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Gissy Pipe Perfect Platform To Start National Championships

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New Zealand’s elite surfers were entertained by perfect Gisborne waves on day one (Sunday 7th January) of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships 2018 with local favourites Ricardo Christie and Maz Quinn dominating proceedings.

The storm that battered the country over the past 48 hours generated a big 2.0m south swell, perfectly directed at Midway Beach, Gisborne.  Surface conditions remained perfect all day with barely a breath of wind all day.

Christie lived up to his early favourite tag posting a 14.67 point total to make easy work of his heat and move through to the Round of 32 alongside Dylan Preston (Mnt).

Surfing at the event for the first time since 2014, Christie easily slipped back into the pace of the event with his surfing well suited to the solid waves on offer.  He will now face fellow World Qualifying Series campaigner Elliot Paerata – Reid (Piha) when his next heat takes place tomorrow (Monday).

Making a return to the National Championships while being contested in home waters, Quinn also looked impressive completing several big forehand turns during his heat to post 13.83 points out of a possible 20.  Quinn now meets number two seed Taylor Hutchison (Rag) in the second round as well as Sam Sands (Chch) and Jamie Andrews (Tara).

The first round of the Open Men’s Division was void of the top seeds including the likes of defending champion and number one seed Billy Stairmand (Rag) but the action was electric with a number of top New Zealand surfers returning to the competitive arena.

Stairmand (Rag) will make his first appearance at the event tomorrow when he faces off against a trio of junior surfers – Elliot Brown (Dun), Thomas Harcourt (Chch) and Jack Lee (Whaka).  Stairmand begins his campaign to win a sixth straight Open Men’s Division title and help his Point Boardriders Club defend the club title.

Other surfers to look impressive on the first day of the event included Johnny Hicks (Gis), Nick White (Mnt) and junior surfer Caleb Cutmore (Ham).

Cutmore contested a second heat of the day in the Under 18 Boys Division where he placed second to an energised performance from Ruben Peyroux (Dun).  Peyroux finished with an 11.53 point heat total to advance to the last 16 surfers in the draw.

Peyroux followed his mate Elliot Brown (Dun) in winning his heat, Brown surfing to the highest heat score of the round, 15.7 points.

While Brown, Conor McLennan (Chch) and Shane Kraus (Piha) won their heats, the division was filled with upsets as four highly touted seeds were eliminated in their first heat.  The upsets paved the way for young guns Myka Black (Chch), Tom Butland (Tara) and Taylor O’Leary (Mur) to win their heats, all three surfers competing up a division from their preferred Under 16 Boys Division.

Late in the day the Under 16 Boys Division rounded out the day with Josef Jungwirth (Rag), Tom Robinson (Whangarei) and Navryn Malone (Rag) winning the early heats.

The event runs along the Gisborne coastline from 7th – 13th January.

The Health 2000 National Surfing Championships forms the first leg of the 2018 New Zealand Surf Series.

In the 54 year history of the event the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships has grown to encompass 29 divisions spread across all disciplines and age groups from Under 14 through to Over 60 for males and females, longboard, kneeboard and paddleboard.  Over 300 entries have been received for the event.

2018 marks the fourteenth time the event has been held at Gisborne, the most out of any location in the country.  The event was last held at Gisborne in 2014.  The event would not be possible without the support of Health 2000, Eastern Institute of Technology and Gisborne Boardriders.

The draw for the premier Open Men’s and Women’s Divisions plus juniors can be found on the Surfing New Zealand website.

Please see below for results from day one of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships 2018 held at Midway Beach, Gisborne today (Sunday 7th January).

Open Men’s Division Round of 48
Heat 1

William Van Der Beek (Mnt), 8.93, 1, Kaya Horne (Mnt), 7.37, 2, Jack Rosewarne (TA), 5.6, 3, Luke Jenssen (HBay), 5.53, 4
Heat 2
Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 17.8, 1, Keone Campbell (Tara), 12, 2, Jeremy Grainger (Tara), 6.77, 3, Ihaia Ngata (Mnt), 4.1, 4
Heat 3
Damon Gunness (Gis), 11, 1, Jack Lee (Whaka), 9.9, 2, Larry Fisher (Rag), 7.83, 3, Waretini Wano (Piha), N/S
Heat 4
Thomas Harcourt (Chch), 8.73, 1, Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 8.2, 2, George Busby (Gis), 6, 3, Duncan Milne (Gis), 4.27, 4
Heat 5
Maz Quinn (Gis), 13.8, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 13.1, 2, Che Whitaker (Gis), 6.17, 3, Taylor O’Leary (Mur), 5.57, 4
Heat 6
Nick White (Mnt), 13.4, 1, Jamie Andrews (Tara), 9.63, 2, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 8.77, 3, Jonas Te Aho (Gis), 6.77, 4
Heat 7
Johnny Hicks (Gis), 13.1, 1, Jarred Hancox (Tara), 12.5, 2, Luke Griffin (Mnt), 8.93, 3, Tom Norton (Whangarei), N/S
Heat 8
Richard Christie (Mahia), 14.7, 1, Dylan Preston (WGM), 11.8, 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 11.5, 3, Shane Kraus (Piha), 7.73, 4

 

Under 18 Boys Division Round of 32
Heat 1
Taylor O’Leary (Mur), 12.4, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 10.8, 2, Dylan Preston (Mnt), 8.9, 3, Corban Grainger (Tara), 5.23, 4
Heat 2
Elliott Brown (Dun), 15.7, 1, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 12.1, 2, Neko Tohiariki (Chch), 6.33, 3, James Ririnui (Mnt), 3.1, 4
Heat 3
Tom Butland (Tara), 10.73, 1, Tom Norton (Waipu), 8.9, 2, William Van der Beek (Mnt), 8.33, 3, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 7.1, 4
Heat 4
Ruben Peyroux (Dun), 11.5, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 11.2, 2, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 8.43, 3
Heat 5
Jared Gebert (Ohope), 14, 1, Luis Southwood (Whaka), 8.7, 2, Jack Rosewarne (Ham), 7.07, 3, Jacob Buckle (Whngrei), 5.1, 4
Heat 6
Shane Kraus (Piha), 15, 1, Kaya Horne (Mnt), 11.43, 2, Luke Griffin (Mnt), 9.46, 3, Angus Mossman (Chch), 6.67, 4
Heat 7
Conor McLennan (Chch), 13.2, 1, Max Brunker (Whngrei), 8.84, 2, Jack Lee (Whaka), 7.03, 3, Mitchell Dalley (Mnt), 6.5, 4
Heat 8
Myka Black (Chch), 12.2, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 12.2, 2, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 9.4, 3, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 6.2, 4

Below is a schedule of events that will take place with surfing being held from 8am – 4pm daily.

Day 1 – Open Men, Junior Boys divisions
Day 2 – Addition of Women’s divisions
Day 3 – Addition of Men’s senior age group divisions
Day 4 – Addition of Longboard divisions
Day 5 – Addition of SUP Divisions
Day 6 – Addition of SUP Divisions and Kneeboard
Day 7 – All divisions plus SUP Race

Further Information
For further information on the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships 2018 please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.

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