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Stairmand Smashes Field at O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro |
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Written by Ben Kennings
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Sunday, 08 November 2009 |
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Billy Stairmand - Image Col / SURF2SURF.com
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Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand (20) smashed apart a star-studded field of surfers to take a well received victory at the O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro today (Sunday 8th November). Stairmand’s partner, Jessica Santorik, was also victorious in the Open Women’s Division making it a highly successful weekend for the young couple.
The O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro, held at Makorori Beach, Gisborne is the first of five events on the Export Gold Series which stretches throughout the country during the coming summer months.
Today’s conditions were less than desirable with up to a metre of swell affected by onshore winds. Despite the challenges facing the surfers, the level of surfing was impressive during the final stages of the event.
In the final Stairmand posted a 17.0 point heat total which he accumulated in the first ten minutes, nearly putting an end to his opponents efforts before the halfway mark of the 25 minute final.
“I was stoked to get those first two” said Stairmand with a beaming ear-to-ear grin. “I snuck into that second ‘double up’ wave just as I got out the back and did some good turns to get that eight.”
Hailing from the long lefts of Raglan, it was no surprise that Stairmand hunted down the only lefts along Makorori Beach during the final. “I had seen a few lefts earlier and thought I would sit there. Then the first two waves came through and that was about it….I almost sat there the rest of the final and caught nothing”.
Gisborne surfer Chris Malone fought back in the final posting a 7.5 point ride late in the final which temporarily gave Stairmand the jitters but his tally was insurmountable.
Malone finished the event placed second after scoring 13.70 ahead of Whangamata surfer Gauranga Ormond. Ormond had looked sharp all day and got off to a good start in the final but the waves on offer hampered his scoring potential. However he will still be happy with his start to the Export Gold Series and will press to match his runner up finish in 2008/09.
Mount Maunganui surfer Nick White finished with a career best fourth placing in the final with his good run of form coming up short at the end of the day.
Earlier in the day Stairmand and Malone eliminated Blair Stewart (Gis) and Paco Divers (Sandy Bay) in the first semifinal and Ormond and White eliminated Keone Campbell (Tara) and Bobby Hansen (Gis) in the second semifinal.
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Jess Santorik - Image Col / SURF2SURF.com
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Jessica Santorik (Rag) defended her O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro title in relatively easy fashion in the Open Women’s Division final scoring 13.50 points out of a possible 20. Santorik started slowly but then found her rhythm notching up single wave scores of 7.0 and 6.5 at the end of the heat.
“I was a bit worried that I wasn’t going to get any waves at the start but luckily I scrambled onto a couple at the end”.
Santorik now takes the lead on the Export Gold Series with four events remaining. “I am stoked with the start to the year, you can’t ask for more. Obviously it sets me up well for the rest of the year. I definitely want to win the Export Gold Series this year after placing runner up in 2008/09” said Santorik.
Rosa Thompson (Auck) fought hard in the final to lock in a 10.50 point heat total and place runner up. New Zealand Junior representatives Alexis Poulter (Rag) and Jayda Martin - Fitzharris finished third and fourth respectively.
Paco Divers (Sandy Bay) secured a nail-biting win in the Under 20 Men’s Division. Divers found himself languishing at the rear of the field midway through the 25 minute final before storming back with consecutive rides of 6.50 and 7.25 to shoot him out to a considerable lead.
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Paco Divers - Image Col / SURF2SURF.com
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Early heat leader and eventual Open Men’s winner Billy Stairmand (Rag) revelled in the small onshore conditions but found himself requiring a 7.01 point ride to win the final with only seconds to go.
Divers sat on Stairmand executing some excellent blocking manoeuvres before he made what could have been a telling error of judgement taking off on a wave and gifting Stairmand a last ditch chance for victory. Stairmand caught the last wave with five seconds on the clock and rode it to the beach completing several big turns. Stairmand scored a 6.95 point ride for a narrow loss.
Piha surfer Ryan Hawker remained in the hunt during the first half of the final before Divers pushed for the lead and he ultimately finished third ahead of Alex Dive in fourth place. Dive required a second placing to win the series and bump Sean Peggs (Tairua) into second.
As it panned out, despite Peggs placing ninth at the O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro, he defended his Export Gold Series title. “Well that makes a quarterfinal finish a little better, I thought I had completely blown it” a surprised Peggs commented upon being informed of his series title.
