VQS Codfish

Volcom Qualifying Series
Stavanger Norway
17 - 18 October 2009

Girls adorn the beach in parkas (check the video)

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 October, 2009 : - - Codfish 2009 is just over, and once again European Volcom Qualifying Series northern event got swamped by talented surfers from all over the world. Australians, South Africans, Portuguese, Dominicans and even Hawaiians. Then there were Swedes, and a Danish contingency lead by an American coach and even a Russian. Incredible.

Why on earth would anyone come to Norway to surf in the first place? Is it the lure of sloppy onshore beach breaks? 250 days of rain a year? Winters darker than a Siberian coal mine? Or could it simply be the extremely high cost of living? Guess you’ll just have to come and figure out yourself why mentally sane surfers from warm latitudes trek to Norway faster than local girls shed their clothing come spring.

This year the level of surfing was higher than ever, and the days when just catching a wave could result in a podium spot are long gone.. For the first time ever we had heats in every division, from groms to juniors, girls and open. The sun was out all day, there was no wind and the waves played along, with a few head high sets rolling in. Right from the start we saw floaters, snaps, airs and 360’s and other moves that I as snowboarder better not try to name here.

Before long, all the local heroes were out of the comp, with Kristoffer Paulsen and Peri Zahl making it the furthest, to the semi’s… Shannon Ainslie, a south African infamous for surviving a dual shark attack (Yup, youtube that) surfed superstylish but also bowed out in the semis.

Stavanger action : photo courtesy Volcom

Then in the final, it was Hawaii vs Dominican Republic vs Portugal. Keala Naluai threw the most spray anyone’s possibly ever thrown in Norway and ended up 3rd, Joakim Guichard from Portugal got 2nd, and his twin brother Luca ended up pulling the longest straw.

It was also impressive to see how much the groms, juniors and girls had stepped up their game. Bra Boy Nudge wouldn’t miss the Codfish for the world and once again made trek up from Holland, kindly sharing his knowledge in between heats on subjects such as how to get into cars you’ve locked yourself out of, or how to defend yourself against wild animals twice your size with your bare hands.

Come lunch time, the local version of the infamous Soup Nazi from the Seinfeld show turned up on the beach and fed over a 100 hungry mouths a selection of gooey brews, of which one slightly resembled homegrown road kill but still tasted absolutely deliciously.

At night, the whole shenanigans moved to our preferred watering hole Gnu, and yes, you should have been there…

Results:

OPEN:
1. LUKA GUICHARD (POR)
2. JOAKIM GUICHARD (POR)
3. KEALA KEKAULIKE NALUAI (HAW)
4. VICTOR ROSARIO (DOM)

GIRLS:
1. UNN HAUKNESS (NOR)
2. INGUNN BOTNEN (NOR)
3. EUGENIA PEREZ (SWE)
4.MAREN GØRANSEN (SWE)

JUNIORS:
1. CASPER STEINFAITH (DK)
2. MIKKEL HANSEN (DK)
3. MORTEN ANDERSEN (DK)
4. NIKLAS NORDBØ (NOR)

GROMS:
1. PETER STEINFAITH (DK)
2. ASK HIDE (NOR)
3. CHRISTOFFER HOLLER
4. OLE JOHANSEN

Electric Volt Thrower:
JOAKIM GUICHARD

Thanks to everyone who came out to surf or just hang at the beach, our lovely registration girls Line, Malene and Jessica, the judges and the Soup Nazi.Big thanks to Paal, Patrik, Erlend and the Response crew. And a very special thanks to Volcom Family rider Jaymin Rowlands, without whom this contest would not have been possible, and filmer Chris Westerström, who drove all the way from Sweden to film the event. Otto Prestmo for the photos. Thanks to Coca-Cola for the drinks and Electric and Aerial7 for the extra prizes.

www.volcomeurope.com