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International surfers announce arrival with explosive surfing at Sandy Bay ASP Event |
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Written by Tony Baker
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 |
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| Ben Dickens - Image PhotoCPL |
2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Longboard Champion Taylor Jensen (USA) today (Sunday 5thFebruary) announced his arrival at the 2012 ASP Longboard Qualifying Series Hyundai Tour event held at Sandy Bay, Whangarei, New Zealand.
Jensen secured the highest heat score of the event so far in the onshore
1.5m - 2.0m waves. Jensen, who is the sole American entry in the ASP sanctioned
event, blazed his way through the opening heat of the day in style before
moving through to the semifinals late in the placing second to Ben Dickens
(Aus).
Jensen annihilated every wave he surfed with his highest score an 8.5 out
of 10 in the first round. Jensen linked fast, on rail turns with vertical
re-entries and long nose rides to impress the judges ending the heat with a
combined wave score of 16.25 out of 20.
“It felt good out there today. The waves had a bit more punch and I was
stoked to pick off a couple of good scoring rides” he said.
Jensen later placed second to Ben Dickens in the quarterfinals of the Open
Men’s Division which comprised ten Australian surfers versus five New Zealand
surfers and Jensen, the sole American.
The low tide conditions delivered some good quality waves and it was Ben
Dickens (Australia)
who set the standard in Heat One of the quarterfinals. Dickens, who was
relatively subdued in his earlier performance, belted a number of vertical
forehand re-entries and in doing so scored 8.0 out of 10 for his efforts. Dickens performance (14.5) saw him beat Taylor
Jensen (USA) and it was obvious he was pretty pleased with his result heading
into the semifinal round.
“I am stoked with my waves out there. It feels pretty good to beat the
world champion” he said.
This is Dickens’ first time in New Zealand and he has been
impressed with his trip so far. “Sandy
Bay is epic. This contest
reminds me of the old days when we used to do the Australian Pro Junior series,
a real relaxed vibe on the beach and everyone has been so friendly to us. I
slept out under the stars last night which was unreal, so I’ll definitely be
coming back next year” he said.
Dickens has been competing on the Australian Longboard Tour for the last
four years and the Lennox Head local will be one to watch moving into the final
day of competition at Sandy
Bay.
Dane Pioli (Australia)
set the round on fire with his blazing quarterfinal appearance. The electric
natural footer, who hails from the wave rich Gold Coast of Australia, nailed a
couple of top scoring waves with an 8.10 and backing it up with 7.75, finishing
off the heat ahead of Thomas Kibblewhite (Orewa). Pioli is a top international
competitor and the punchy low tide waves really suited his progressive style.
“Yeah it was pretty fun out there. It’s definitely the best I’ve surfed it so
far in the contest “he said. Pioli’s combined heat score was the top of the
round with 15.85 out of 20.
In Heat Three young Sunshine coaster Nic Jones (Australia) blitzed his opponents
with a combined heat score total of 15.25 out of 20. Jones, who is also a top
junior contender, took to the punchy low tide waves with ease, and showed his
full repertoire of traditional and progressive surfing to wow the crowd and
judges. Matt Cockayne (Mangawhai Heads) placed second behind Jones and will no
doubt be looking to improve on his recent fifth placings at Raglan and Piha. “I
have been feeling good in the water here at Sandy Bay.
It’s one of my favourite waves in Northland, and I am stoked to be in the top
eight” he said. Cockayne and Kibblewhite are the two remaining Kiwi surfers in
the Open Men’s draw, and will be looking forward to the home ground advantage
come semifinals time.
Heat Four was a little more subdued with conditions deteriorating making
for hard work for the competitors. Jared Neal (Australia)
continued his good form picking off some solid scoring rides winning the heat
with the total heat score of 13.5 ahead of Mitch Surman (Australia) in
second place. Surman has struggled to gain momentum so far in the event, but is
optimistic heading into the final day of the event.
Open Women’s Division
At the completion of the Open Men’s the Open Women’s semifinals took to the
water. In and it was an all Kiwi affair
with local surfer Wini Paul (Sandy
Bay) winning ahead of Ann
Snyder (Tauranga). Conditions weren’t ideal but Paul made the most of the surf
and her local knowledge saw her pick off the best waves available.
In Heat Two it was the young Australian duo of Sam Suendermann (Victoria,
AUS) and Molly Powell (Victoria, AUS) who took out first and second respectively
ahead of Piha surfers Mischa Davis and Anna Jolly. With less than 1.47 points
separating first from fourth place, it was close finish and obviously
disappointing for the New
Zealand surfers.
Over 40’s Division
Rhys Powell (Omaha)
and Guy Rencher (Papamoa) were stand-out performers in the Over 40 Men’s
semifinals with both surfers winning their respective heats. Powell was pretty
stoked with his effort, and this will be his first Over 40’s finals appearance
in 2012. Powell placed first ahead of
Tatana Heke (Mount
Maunganui).
The 2012 Hyundai
Tour travels to Raglan, Piha, Sandy Bay and Mount
Maunganui before the
season concludes at Port Waikato in early March. Overall the Hyundai Tour boasts $20,000 in
prize money.
The remaining events for the 2012 Hyundai Tour follow:
Hyundai Tour Event 4, 18-19 February, Mount Maunganui
(4-star)
Hyundai Tour Event 5, 2-3 March, Port Waikato (6-star)
Entry into all events can be completed at Surfing
New Zealand under “events.” Complete
the entry process online or download entry forms and send them in. The 2012 Hyundai Tour is expected to receive
high entry levels at each location, so entries will need to be in well before
the cut off dates to assure participants get a slice of the action.
Further
Information
For further information on the 2012 Hyundai Tour and
the first of five events, please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on
021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.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 on the Hyundai Tour
will be available to media free of charge upon request.
Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand
event hotline is 0211134506. This will
be updated daily at approximately 7am with venue, divisions contested and
conditions.
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
SNZ
Facebook
SNZ Twitter
Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by:
Hyundai New Zealand
SPARC
Smokefree
Ends
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