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Big Swells Hamper Start Of Hyundai National Surfing Champs |
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Written by Ben Kennings
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Sunday, 15 January 2012 |
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| Daniel Procter - Image PhotoCPL |
The bad weather that continues to plague New Zealand this summer has had an impact on day one of the 2012 Hyundai National Surfing Championships at Piha today (Sunday 15th January) with the remnants of the large westerly swell holding throughout the day.
The conditions restricted action to only four hours of surfing in the solid
2.0m swells. The Open Longboard and
Stand Up Paddleboard divisions hit the water as well as the ever entertaining
Stand Up Paddleboard race that brought the beach to their feet as they
navigated the beach break conditions.
The Open Longboard threw up several upsets with 2010 National Champion
Dylan Barnfield (Ohope) being eliminated in the first round courtesy of Daniel
Procter (Gis) and Matt Cockayne (Auck).
Procter missed the first event of the Hyundai Tour last weekend but stormed
back into competitive mode today scoring 11.40 out of a possible 20 points to
win his heat in the less than favourable conditions.
“You just had to read the ocean real well, the waves all looked the same
but not every wave hit the bank. It is
the same for everybody out there though” said Procter who admitted to still
trying to find his feet after a month out of the water while on holiday with
his family in Australia.
Procter won his first national title at Piha in 2009. A repeat performance would get his year off
to a belated start and the prestige of another national title is what brought
him back to the event this week.
Defending longboard champion and current Hyundai Tour ratings leader Thomas
Kibblewhite top scored for the day posting 13.33 points. Kibblewhite progressed through to the
semifinals alongside Sam Bradford (Auck).
The two additional heat wins on day one unexpectedly came from young 17
year old Ben Poulter (Rag) who made a successful transition to the longboard
winning his first heat. At the other end
of the spectrum was 45-year-old ex champion Michael Fitzharris (Gis) who charged
home late in his heat to win with a 12.33 point ride.
The aging seven times national champion Fitzharris was unrivalled in the
water putting his superior wave knowledge to the test surfing wider on the Piha
Bar than his opponents. Fitzharris
finished with a 12.33 point heat total to progress alongside Ant McColl (Mnt),
the two surfers eliminating the more fancied Trent Dickey (Aus) and the
youngest competitor in the division, Sam Poulter (Rag).
The Stand Up Paddleboarders found it hard dealing with the unruly surface
conditions during their time in the water.
However, despite the challenges the top seeds stood out with defending
champion Daniel Kereopa (Rag) and 2009 National Champion Shayne Baxter (Chch)
both producing excellent surfing and big scores to win their heats.
Kereopa finished with a 13.23 point heat total but it was Baxter that
topped the round posting 13.50 out of 20.
The two surfers then took to the water for the 3.0km King of the Waves
Stand Up Paddleboard Race. The two laps
through the cove of South Piha and out through
the break took its toll on competitors with Armie Armstrong (Rag) eventually
coming out on top narrowly ahead of Jeremy Stephenson (Auck). Kereopa managed third place with Baxter in
fourth.
The surf is expected to remain a similar size for day two with surf potentially
with an increase in size in the afternoon.
However Auckland Surf’s Paul Greenland says that the swell could come a
little earlier than expected tomorrow meaning another day of solid swell on tap. Winds are expected to be more favourable for
day two which will commence at 8:00am.
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| Armie Armstrong - Image PhotoCPL |
Thomas Kibblewhite - Image PhotoCPL |
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| Boys in the Hyundai Bach - Image PhotoCPL |
Shayne Baxter - Image PhotoCPL |
Please see below for results from Day One of the 2012 Hyundai National Surfing
Championships held at Piha Beach, Auckland
today.
