Media Release: Surfing NZ
Billy Stairmand of Raglan has claimed his third national title winning the 2014 National Surfing Championships today (Saturday 18th January). He was joined by Grace Spiers of Whangamata who won her first title in the Open Women’s Division.
By way of Stairmand’s result, Point Boardriders of Raglan placed third in the Interclub Championship with Grace Spiers helping Whangamata Boardriders to runner up. However it was the overall consistency of hosts Gisborne Boardriders that won out, the club taking the newly resurrected trophy.
With the massive weather system rolling through the Gisborne region overnight, a move up the coast to Kaiaua Bay just north of Tologa Bay was required to finish the event. The primary venue of Makorori was too big to surf and severely affected by strong southwest winds.
Stairmand, in what many described as the ultimate final, finished with a 15.07 point heat total leaving his opponents needing near perfect rides to match him.
“I am stoked, I always get good results down here for some reason, there are always waves and heaps of the boys live down here so I like coming down” said Stairmand as he exited the water.
It was Stairmand’s third title having won in Gisborne in 2010 and again in Piha in 2012. “The first time I won the Nationals was in Gisborne so to get my third here is pretty sweet” he added.
Stairmand adjusted best to the difficult 1.0m – 1.5m beach break conditions opting to surf in a left hand rip-bowl that allowed him to unleash his potent backhand attack.
“I saw this left out there all day and went out there and tried to get as many waves as possible, I almost got 15 waves and there were a couple of good ones in there. I mean Makorori was 16ft today so it was good to come around here and surf some fun little waves. Everyone has to surf the same conditions, I was frothing no matter what cos I was keen to win so yeah, I am real happy” said Stairmand.
Placing second in the final was the underdog Bobby Hansen (Gis) who scored 11.50 points out of a possible 20. Hansen led early in the 30 minute final but could not match Stairmand by the end of the heat.
“That lead at the start was fake really, because I didn’t have a real good scoring ride and Billy got a couple at the end and that’s the way it goes, that’s competition” said Stairmand.
“It is definitely a missed opportunity, it is a good result but it is a disappointing result as well” he added of the missed opportunity to win his first title.
Placing third in the final was Maz Quinn (Gis) who sat on the same peak as Stairmand for much of the final. Maz could not connect more than two of his brutal backhand turns which limited his chances of challenging Stairmand for the win and a record equalling fifth national title. Maz finished with a 10.70 point heat total ahead of defending champion and younger brother Jay Quinn in fourth on 10.27.
Grace Spiers claimed a well-deserved title in the Open Women’s Division which was almost not to be as she revealed post final.
“I wasn’t expecting too much of myself at this event and I was actually thinking of not coming down to Gisborne and competing because of my arm that I broke late last year and I haven’t been surfing for a bit. However I thought I would come down and give it a go and hang out with everyone and see if I could win the title and look what happened” she explained.
“I am so, so happy right now I cannot believe it, so stoked. I managed to get some good waves at the start and I stayed real hungry, I was lucky I did that because it got harder and harder to get waves out there” she added. Spiers finished with an 11.17 point heat total.
Placing second in the final was the local giant killer Abby Falwasser – Logan (Gis) who had earlier defeated Ella Williams (WGM) in the semifinals. Falwasser – Logan scored a low 6.9 points in the final but that was enough to stave off Bianca Sansom (Auck) who placed third and Alexis Poulter (Rag) who placed fourth, all finalists having a difficult time in the challenging conditions.
Whangamata claimed a second title in the Under 18 Boys Division through Dune Kennings who came through the victor of a low scoring final. Kennings adds to his Under 14 and Under 16 Boys titles.
“I am stoked especially because I was in bed all day yesterday and still felt crook this morning when I woke up so I am happy to get the win and go home with the title” said Kennings.
Kennings posted an 11.83 point heat total to hold off his opponents. “I was stressing out there at first, anyone could have got the winning score with one individual wave and I didn’t know who to sit on. In the end I sat there and let fate decide if I was going to win or not and I came in winning” said Kennings.
Placing second in the final was Jordan Griffin (Mnt), who had been a form surfer all event. Griffin completed some nice turns in the final however fell on one turn in particular that would have had him pushing Kennings for the lead. Griffin finished with a 9.43 point heat total to finish ahead of Kehu Butler (Mnt) in third and Korbin Hutchings (Gis) in fourth.
Local girl Jasmine Smith defended her Under 18 Girls Division title beating Gabriella Sansom (Auck), Britt Kindred (Mur) and Abby Falwasser – Logan (Gis) who finished second through fourth respectively.
Thomas Kibblewhite (Red Beach) reclaimed the longboard title to bring his tally to three while Shayne Baxter (Chch) also reclaimed the Stand Up Paddleboard title from Daniel Kereopa (Rag) who finished second today.
Wainui Store Breakthrough Performance of the Day went to Jonas Tawharu (Mnt) claiming his first event win at a national level winning the Under 16 Boys Division.
Set out below are the final results from 2014 National Surfing Championships completed at Kaiaua Bay north of Gisborne today (Saturday 18th January).
Open Men’s Division Final
Billy Stairmand (Rag), 15.07, 1, Bobby Hansen (Gis), 11.50, 2, Maz Quinn (Gis), 10.70, 3, Jay Quinn (Gis), 10.27.
