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Written by Ben Kennings
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Saturday, 21 January 2012 |
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| Billy Stairmand - Image PhotoCPL |
Billy Stairmand (Raglan)
stormed to his second victory claiming national title after a near flawless
performance in the final of the Open Men’s Division at the 2012 Hyundai
National Surfing Championships held at Piha Beach, Auckland today (Saturday 21st
January).
Billy Stairmand (Raglan) stormed to his second victory claiming national
title after a near flawless performance in the final of the Open Men’s Division
at the 2012 Hyundai National Surfing Championships held at Piha Beach, Auckland
today (Saturday 21st January).
Stairmand surfed to a 17.10 point heat total using his impeccable backhand
surfing on the lefthanders of Piha Bar.
The young 22 year old surfer is ranked 79th in the world and New Zealand’s third highest ranked surfer
internationally. He is one of but a few in
the world that managed to claim a victory over 11 times world champion Kelly
Slater in 2011.
Today Stairmand notched up several excellent scores in quick succession in the
final, his two highest, 8.90 and 8.20 point rides.
He won his first national title in 2010 at Gisborne in a similar fashion after
getting a massive lead on his opponents and never relenting.
“It is good to start the year winning a national title, I am going overseas
soon so it is good for my confidence and everything like that but yeah, at the
moment, a national title, I can’t believe it at the moment” said Stairmand.
Despite the ease of the win, Stairmand remained focussed on what he was doing
and keeping to a game plan. “Every heat
is hard, I just wanted to catch the best waves out there, I saw some on the bar
and wanted to get them and it paid off.”
It was a big decision for Stairmand to surf up the beach. He and fellow finalist Chris Malone (Gis) were
the first surfers of the day to do so.
However, with the outgoing tide and building swell, the strategy paid
off handsomely.
“I had seen people getting one or two turns down the beach but I knew if I
could get a runner on the bar it would be better than that. I started with a six and then it went from
there. I was going wave for wave with
Chris and I knew Timmy was down the beach but I was feeling confident after the
first wave and yeah it all just happened.”
35 year old Chris Malone (Gis) finished runner up in the final scoring 9.5 out
of 20 points requiring a combination of waves to challenge Stairmand for the
win.
Despite the distance between himself and Stairmand he was still stoked to make
the final. “It shows me that I have
still got it and still can do it” said a more than happy Malone.
“There was no way I was going down the end in those closeouts, I headed for the
bar, looked around and Billy was following me.
I suppose it was a good decision as the waves were peeling but Billy is
world class and those waves were perfect for him” finished Malone.
Mount Maunganui surfer Tim O’Connor placed
third in the final. He surfed the whole
25 minutes on his own at the north end of the beach where every other surfer
had competed during the day but the waves simply did not cooperate.
“Yeah that is the risk you take, you always hear stories of guys going down the
beach and winning and it could have paid off, I saw waves before the final but
that is the way it panned out unfortunately.”
O’Connor considered joining the other two surfers at the south end of the beach
but opted to stay put.
“It was small where they were and big where I was, if I got two turns on one
wave it would have been an eight or more.
I mean I have even seen waves since I came in but I just didn’t get them
in the final.”
O’Connor was one of the standouts of the event and was confident in his surfing
despite scoring only 9.0 points in the final.
“I am definitely stoked with the result, I am bummed a bit at the moment
but overall it is a good result. I have
been surfing well for the last two months and I think it showed at this event,
not in the final but that’s how it goes.”
Matt Hewitt (Mnt) was supposed to be the fourth surfer in the final but had to
travel to Australia
to compete in the final World Pro Junior event today. In a twist of fate his heat in Australia was contested at the exact same time
as the final here and he won his heat against surfers from Brazil and Australia.
Thandi Durham – Tipene (Taranaki) claimed her first Open Women’s Division title
in style today posting a 5.40 on her last wave to jump from third to first in
the dying seconds of the final.
“This is one of my biggest goals that I have ever achieved” said Durham - Tipene.