Open Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Ben Poulter (Rag), 12.67, 1, Zen Wallis (Piha),
8.4, 2, Andrew Robinson (Auck), 8.03, 3, Jamie Andrews (Waitara), 5.17, 4
Heat 2
Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 13.33, 1, Sam Bradford
(Pakiri), 5, 2, Sam Bound (Tara), 2.87, 3
Heat 3
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 11.4, 1, Matt Cockayne
(Mngwhai), 10.6, 2, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 9.73, 3, Geoff Calvert (Piha),
4.23, 4
Heat 4
Michael Fitzharris (Gis), 12.33, 1, Ant McColl
(Mnt), 9.2, 2, Sam Poulter (Rag), 7.4, 3, Trent Dickey (Auck), 6.33, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Round 1
Heat 1
Gavin Broadbent (Auck), 6.67, 1, Annabel Anderson
(Auck), 5.3, 2, Georgia Schofield (Auck), 3, 3, Sasha Brownlie (Auck), 2.1, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Round Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 13.23, 1, Warwick Gray
(Hawaii), 8.27, 2, Gavin Broadbent (Auck), 7.97, 3, Shane Murrell (Auck), 5.77,
4
Heat 2
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 13.5, 1, Annabel Anderson
(Auck), 3.93, 2, Scott Eliott (Auck), 0, 3, Maria Kingi (Piha), NS, 4
Heat 3
Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 9.83, 1, Jeremy Stephenson
(Auck), 9.6, 2, Sean Hovell (Gis), 8.33, 3, Robert Hawkins (Rag), 4.6, 4
Heat 4
Armie Armstrong (Rag), 9.87, 1, Lynden Kennings
(Whgmata), 9.77, 2, Charlie Crews (Ham), 6.33, 3, Mike Cann (Auck), 3.9, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Race
1st
Armie Armstrong (Rag), 2nd Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 3rd
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 4th Shayne Baxter (Chch)
The all encompassing seven day event runs from the 15th – 21st
of January. Please see below for a guide
to when remaining divisions are expected to be contested.
Day 2 (Mon 16th
Jan) - All longboard, SUP Surf, U14
Boys, U16 Boys
Day 3 (Tues 17th Jan) - Open
Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf
Day 4 (Wed 18th Jan) - Open
Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women’s, All Seniors
Day 5 (Thurs 19th Jan) - Open
Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women’s, All Seniors,
Kneeboard”
Day 6 (Fri 20th Jan) - Open
Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women’s, All Seniors,
Potentially some finals
Day 7 (Sat 21st Jan) - Finals,
All Bodyboard
The Hyundai National Championships were first held in 1963 when they took
place at Mount Maunganui. In its
infancy, the event comprised Open Men’s and Women’s as well as Under 18 Men’s
divisions only. Since then it has grown
to comprise a colossal 25 divisions across all disciplines and the 2012 edition
will crown New Zealand’s
500th national champion.
Twenty five national titles will go up for grabs at the Hyundai National
Championships. As well as the premier
Open Men’s and Open Women’s Divisions, there will be a further 23 divisions
comprising of age groups from Under 14 through to Over 50s and also longboard,
Stand Up Paddleboard, Bodyboard and Kneeboard disciplines.
Further
Information
For further information on the 2011 Hyundai National
Championships please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732
or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Alternatively contact Hyundai New Zealand representative Emma Ryan on 0274785217 or email eryan@hyundai.co.nz.
Imagery
Web clips and newsfeeds will be distributed free of charge from each
event. Please contact Ben Kennings for
further details.
High resolution action images of the surfing at all events will be available to
media free of charge upon request.
Nationals Blog
Be sure to get a different perspective on the event via the SNZ Nationals
Blog. This will be updated throughout
the seven days with news views and interviews to keep you entertained.
Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand
event hotline is 0211134506. This will
be updated daily at approximately 7am with venue, divisions contested and
conditions.
Partners
Generous support from Hyundai New Zealand
and Lion Rock Boardriders has made this event possible.
Surfing New Zealand Newsletter
If you want to keep updated with surfing information delivered right to your
inbox then sign up to the SNZ
Newsletter.
Follow Surfing New Zealand and the Hyundai
National Championships
Live results will be fed live to the SNZ website via twitter so stay tuned with
up to date results. Alternatively follow
the action via the SNZ
Facebook and SNZ Twitter.
Surfing New Zealand are
proudly partnered by
Hyundai New Zealand
SPARC
Smokefree
Ends
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