Open Women’s Division Final
Grace Spiers (WGM), 1, 11.17, Abby Falwasser – Logan (Gis), 6.9, 2, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 5.43, 3, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 4.57, 4
Under 18 Boys Division Final
Dune Kennings (WGM), 11.83, 1, Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 9.43, 2, Kehu Butler (Mnt), 8.87, 3, Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 8.4, 4
Under 18 Girls Division Final,
Jasmine Smith (Gis), 11.3, 1Gabriella Sansom (Auck), 7.1, 2, Britt Kindred (Mur) 5.17, 3, Abby Falwasser – Logan (Gis), 3.67, 4
Under 16 Boys Final
Jonas Tawharu (Mnt), 9.97, 1, Kehu Butler (Mnt), 9.77, 2, Manu Scott – Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 7.10, 3, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 6.87, 4
Under 16 Girls Final
Elin Tawharu (Mnt), 11.8, 1, Kea Smith (Arataki), 10.1, 2, Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 7.57, 3, Britt Kindred (Muri), 4.4, 4
Under 14 Boys Final
Kehu Butler (Arataki), 14.5, 1, Tane Bowden (Whmata), 9.86, 2, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 7.5, 3, Lee Ririnui (Arataki), 6.83, 4
Over 28 Men’s Division Final
Chris Malone (Gis), 12.5, 1, Damon Gunness (Gis), 10.4, 2, Josh Colbert (Gis), 9.27, 3, Kayne Duncan (Rag), 5.6, 4
Over 35 Men’s Division Final
Chris Malone (Rag), 13.37, 1, Ben Kennings (WGM), 8.5, 2, Damon Gunness (Gis), 8.13, 3, Clint Daly, 1.17, 4
Over 40 Men’s Division Final
Matt Groube (Pauanui), 13.2, 1, Kelly Ryan (Gis), 11.1, 2, Shaun Coffey (Auck), 8.97, 3, Clint Daly (Gis), 6.83, 4
Over 45 Men’s Division Final
Brian Young (Auck), 9.17, 1, Rick Lasch (Auck), 8.17, 2, Tim Madsen (Gis), 6.5, 3, Sam Mottart (Gis), 5.83, 4
Over 50 Men’s Division Final
John Roussey (ChCh), 10.1, 1, Glenn Shuker (Chch), 9.33, 2, Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 9.1, 3, Rodney Welch (Gis), 6, 4
Over 55 Men’s Final
Bruce Collier (Tara), 9.87, 1, Barry MacCulloch (Tairua), 9.2, 2, John Gisby (Gis), 8.77, 3, Rodney Welch (Gis), 7.83, 4
Over 60 Men’s Final
John Gisby (Gis), 10.1, 1, Spring Thompson (Gis), 9.23, 2, Chris Ransley (Gis), 6.5, 3, Larry Foster (Gis), 3.9, 4
Senior Women’s Final
Jess Nicolson (Auck), 5.47, 1, Gina Samson (Gis), 4.63, 2, Fleur Blackie (Auck), 3.92, 3, Marguarite Vujich (Nap) , 2.37, 4
Men’s Longboard Final
Thomas Kibblewhite (Red Beach), 14.67, 1, Ben Poulter (Rag), 9.93, 2, Daniel Procter (Gis), 8.42, 3, Sam Johnson (Gis), 6.27, 4
Junior Longboard Final
Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 9.97, 1, George Busby (Gis), 8.13, 2, Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 3.8, 3, Ben Mcculloch (Gis), 3.43, 4
Women’s Longboard Final
Alexis Poulter (Rag), 10.1, 1, Wini Paul (Sandy Bay), 10, 2, Ella Williams (WGM), 9.03, 3, Nam Northcott (Tara), 4.53, 4
Men’s Stand Up Paddleboard Final
Shayne Baxter (Chch), 1, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 2, Regan Fairlie (Tologa Bay), 3, Trevor Tunnington (Aus), 4
Women’s Stand Up Paddleboard Final
Alexis Poulter (Rag), 6.83, 1, Annabel Anderson Wanaka, 4.57, 2, Maria Kingi (Auck), 4, 3, Hiria Rolleston (Mnt), 3.07, 4
Men’s Battle of the Paddle
1, Armie Armstrong (Rag) 13:12, 2, Trevor Tunnington (Aus) 13:13, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 15:25, 4 Shane Baxter (Chch), 16:15
Women’s Battle of the Paddle
1, Annabel Anderson (Wanaka), 16:36, 2 Penelope Strickland (Auck) 20:13, 3 Victoria Stuart (Auck) 26:18
Kneeboard Final
Kamen Geiseler (Gis), 8.33, 1, Craig McDonald, 7.33, 2, Kelvin Weir Opunake, 7.27, 3, Craig Hooper (Papamoa), 2.43, 4
Interclub Championship
1, Gisborne Boardriders
2, Whangamata Boardriders
3, Point Boardriders
4, New Plymouth Surfriders
5, Maori Bay Boardriders
6, Bay Boardriders
7, New Brighton Boardriders,
8, North Coast Boardriders
9, Orewa Boardriders
10, North Wai Boardriders
Event Partners
Thanks to event partners Sport New Zealand, SunSmart, Corona, Isaacs Cider, Wainui Store, Waxy Wax and Gisborne Boardriders.