Final results from the O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro – Export Gold Series Event 1 follow:
Open Men’s Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1Blair Stewart (Gis), 1, Chris Malone (Gis), 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 3, Morehu Roberts (Rag), 4Heat 2Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 2, Bodhi Whitaker (Gis), 3, Maz Quinn (Gis), 4Heat 3 Keone Campbell (Tara), 1, Nick White (Mnt), 2, Dane Simpson (Gis), 3, Ben Kennings (Whmata), 4Heat 4Bobby Hansen (Gis), 1, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 2, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 3, James Fowell (Gis), 4
Open Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Chris Malone (Gis), 2, Blair Stewart (Gis), 3, Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 4Heat 2Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 1, Nick White (Mnt), 2, Keone Campbell (Tara), 3, Bobby Hansen (Gis), 4
Open Men’s Division Final
Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Chris Malone (Gis), 2, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 3, Nick White (Mnt), 4
Open Women’s Semifinals
Heat 1Jessica Santorik (Rag), 1, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 2, Grace Spiers (Whmata), 3Heat 2 Alexis Poulter (Rag), 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 2, Ella Williams (Whmata), 3
Open Womens Final
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 1, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 2, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 3, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 4
Under 20 Men’s Division Round of 32
Heat 1Billy Stairmand, 1, Zen Wallis (Piha), 2, Nick Moses (Tara), 3, Charlie Denniston (Mast), 4Heat 2Ben Poulter (Rag), 1, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 2, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 3, Jacob Kohn (Gis), 4Heat 3Bodhi Whitaker (Gis), 1, Adam Grimson, 2, Michael Mallalieu (Tara), 3, Tane Wallis (Piha), 4Heat 4 Ryan Hawker (Piha), 1, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 2, Haami Martin (Taharoa), 3, Reno Marriot (Gis), 4Heat 5Alex Dive (Mnt), 1, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 2, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 3, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 4Heat 6 Tim Thompson (Auck), 1, Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 2, Nat Hughes (Rag), 3, Adam Cranston (Gis), 4Heat 7 JC Susan (Mnt), 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 2, Travis McCoy (Mnt), 3, Tyler Anderson (Tara), 4Heat 8 Keone Campbell (Tara), 1, Ryan Heath (Whmata), 2, Blake Myers (Whmata), 3, Emmett Holmes O'Conner (Rag), 4
Under 20 Men’s Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Adam Grimson (Gis), 2, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 3, Ben Poulter (Rag), 4Heat 2Ryan Hawker (Piha), 1, Zen Wallis (Piha), 2, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 3, Bodhi Whitaker (Gis), 4Heat 3 Buck Woods (Gis), 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 2, Tim Thompson (Auck), 3, Ryan Heath (Whmata), 4Heat 4Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 1, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 2, JC Susan, 3, Keone Campbell (Tara), 4
Under 20 Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Ryan Hawker (Piha), 2, Adam Grimson (Gis), 3, Zen Wallis (Piha), 4Heat 2 Alex Dive (Mnt), 1, Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 2, Buck Woods (Gis), 3, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 4
Under 20 Junior Men Final
Paco Divers (Sandy Bay), 1, Billy Stairmand (Rag), 2, Ryan Hawker (Piha), 3, Alex Dive (Mnt), 4
Please see below for the top ten rated surfers at the end of the Export Gold Series Under 20 Men’s Division.
1, Sean Peggs (Tairua)
2, Alex Dive (Mnt)
3, Buck Woods (Gis)
4, Paco Divers (Sandy Bay)
5, Billy Stairmand (Rag)
6, Tim O'Connor (Mnt)
7, Keone Campbell (Tara)
8, Tane Wallis (Piha)
9, Tim Thompson (Auck)
10, Bodhi Whitaker (Gis)
Complete event write ups, results, surfer and industry ratings, images and audio interviews from the event can be viewed on www.surfingnz.co.nz.
Please see below for the remaining four events that make up the 2009/10 Export Gold Series
Event 2: 30 January – 1 February, Billabong Pro, Whangamata
Event 3: 26 – 28 February, Rip Curl Pro, Raglan
Event 4: 1 – 5 April, Hyundai National Surfing Championships, Gisborne
Event 5: 23 – 24 April, Export Gold Super 16 / Interclub Championships / North Island South Island Challenge, Piha Beach
Information
For further information on the O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro and the Export Gold Series please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email ben.kennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506. This will be updated daily at approximately 7am daily with venue, divisions contested and conditions for the day.
Images
High resolution images to accompany the media release are available to media free of charge. Please contact Ben Kennings on the details above.
SponsorsGenerous support from O’Neill Wetsuits, Sequence Surf Shop, New Zealand Community Trust and Gisborne Boardriders has made this event possible.
Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by
Export Gold
Hyundai
SPARCSmokefree
Ends
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