Raglan’s Daniel Kereopa blitzes his opponents in the Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard Division

Josh Constable – Image PhotoCPL

The class of the Australian surfers Josh Constable and Nic Jones proved too much for the Kiwi surfers at the first event of the 2011 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour as the two Aussies walked away with big wins in their respective divisions.

The first event of the tour was played out at the south end of Piha Beach in clean 1.0m waves.  The bar at Piha has been showing some exceptional form recently and today was no different with some amazing waves coming through all morning.

Constable was odds on favourite to win the event given his lengthy list of international results.  He has toured to New Zealand for many years contesting key events on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour and took the opportunity to return for the first event of 2011.

In the final Constable scored 16.40 out of a possible 20 to take the win.  His final was epitomised by his last wave which scored a 9.0 for three massive vertical backhand re-entries.

“It was a good final” said Constable.  “My game plan was to get whatever came my way as it was getting inconsistent out there.  Early on I got two waves and one was a keeper.  With 15 minutes to go, I decided to sit there and be selective and it paid off when I got the nine point ride and that was it” added a happy Constable post-final.

It looks like the Kiwis may have a challenge on their hands for the entire 2011 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour too with Constable suggesting he will be competing at several events, conditions dependent, but certainly the third leg of the tour at Sandy Bay and the final event at Port Waikato.

Constable was pushed to the limit for much of the final after Daniel Procter (Gis) got out to an early lead scoring a total of 13.0 on his first two waves.  After dropping back to second Procter put in a massive effort on his final two waves but the 9.16 required for first was too much.

Procter did however hold off 2009 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Champion Michael Burling for second after Burling also made a late charge for the title.  Burling finished with a 13.90 point heat total ahead of Phil Morris (Auck) in fourth place scoring 10.85.

The second Australian to take a title was Queensland surfer Nic Jones in the Under 18 Boys Division.  Jones, a semifinalist in the Open Men’s Division, was unstoppable scoring 14.75 in the final and leaving his opponents requiring excellent scoring rides to catch him.  The Whakatane trio of Matt Craig, Hone Douglas and Joseph Stewart had to settle for the minor placings with Matt Craig getting the nod over Douglas on a count back to claim second place.  Douglas finished in third place with Stewart finishing the final in fourth place.

Mischa Davis (Piha) snatched a last minute win in the Women’s Division scoring a 6.75 point ride on her last wave to leap frog Anna Jolly (Piha) who finished in second place.  Davis finished with a 12.15 heat total making the most of the full tide conditions and linking her rides through from the outside banks.  Shelley Jones (Auck) placed third in the final with Sasha Brownlie (Auck) in fourth place.

Brian Young (Orewa) showed his dominance of the Over 40 Men’s Division winning yet another title.  Young posted 13.15 points in the final to push well past his opponents.  Christchurch surfer Michael Willman placed second with a score of 10.50 followed by Paul Browne (Orewa) in third on 9.95 and Michael Thomson (Rag) in fourth scoring 9.50.

Northland surfer Viv Treacy once again claimed the Over 50 Men’s Division kicking off the season in perfect fashion.  Treacy scored 12.25 to win the final over 2010 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Champion, Raglan’s Michael Thomson on 11.0.  Auckland’s David Storck finished in third place ahead of Grant Cochrane (Chch) in fourth.

Daniel Kereopa (Rag) blitzed his opponents in the Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard Division scoring 17.25 points out of a possible 20.  Kereopa, riding a small 8.0ft board, made easy work of the waves completing some radical turns using his paddle to it’s maximum capability.  The Whangamata duo of Lynden Kennings and Ryan Cowling placed second and third respectively, neither able to surf with the sharpness of Kereopa, Kennings finishing with a score of 13.5 and Cowling 11.0.  Gisborne surfer Sean Hovell finished the final in fourth place scoring 8.70.

The Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard King of the Waves Race was highly entertaining with over 20 entrants navigating the course through the waves at the south end of Piha.  After two laps it was Daniel Kereopa who took out the win over fellow Raglan surfer Arnie Armstrong.  Sean Hovell (Gis) placed third in the race.

Sustainable Coastlines continued to clean the West Coast Beaches of Auckland today branching out to Karekare and Anawhata.  A total of 850 litres of marine debris was removed from the three beaches.  The charity co-founder Sam Judd was ecstatic with the response from the public and families of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour.  “It was great to see the Tour crew getting stuck in and expressing their love for our coastlines.”  Everyone is looking forward to the next event at Dunedin where the team will be out again.

Please see below for final results from the first event of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour completed at Piha Beach, Auckland today (Sunday 9^th January).

Open Men’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 1, Nic Jones (Sunshine Coast, Aus), 2, Hone Douglas (Ohope), 3, Kane Rogers (Auck), 4

Heat 2
Michael Burling (Gis), 1, Morgan Bramely (Whtane), 2, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 3, Michael Willman (ChCh), 4
Heat 3
Josh Constable (Aust), 1, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 2, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 3, Glen Johnson (Auck), 4

Heat 4
Phil Morris (Auck), 1, Ant McColl (Mnt), 2, Duncan Cameron (Mnt), 3, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 4

Open Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 1, Michael Burling (Gis), 2, Nic Jones (Sunshine Coast, Aus), 3, Morgan Bramely (Whtane), 4
Heat 2
Josh Constable (Aust), 1, Phil Morris (Auck), 2, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 3, Ant McColl (Mnt), 4

Open Men’s Final
Josh Constable (Aust), 1, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 2, Michael Burling (Gis), 3, Phil Morris (Auck), 4

Under 18 Boys Semifinals
Heat 2
Hone Douglas (Whtane), 1, Matt Craig (Whtane), 2, Blake Barnfield (Ohope), 3, Sam Bound (Tara), 4, Jordan Tanner (Mnt), 5

Under 18 Boys Finals
Nic Jones (Sunshine Coast), 1, Matt Craig (Whtane), 2, Hone Douglas (Whtane), 3, Joesph Stewart (Whtane), 4

Women’s Final
Mischa Davis (Oratia), 1, Anna Jolly (Piha), 2, Shelly Jones (Auck), 3, Sasha Brownlie (Auck), 4

Over 40 Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Mike Thomson (Rag), 1, Paul Brown (Orewa), 2, Rob Bayes (Auck), 3
Heat 2
Michael Willman (ChCh), 1, Brian Young (Orewa), 2, David Storck (Auck), 3

Over 40 Men’s Final
Brian Young (Orewa), 1, Michael Willman (ChCh), 2, Paul Brown (Orewa), 3, Mike Thomson (Rag), 4

Over 50 Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 1, David Storck (Auck), 2, Shane Murrell (Auck), 3, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 4
Heat 2
Mike Thomson (Rag), 1, Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 2, Graham Bambery (Whitianga), 3, Scotty Riach (Auck), 4

Over 50 Men’s Final
Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 1, Mike Thomson (Rag), 2, David Storck (Auck), 3, Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 4

Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Ryan Cowling (WGM), 1, Lynden Kennings (Whgmata), 2, Mark Jackson (Auck), 3, Arnie Armstrong (Rag), 4
Heat 2
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 1, Sean Hovell (Gis), 2, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 3, Mike Cann (Auck), 4

Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard Finals
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 1, Lynden Kennings (Whgmata), 2, Ryan Cowling (WGM), 3, Sean Hovell (Gis), 4

Starboard SUP King of the Waves Paddle Race
Daniel Kereopa (Rag) 1, Arnie Armstrong (Rag) 2, Sean Hovell (Gis) 3

The remaining events on the 2011 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour follow:

Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 2, 13-16 January, Dunedin (5-star)
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 3, 4-6 February, Sandy Bay (SNZ 6-star / ASP LQS 1-star)
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 4, 19-20 February, Mount Maunganui (4-star)
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 5, 4-5 March, Port Waikato (6-star)