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Gisborne Surfers Keep New Zealand Alive |
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Written by Ben Kennings
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Saturday, 08 August 2009 |
Gisborne surfers Jay Quinn and Daniel Procter have kept the Quiksilver New Zealand Surfing Teams hopes alive after day five of the 2009 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games. Only two days remain in the annual event described as the Olympics of surfing and both Quinn and Procter are amongst the top 16 surfers of their respective divisions.
Quinn bounced back with a solid heat win in Repecharge Round 6 after losing his first heat of the morning. Quinn posted a 12.94 point heat total to beat Austin Ware (USA), Robert Diaz (VEN) and Jesus Chacon (VEN).
“I rode a different board out there in that heat compared with the rest of the event” commented Quinn on his exceptional performance in the often testing 1.5m waves. “I had a bad heat this morning so I just need to pull the positives out of that last heat and take it into the next round” added Quinn who is well aware that every heat that the Quiksilver New Zealand Surfing Team progresses through will add valuable points to their overall team placing.
“There are only three of us left in the event and we need to eek out all the points we can so every progression will help from here on in” said Quinn referring to himself and the two longboarders remaining in the event – Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) and Daniel Procter.
However less than an hour after Quinn finished competing for the day, the team found success through Procter but also suffered defeat with the loss of Thomas Kibblewhite in an agonisingly close heat.
Procter placed a close second to South African surfer Justin Bing in his last heat of the day to move through to the final 16 surfers in the longboard division. Procter led for much of the heat but ultimately finished second with a 10.87 total heat score compared with Bing’s 10.93.
Procter will now face current World Champion Bonga Perkins (HAW), Benoit Clemente (PER) and Michael Hill (ZAF).
Kibblewhite placed third in his round 4 heat to finish the event in 17th place overall. Kibblewhite was narrowly pushed into third in his heat scoring 9.10 compared with second placed Tahitian surfer Audibert Tama who scored 9.43 for progression.
Earlier in the day Quinn suffered a heavy defeat in Qualifying Round 4. Quinn could not match the high scores of Joel Centio (HAW), Dayyan Neve (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) placing fourth. Likewise, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) also suffered a loss placing third in his third qualifying round match up scoring 6.87 in his heat. Kibblewhite was defeated by Great Britain’s Ben Skinner (12.50) and USA surfer Steve Newton (12.50) before contesting the repecharge round. Daniel Procter (Gis) progressed through his first heat of the day scoring an 8.17 total heat score out of a possible 20 points. Procter beat surfers from Venezuela, Reurto Rico and Mexico.
Currently the top five nations at the event are USA, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa and France.
Day seven will see Jay Quinn and Daniel Procter back in the water in their respective repecharge rounds. The Quiksilver New Zealand Team will also contest the tag team event over the next two days.
Live Coverage
The event is being broadcast live over the internet via www.billabongisaworldgames.com.
Media Releases
Media releases on the New Zealand team’s performance will be distributed by Surfing New Zealand daily throughout the event.
Images
Images of the New Zealand surfers will be distributed where possible. Media are welcome to contact event photographers direct via the event website.
Blog
Keep an eye out on the team blog which will be posted on www.surfingnz.co.nz under newsflash.
Further information
Further information regarding the Quiksilver New Zealand Surfing Team please contact Ben Kennings at Surfing New Zealand 07 8250018, 0212278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964, and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
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Ends
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