New Zealand’s elite surfers were given a day off today (Wednesday 10th January) at the halfway mark of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships being held at Gisborne this week.
With the swell at its lowest point of the week at 0.5m – 1.0m a lay day was called for the premier Open Men’s and Women’s Divisions leaving the likes of the Longboard and the youngest Under 14 Boys and Girls Divisions to be contested.
Despite the small waves on offer, the surface conditions were perfect all day with variable winds and a clean peak at Makorori Beach that gave all surfers plenty of opportunities.
Local Gisborne surfers dominated the Men’s Longboard Division with six of eight semifinalists hailing from the region. They were led by two-time champion (2009 and 2013) Daniel Procter who was competing in the event despite expecting his third child later in the day. Procter will face off in an all-Gisborne semifinal including Sam Johnson, Kelly Ryan and Geoff Pardoe when he enters the water next.
The second semifinal will feature another standout Gisborne surfer in Guy Burns who top-scored for the round with a 15.0 point heat total. Burns will compete against defending champion Zen Wallis (Piha) in the semifinal.
Wallis is one of four surfers flying to China immediately after the event to compete at the ISA World Longboard Championships as part of the New Zealand Team.
Sasha Brownlie (Auck) is another surfer to head off to China next week and today she posted the highest heat score in the Women’s Longboard Division scoring 13.83 points to advance to the final of the division. Brownlie will be joined by Estella Hungerford (Chch), Ariana Shewry (Tara) and Donna Henderson (Chch) with the final being held on Thursday.
With the swell at its smallest for the week, participants in the Under 14 Boys and Girls Divisions had to endure up to three rounds of competition today with both divisions being contested down to the final four surfers.
The Boys Division dished up a familiar four in the final with three surfers from Raglan in Jayden Willoughby, Kora Cooper and Navryn Malone who will face off against Gisborne surfer Finn Vette.
Despite the favourites advancing through to the final, there were some great performances from the likes of Ryder Pennington (Tara), Reef Newdick (Mnt) and Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whangarei).
For the girls it was Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin) and Liv Haysom (Piha) that claimed two heat wins for the day and advanced through to the finals. They will be joined by the impressive Ava Henderson (Chch) and local surfer Daizee Rawls.
Both Henderson and Gouldsbury were also in action in the Under 16 Girls Division successfully advancing through to the semifinals against their older opponents. Henderson top scored in the division posting a 12.43 point heat total to advance to the semifinals where she will meet up with Brie Bennett (Rag) and Stella Smith (Gis). Gouldsbury will face off against Georgia Wederell (Mnt) and Estella Hungerford (Chch).
The swell is expected to remain around the 1.0m mark for day five of the event on Thursday potentially building in the afternoon. The stand up paddleboard divisions will be added to the agenda as well as the first finals of the event being contested.
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 four of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships 2018 held at Makorori Beach, Gisborne today (Wednesday 10th January).
Men’s Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Guy Edge Burns (Gis), 15, 1, Geoff Pardoe (Gis), 7.93, 2, Paul Culpan (Auck) , 7.8, 3, Sean Hovell (Chch), 5.17, 4
Heat 2
Zen Wallis (Piha), 14.1, 1, Sam Johnson (Gis), 12.9, 2, Paul Moretti (Mimi), 10.5, 3
Heat 3
Kelly Ryan (Gis), 12.9, 1, Hamiora Gibson (Gis), 7.73, 2, Sam Sands (Chch), 6.5, 3, Mike Yukich (Gis), 4.53, 4
Heat 4
Daniel Procter (Gis), 14.4, 1, Rupert Newbold (Ocean Beach), 5.77, 2, George Busby (Gis), 5.6, 3, Matt Hands (Mnt), 5.57, 4
Women’s Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Estella Hungerford (Chch), 10.7, 1, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 8.83, 2, Lucy Te Moananui (Kaik), 5.7, 3, Margurite Vujcich (Hbay), 5.7, 4
Heat 2
Sasha Brownlie (Auck), 13.8, 1, Donna Henderson (Chch), 8.67, 2, Abigail Dauton (Gis), 8.27, 3, Renee Davenport (Rag), 7.43, 4
Under 14 Boys Round 1
Heat 1
Tiger West-Hill (Gis), 9.13, 1, Dara O’Malley (Chch), 8.63, 2, Benny Kassel (Gis), 4.43, 3
Heat 2
Bill Byers (Piha), 12.8, 1, Jai Wallis (Auck), 12.1, 2, Tana Clapham (Rag), 6.13, 3, Will Hardie (Piha), 4.47, 4
Heat 3
Ryder Pennington (Tara), 15.3, 1, Riku Gordon (Mahia), 7.23, 2, Eli Livingston (Gis), 5.67, 3
Heat 4
Reef Newdick (Mnt), 13.5, 1, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei), 11.8, 2, Hunter Lynch (Gis), 2.47, 3
Under 14 Boys Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Kora Cooper (Rag), 11, 1, Tiger West-Hill (Gis), 9.03, 2, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 6.33, 3, Jai Wallis (Auck), 5.1, 4
Heat 2
Navryn Malone (Rag), 13.2, 1, James Millar (Chch), 11.1, 2, Dara O’Malley (Chch), 8.53, 3, Bill Byers (Piha), 4.03, 4
Heat 3
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 16.8, 1, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 12.1, 2, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei), 10.3, 3, Jack Mckenzie (Waikuku), 5.83, 4
Heat 4
Finn Vette (Gis), 12.4, 1, Reef Newdick (Mnt), 7, 2, Ben Storey (Rag), 5.73, 3, Riku Gordon (Mahia), 4.83, 4
Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1
Kora Cooper (Rag), 11.5, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 8.17, 2, James Millar (Chch), 7.23, 3, Tiger West-Hill (Gis), 5.33, 4
Heat 2
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 13.7, 1, Finn Vette (Gis), 11.4, 2, Reef Newdick (Mnt), 7.17, 3, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 6.5, 4
Under 16 Girls Round 1
Heat 1
Ava Henderson (Chch), 12.4, 1, Estella Hungerford (Chch), 10.5, 2, Hannah King (Gis), 7.7, 3, Anna Brock (Mnt), 5.03, 4
Heat 2
Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 11.6, 1, Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 6.2, 2, Liv Haysom (Piha), 6.17, 3
Heat 3
Brie Bennett (Rag), 12.1, 1, Stella Smith (Gis), 9.33, 2, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 8.3, 3, Kahana Ngaia (Tara), 8.27, 4
Under 14 Girls Round 1
Heat 1
Liv Haysom (Piha), 9.73, 1, Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 7.97, 2, Misha Peyroux (Dun), 6.1, 3, Jess Haysom (Piha), 1.77, 4
Heat 2
Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 12, 1, Ava Henderson (Chch), 10.7, 2, Chloe Groube (Pau), 3.27, 3
Heat 3
Daizee Rawls (Gis), 7.1, 1, Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 6.03, 2, Anna Brock (Mnt), 5.5, 3, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 3.37, 4
Under 14 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 9.17, 1, Ava Henderson (Chch), 8, 2, Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 6, 3
Heat 2
Liv Haysom (Piha), 8.1, 1, Daizee Rawls (Gis), 6.4, 2, Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 2.93, 3
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
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.
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.
