Hard Rock Cafe Junior

Stop No. 8 of Hard Rock Cafe Surf Series
Maili Point, West Side Oahu
14 - 15 March 2009

Kainoa Haas Posts Back-to-Back Wins at Hard Rock Cafe Junior

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 17 March, 2009 : - - Honolulu's Kainoa Haas, 17, knows what victory tastes like and isn't planning on losing the flavor any time soon. After posting the first win of his career last month in the Hard Rock Cafe Surf Series event staged at Haleiwa, Haas was back at No.1 again this weekend at Maili Point, on the West Side of Oahu.

With this month's win, Haas climbs another rung to second position on the Hard Rock Cafe Surf Series ratings and his dream of qualifying for the Hawaii State Championships, to be held at Ala Moana Bowls in June, is well and truly alive. There are a total of 12 events in the Hard Rock Cafe Surf Series leading up to the Hawaii State Championships. This was event No.8.

Haas utilized his "magic board" to win the Junior Men's division under overcast skies and occasional downpours this weekend. "It was really tough because there weren't that many waves," said Haas, who is a Myron B. Thompson Academy student. "It was super onshore, really choppy and it was hard to get a good turn in. We really had to struggle out there."

Despite the fickle conditions, Haas and his 5'11" thruster made the surf look fun. Haas' board is unlike traditional surfboards made out of polyurethane foam because of its parabolic stringer and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam.

"My board is shaped by Shawn Rotella. He's a really good underground shaper and he's been hooking me up so far. I really like his boards," said Haas. "It has parabolic stringers: two stringers on the rails and so they're really flexible. I have EPS foam so it adds a little more high performance to it. It works really good."

Although he hasn't been riding Rotella boards for very long, his performance on this surfboard is undefeated. "When you put a lot of tension on the board you can feel it a lot. You can feel it flexing under your feet. You can feel it bending. Imagine standing on a wooden plank and bouncing in the middle and feeling it flex. That's exactly what a board does [while surfing on a wave]." said Haas "The first contest I ever rode on this board I won, and now I won this. Magic board!"

The next leg of the Hard Rock Cafe HSA Series will be held this-coming weekend at Sunset Beach, on the North Shore of Oahu, March 21 and 22. Entries for all divisions are still available.

Remaining Events of the Hard Rock Cafe Surf Series:
No.9: Sunset Beach, March 21, 22
No.10: Makaha, March 28, 29
No.11: Kakaako Flies, April 4,5/11.12
No.12: Kewalos, May 2,3
(Hawaii State Champs, Ala Moana Bowls, June 4,5,6)

RESULTS: Surfers listed in order of finish.

JUNIOR MEN: Kainoa Haas, Eli Olson, Christian Pendelton, Brandon Kuakini

MEN: Ronson Silva, David Jaime, Facundo Carranza, Jackson Kane

MASTER: Thomas Spear, Brice Yamashita, Scott Shimoda, Darren Mahoe

SENIOR MEN: Shannon Silva, Richard Tom, Sheldon Poirier, Stephen OBrien

GRANDMASTER: Kal Faurot, Tommy Reyes, Raymond Shito, Beau Hodges

OPEN MEN: Kylen Yamakawa, Sheldon Paison, Scott Shimoda, Keanu Asing

GIRLS: Bailey Nagy, Mahina Maeda, Kallee Krebs, Maili Enos Branigan

WOMEN: Bonnie Campanella, Dana Tortuga, Mari Sullivan, Izumi Baldwin

MENEHUNE 1A: Finn McGill, Makana Pang, Nicole Brueggemann, Devin Brueggemann, Kylie Nagy

MENEHUNE 2A: Takumi Yashi, Elijah Gates, Dax McGill, Finn McGill

BOYS 2A: Kaito Kino, Kala Grace, Austin Vincente, Alex Pendleton

BODYBOARD BOYS: Kealii Alapai, Boo Boo Cazimero

JUNIOR MEN LONGBOARD: Nelson Ahina

BODYBOARD MEN: James Clancy

DROPKNEE: James Clancy

MASTER  LONGBOARD: Shane Hamamoto

MEN LONGBOARD: Justin Matsui, Mau Ah Hee, Daniel Johnasen

SENIOR MEN LONGBOARD: Gino Bell, Frederico Algons, Gavin Hasegawa

GIRLS LONGBOARD: Maili Enos Branigan, Kallee Grebs, Nicole Brueggenabb, Dax McGill

WOMEN LONGBOARD: Ashley Ahina, Stacia Ahina, Heather Faustin, Izumi Baldwin, Dana Tortuga, Jennifer Lee
LEGENDS LONGBOARD: Tommy Reyes, Stephen Katayama, Warren Hoohuli, Herb Pruse

OPEN LONGBOARD: Nelson Ahina, Justin Matsui, Mau Ah Hee, Daniel Johnasen

STANDUP PADDLE: Sam Pai            
 
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