chris Malone (Gis), 1, Reuben Woods (Gis), 2, Chris Wilkes, 3
Heat 4 Blair Stewart (Gis), 1, Andrew Robinson (Auck), 2, Shayne Baxter (Otago), 3

Over 28 Men Quarterfinals (Yet to be surfed)
Heat 1 Dave van Staden (Rag), Sam Johnson (Gis), Larry Fisher (Piha), Clint Daly (Gis)
Heat 2 Ben Kennings (Rag), Matt Hishon (Rag), Damon Gunness (Gis), Jason Green (Gis)
Heat 3 Matt Groube (Coro), Motu Mataa (Tara), Chris Malone (Gis), Andrew Robinson (Auck)
Heat 4 Rick Lasch (Piha), Mark Dovey (Mnt), Blair Stewart (Gis), Reuben Woods (Gis)

Over 40 Men Quarterfinals
Heat 1 Clinton Ashill (Whngrei), 1, Phil Erickson (Gis), 2, Ray Hawthorne (Gis), 3, Rick Lasch (Piha), N/S
Heat 2 Michael Fitzharris (Gis), 1, Eddie Daly (Gis), 2, Billy Hale (Northlnd), 3, Bruce Shortridge (Hbay), 4
Heat 3 Glenn Shuker (ChCh), 1, Derek Tanser (HBay), 2, Steve Colbert (Gis), 3, Andrew Vette (Gis) 

Over 50’s Round 1
Heat 1 Ray Morgan (Gis), 1, Roger Strahl, 2, David Thompson (Auck), 3
Heat 2 Graham Breckell (Gis), 1, Eddie Raro (Gis), 2, Peter Dreadon, N/S 
Heat 3 Gary Stevenson (Gis), 1, Larry Foster Gis), 2, William Brown (Chatham Is), 3
Heat 4 Max Bryant, 1, Gary Quinn (Gis), 2, Warwick Gray (Waihi Bch), 3

Over 50s Round 2
Heat 1 John Gisby (Gis), 1, Chris Ransley (Gis), 2, Ray Morgan (Gis), 3, Eddie Raro (Gis), 4
Heat 2 Rod Welch (Gi), 1, Roger Strahl, 2, Graham Breckell (Gis), 3, Ross Moody (Gis), 4
Heat 3 Gary Stevenson (Gis), 1, David Storck (Piha), 2, Bill Brown (Gis), 3, Gary Quinn (Gis), 4
Heat 4 Barry MacCulloch (Tairua), 1, Larry Foster Gis), 2, Max Bryant, 3, Ray Hawthorne (Gis), 4

The National Champs is the second event on both the Corona Crown Series and the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour. Complete lists of all National Champions are located on the Surfing New Zealand website under History at surfingnz.co.nz. For more information on the event please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. 

The official event blog for the Hyundai National Surfing Championships presented by Quiksilver will be hosted at surfingnz.co.nz/nationals_blog.htm. Check it out to keep up to date with all the behind the scenes stories, gossip and news that doesn’t make the cut in the media.

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
# 5 : Hyundai National Surf Champs hosting Quiksilver groms

Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by Corona, Hyundai, SPARC & Smokefree.

www.quiksilver.com
www.surfingnz.co.nz
www.surfingnz.co.nz/nationals_blog.htm

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