“I have been living at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast and seeing the likes of
Mick Fanning, Tyler Wright, all the best surfers, surfing everyday, it is
pretty hard not to improve over there” she said obviously happy to get her last
wave and show how much she has improved.
Durham –
Tipene’s husband Bachelor won the Peter Byers award for the most outstanding
performance at the event. He was awarded
the prize for exceptional surfing throughout the whole week. “I am stoked for Bach my husband as well. Winning the Peter Byers ‘Most Outstanding
Performance’ award is pretty special. He
was bummed he didn’t pick up a title but I know he will be gunning for it next
year.” she added.
Placing second in the final was Mischa Davis (Piha) who led for over 20 minutes
but came up short on the final hooter. Davis scored 8.60 to Durham
– Tipene’s 9.43. The two oldest of the
finalists fended off the challenge of the younger girls with Ella Williams
(WGM) finishing in third and Jayda Martin – Fitzharris (Gis) finishing fourth.
Tane Wallis won the Under 18 Boys Division in the challenging low tide
conditions. After Elliot Paerata – Reid
(Piha) opened the final with a 7.0 point ride, Wallis came back into contention
with rides of 7.83 and 6.03 to control the final. Wallis then went to work protecting his lead
first watching over Paerata – Reid then Ben Poulter (Rag) after he came back in
to contention late in the final. Paerata
– Reid eventually finished the final in second place ahead of Dune Kennings
(WGM) in third and Ben Poulter (Rag) in fourth.
Ella Williams (WGM) claimed the Under 18 Girls Division over long time rival
Jayda Martin - Fitzharris (Gis).
Williams posted a 9.83 point heat total bettering that of Martin –
Fitzharris on 8.57. Bianca Sansom (Albany) placed third in
the final ahead of her sister Gabriela Sansom.
It was Gabriela Sansom (Albany)
that sealed the Under 16 Girls Division win early on in the final after one
scoring ride of 8.0 points. Despite only
getting a back up wave of 1.70 points, her 9.70 point heat total was enough to
claim the victory over Jasmine Smith (Gis) who ended the final with a 9.20
point heat total. Claudia Fraser (Piha)
finished in third place ahead of Dayna Story (Gis) in fourth.
Dune Kennings (WGM) defended his Under 16 Boys title surfing to a big 16.33
point heat total. It was a long running
right hander that Kennings capitalised on scoring an 8.83 point ride with a
series of turns and an air reverse to finish.
Elliot Paerata – Reid (Piha) fought back with a strong 7.67 point ride
to bridge the gap but the lead was simply too big for the fickle
conditions. Australian based Korbin
Hutchings, formerly of Gisborne, pushed his way into third place thanks to his
last 6.10 point ride with McKenzie Bowden (WGM) in fourth.
Northland surfer Manu Scott – Arrieta (Sandy Bay)
defended his Under 14 Boys title by the closest margin of the day – 0.03 points
after a mammoth tussle with Kehu Butler (Mnt).
Scott – Arrieta held the lead for much of the final but it was a late
6.60 point ride that pushed him ahead of Butler
who finished in second place scoring.
Isaac Kettle (Tara) was also in the
hunt for the title after scoring a 6.23 point ride but never found a good
second ride. Waihi Beach
surfer Taine Craig – Ranga placed fourth in the final.
Thomas Kibblewhite (Rodney) was one of four surfers to defend their title at
the event, Kibblewhite taking back-to-back wins in the Men’s Longboard
Division. Kibblewhite outclassed his
opponents with the third highest heat score of the entire day – 16.73 points
out of 20. A near perfect 9.07 point
ride after he already held a strong lead, put the result beyond doubt and left
all his competitions requiring a combination of waves to catch up. It was the veteran Michael Fitzharris (Gis) who
feared the best to place second in a division he has previously won six
times. 2009 champion Daniel Procter
(Gis) placed third in the final with Ben Poulter in fourth.
Anna Jolly (Piha) secured one of four titles for the local Piha surfers in the
Women’s Longboard Division scoring 12.17 points. Alexis Poulter (Rag) fought hard to catch up
but finished in second place ahead of Mischa Davis (Piha) in third and Belinda
Goodwin (Rag) in fourth.
