Written by Ben Kennings, Surfing NZ. Sunday, 06 January 2013
The final day of action was played out in small 0.5m conditions at Manu Bay, Raglan. Conditions remained contestable all day with light winds as south easterly battled the strong sea breeze out to sea.
Michael Thomson (Rag) defended his title in the Over 50 Longboard defeating David Storck in a close final. Storck fought hard to topple Thomson but fell short scoring 7.23 to Thomson’s 9.03 out of a possible 20 points. Mark Hoyle (Orewa) placed third in the final ahead of Rupert Newbold (Ocean Beach) in fourth.
Daniel Kereopa (Rag) was another local surfer to defend his title in the Stand Up Paddleboard Division. He was too sharp for his opponents in the small conditions, racking up turn after turn on the best waves of the final. In challenging conditions he managed to score 14.67 out of 20 to beat Shayne Baxter (Chch) who placed runner up. The second local of the final, Armie Armstrong (Rag) placed third ahead of Karl Arsene (WGM).
And Gisborne surfer Daniel Procter has stormed back to the top of New Zealand’s longboarding ranks claiming victory in the first of five events on the 2013 Hyundai Tour this afternoon (6th January).
Procter went into the final day of the event as the sole forehand surfer of the eight remaining contestants in the Men’s Division. The small conditions fell into his favour with his smart noseriding ability the order of the final.
Proctor finished with a 17.33 point heat total. After taking the lead with five minutes remaining in the final, he went on to ride a 9.33 point buzzer beating ride to extend his lead on a victory-lap wave.
“Dylan got the first wave in the final and it was a good one so I knew I had to wait and grab a bigger set wave and I was lucky a few came through to get me into the lead then I blocked him on that last wave and got the 9.33, that is just how it goes sometimes” said Procter.
Proctor started the final behind Ohope surfer Dylan Barnfield. However Barnfield ultimately finished runner up after Procter who was more in sync with the best waves in the latter half of the final.
Gisborne surfer Sam Johnson finished in third place head of Owen Barnes (Mnt) in fourth.
Procter’s win gives him the early advantage on the Hyundai Tour ratings. He will now head into the Hyundai National Championships starting in seven days where he will look to make it back-to-back wins.
“If I keep winning then I will keep going to the Tour events, this win has given me the ticket to get to the ‘Nats’ so we will see how they go in a weeks time” said Procter.
Procter has yet claim a title in eight years of the Hyundai Tour, his best result being a runner up placing in 2009, the same year he also claimed the his only National Championship.
The Junior Division was a battle of three predominantly shortboard surfers versus 2012 Tour Champion Sam Poulter and it was Mount Maunganui surfer Josh Taylor that took the honours with some exemplary footwork to score 15.67 out of 20 points. Taylor along with runner up Jordan Griffin are both part of the New Zealand Junior Development Squad for shortboarding but make the transition to the longer board with ease. Defending Tour champion Sam Poulter (Rag) placed third after incurring an interference and Caleb Braithwaite (Whaka) finished in fourth place.
The light foot-work of Mischa Davis (Piha) saw her become the third surfer of the event to defend their title. Davis loved the small lefthanders as the tide crept in, staying tight in the wave pocket and walking to the nose on multiple times. Davis finished with a 12.53 point heat total in a close battle with runner up Belinda Goodwin (Rag) who scored 11.13 pointed. Goodwin, also on her forehand, used a similar approach to Davis but could not find the right waves to make a full charge for the win.
Craig Anderson (Mnt) claimed the Over 40 Longboard Division with ease. Anderson looked strong all weekend and his traditional approach to Manu Bay paid off with some long nose rides mixed in with brutal forehand cutbacks. Anderson finished with an 11.17 point heat total ahead of fellow Mount Maunganui surfer Guy Rencher who scored 8.63. Newcomer to the Over 40s Division was third placed Justin Bambery (Auck) who finished ahead of Andy Collins (Mnt) in fourth place.
The introduction of the ‘Logger Expression Session’ took place just before the finals with twelve surfers taking to the water. Over 30 minutes, surfers were judged on their entire finals performance and it was Ambrose McNeill (Chch) that won out over Daryn McBride (Mnt) placing runner up.
Please see below results from the final day of the first of five events on the 2013 Hyundai Tour completed at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Sunday 6th January).