Shayne Baxter (Chch) took the sole South Island
title holding off Daniel Kereopa (Rag) to win the Stand Up Paddleboard
Division. Baxter won the first ever
national title in the division when it was contested at Piha in 2009. Kereopa was the defending champion. Kereopa had a final dig at the title today
but needing a 6.88 point ride on his last wave, came to the shore to the sound
of a 6.50 point ride being called out and finishing in second place. Whangamata surfers Lynden Kennings and Karl
Aarsen rounded out the final in third and fourth place respectively.
Jay Quinn (Gis) managed to secure a title at the event despite it not being in
the Open Men’s Division as he would have preferred. Quinn easily put claim to the Over 28 Men’s
Division scoring 17.43 in the final thanks to a 9.43 point ride for the cleanest
air reverse of the event. Winner of the
Peter Byers Most Outstanding Performance Award, Bachelor Tipene (Tara) placed
second in the final ahead of AJ Matthews (Auck) in third and Josh Thickpenny
(Dun) in fourth.
Ben Kennings defended his title in the Over 35 Men’s Division after riding just
the two waves in his heat to score 15.10 points. Cale Tolley (Mnt) held the lead for much of
the final after posting a 7.83 point ride on his first ride but Kennings fought
back with an 8.60 on his second scoring ride to jump into the lead. Tolley ended the final in second place ahead
of double finalist Rick Lasch (Piha) in third and Scott Casey (Auck) in fourth.
Double finalist Michael Fitzharris (Gis) went one better than his runner up
placing in the Longboard Division by winning the Over 40 Men’s Division. Like many of the senior men’s divisions, the
hunt for the title was a low scoring affair and Fitzharris managed to edge past
event stand out Rick Lasch (Piha) by 0.63 points, Lasch finishing in second
place ahead of Deane Hishon (Rag) in third and Mike Mulcahy (Piha) in fourth.
Geoff Hutchison (Rag) took one of three titles back to Raglan after winning the
Over 45 Men’s Division. Gaining his
second title, Hutchison defeated David Mann (Auck) by only 0.24 points with
Phil Wallis (Piha) in third and Kelvin Louie (Piha) in fourth.
Local Piha surfer Garry Pike claimed his first ever national title in the Over
50 Men’s Division to the cheers of his staunch support crew. It was a tight low scoring battle but Pike
posted 9.60 to win the final over Jeremy Hughes (Rag) in second place, Phillip
Griffin (Mnt) in third and Mike Sansom (Albany) in fourth.
New Zealand’s
most successful surfer at this event, Gisborne’s John Gisby notched up yet
another title in the Over 55 Men’s Division.
After being a late entry in the event, Gisby went about his work winning
heats and in the final he easily outpointed his opponents scoring 13.43 for the
win. Gisby now has 32 titles to his name
stretching as far back as 1984 in the Over 30 Men’s Division. Placing second today was Tairua surfer Barry
McCulloch scoring 9.53 who edged out Mike Trainer (Auck) in third with David
Storck (Auck) in fourth.
The oldest surfers in the event got their final completed early in the morning
with 1975 Open Men’s National Champion Benny Hutchings (Aus/Gis) making a
successful return to competition winning the Over 60 Men’s Division. Hutchings who makes up one of several family
combinations competing at the event scored 9.0 points to win the final over
Hamish Divett (Auck) who snuck passed Ken Nicholson (Auck) on a countback,
Nicholson placing third ahead of Clive Barron (Piha) in fourth.
The sole bodyboard division contested was for the women with young local Maiya
Thompson winning the final scoring 7.97 points to beat Marguerite Vujich (Nap)
in second, Chelsea Pike (Piha) in third and Seagh Keisenberg (Piha) in fourth.
Please see below for final results from the 2012 Hyundai National Surfing
Championships completed at Piha Beach, Auckland today (Saturday 21st
January).
Open Men's Division
Billy Stairmand (Rag), 17.1, 1, Chris Malone (Gis),
9.5, 2, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 9, 3, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), NS, 4
Open Women's
Thandi Durham - Tipene (Tara), 9.43, 1, Mischa
Davis (Auck), 8.6, 2, Ella Williams (Whmata), 8.37, 3, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris
(Gis), 5.73, 4
Under 18 Men's Division
Tane Wallis (Piha), 13.87, 1, Elliot Paerata Reid
(Piha), 12.07, 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 11.13, 3, Ben Poulter (Rag), 10.8, 4
Under 16 Boys
Division
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 16.33, 1, Elliot Paerata -
Reid (Piha), 13.6, 2, Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 12.53, 3, McKenzie Bowden
(Whmata), 11.33, 4
Under 14 Boys
Division
Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 11.97, 1, Kehu
Butler (Arataki), 11.93, 2, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 9.8, 3, Taine Craig Ranga
(Waihi Bch), 6.23, 4
Under 18 Girls
Division
Ella Williams (Whmata), 9.83, 1, Jayda
Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 8.57, 2, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 6.47, 3, Gabriella
Sansom (Auck), 3.8, 4
Under 16 Girls
Division
Gabriella Sansom (Auck), 9.7, 1, Jasmine Smith
(Gis), 9.2, 2, Claudia Fraser (Auck), 5.33, 3, Dayna Story (Gis), 4.7, 4
Men’s Longboard
Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 16.73, 1, Michael
Fitzharris (Gis), 12.57, 2, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 10.3, 3, Ben Poulter, 10.27, 4
Longboard Women's
Anna Jolly (Piha), 12.17, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag),
10.47, 2, Mischa Davis (Oratia), 10.4, 3, Belinda Goodwin (Mnt), 3.63, 4
Stand Up Paddleboards
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 14, 1, Daniel Kereopa (Rag),
13.63, 2, Lynden Kennings (Whgmata), 9.1, 3, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 7.6, 4
Seniors Over 28's
Jay Quinn (Gis), 17.43, 1, Bachelor Tipene
(Tara), 12.27, 2, AJ Matthews (Whmata), 7.6, 3, Josh Thickpenny (Dun), 5.47, 4
Masters Over 35's
Ben Kennings (Wmata), 15.1, 1, Cale Tolley
(Mnt), 11.23, 2, Rick Lasch (Auck), 10, 3, Scott Casey (Auck), 5.5, 4
Veterans Over 40's
Michael Fitzharris (Gis), 8.7, 1, Rick Lasch
(Auck), 8.03, 2, Deane Hishon (Rag), 5.87, 3, Mike Mulcahy (Auck), 3.45, 4
Grand Masters Over 45's
Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 9.57, 1, David Mann
(Auck), 9.33, 2, Phil Wallis (Piha), 6.83, 3, Kelvin Louie (Piha), 4.93, 4
Legends Over 50's
Garry Pike (Piha), 9.6, 1, Jeremy Hughes
(Rag), 8.17, 2, Phillip Griffin (Mnt), 8, 3, Mike Sansom (Auck), 5.83, 4
Fossils Over 55's
John Gisby (Gis), 13.43, 1, Barry McCulloch
(Tau), 9.53, 2, Mike Trainer (Auck), 9.03, 3, David Storck (Auck), 7.07, 4
Kahunas Over 60's
Ben Hutchings (Gis), 9, 1, Hamish Divett
(Auck), 7.23, 2, Ken Nicolson (Auck), 7.23, 3, Clive Barron (Piha), 2.6, 4
Women's Bodyboards
Maiya Thompson (Piha), 7.97, 1, Marguerite
Vujich (Napier), 7.67, 2, Chelsea Pike (Piha), 3.1, 3, Seagh Keisenberg (Piha),
1.63, 4
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 went up for grabs at the Hyundai National
Championships this week. As well as the
premier Open Men’s and Open Women’s Divisions, there was a further 23 divisions
comprising of age groups from Under 14 through to Over 60s 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 are available to media free of charge
upon request.
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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SOL SURF SERIES |
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1 Bobby Hansen (Gis)
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