Men’s Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Daniel Procter (Gis), 15.83, 1, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 15.17, 2, Jamie Andrews (Waitara), 11.2, 3, Zen Wallis (Piha), 10.0, 4
Heat 2
Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 1, Sam Johnson (Gis), 2, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 3, Phil Morris (Auck), 4
Men’s Longboard Final
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 17.33, 1, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 14.93, 2, Sam Johnson (Gis), 13.03, 3, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 10.93, 4
Women’s Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Mischa Davis (Oratia), 14.2, 1, Ann Snyder (Tau), 7.73, 2, Jo Moore (Tara), 7.07, 3
Heat 2
Belinda Goodwin (Mt), 10.4, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 7.33, 2, Tsuneyo (Sunny) Yoshida (Rag), 5.23, 3, Katjia Oberhofer (Swiz), 2.83, 4
Women’s Longboard Finals
Mischa Davis (Piha), 12.53, 1, Belinda Goodwin (Mnt), 11.13, 2, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 9.83, 3, Ann Snyder (Tau), 6.23, 4
Junior Longboard Final
Josh Taylor (Tau), 15.67, 1, Jordan Griffin (Mnt) 10.87, 2, Sam Poulter (Rag) 5.85, 3, Caleb Braithwaite 2.87, 4
Over 40 Longboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Guy Rencher (Mnt), 9.4, 1, James Atutahi (Maketu), 7.87, 2, Peter Mihailof (Mnt), 5.8, 3, Paulo Gomes (Whngrei), 5.67, 4
Heat 2
Craig Anderson (Mnt), 15.67, 1, Scott Braithwaite (Whktane), 6.1, 2, Stan Murphy (Auck), 4.3, 3, Pete Taylor (Whangaparaoa), 3.9, 4
Heat 3
Justin Bambery (Auck), 9.67, 1, Armie Armstrong, 8.6, 2, Whare Heke (Mnt), 5.25, 3, Paul Wood (Auck), N/S
Heat 4
Andy Collins (Mnt), 10.6, 1, Steve Tyro (Rag), 10.57, 2, Scotty Riach (Auck), 7.03, 3, Mal Brady (Mnt), 6.7, 4
Over 40 Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Craig Anderson (Mnt), 15, 1, Guy Rencher (Mnt), 10.8, 2, James Atutahi (Maketu), 5.2, 3, Scott Braithwaite (Whktane), 4.5, 4
Heat 2
Justin Bambery (Auck), 8.33, 1, Andy Collins (Mnt), 8.07, 2, Steve Tyro (Rag), 6.67, 3, Armie Armstrong, 4.97, 4
Over 40 Longboard Final
Craig Anderson (Mnt), 11.17, 1, Guy Rencher (Mnt), 8.63, 2, Justin Bambery (Auck), 6.67, 3, Andy Collins (Mnt), 6.60, 4
Over 50 Longboard Semifinal
Heat 1
Mark Hoyle (Orewa), 10.7, 1, David Storck (Auck), 5.43, 2, Michael Gray (Auck), 3.9, 3, Simon Bennett (Northland), 3.63, 4
Heat 2
Mike Thomson (Rag), 14, 1, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 5.83, 2, Ben Hutchings (Gis), 4.5, 3, Steve Davis (Piha), 4.42, 4
Over 50 Longboard Final
Mike Thomson (Rag), 9.03, 1, David Storck (Auck), 7.23, 2, Mark Hoyle (Orewa), 7.07, 3, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 3.5, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 14.7, 1, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 11, 2, Gavin Broadbent, 6.67, 3, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 6.03, 4
Heat 2
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 11.1, 1, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 9.9, 2, Tony Young (Dun), 9.03, 3, Daren Jones (Auck), 6.33, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Final
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 14.9, 1, Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 11.43, 2, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 8.00, 3, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 7.33, 4
Overall the Hyundai Tour boasts $12,000 in prize money which is boosted to $20,000 with approximately another $8,000 distributed to boardrider clubs and community groups at locations the tour frequents.
Hyundai have teamed up with Global Surf Industries and Starboard to provide boards to raffle off at each event location. All proceeds from this weekend’s raffles go back to Point Boardriders Club to help develop surfing in the region.
The remaining events for the 2013 Hyundai Tour follows:
Hyundai Tour Event 2, 13-19 January, Piha (5-star) – National Championships
Hyundai Tour Event 3, 1-3 February, Sandy Bay (4-star)
Hyundai Tour Event 4, 16-17 February, Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth (4-star)
Hyundai Tour Event 5, 1-2 March, Mount Maunganui (4-star)
Entry into the events can be completed at Surfing New Zealand under “events.” Entry into each event closes on the Monday prior to the event commencing. Complete the entry process online or download entry forms and send them in.
Further Information
For further information on the 2013 Hyundai Tour please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz