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RICARDO Christie should keep his chin up and move forward after failing to re-qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour, says four-time New Zealand champion Maz Quinn.
Former world champion Joel Parkinson eliminated Christie in round 2 of the Pipeline Masters — the 11th and final contest on the CT — in Hawaii on Saturday.
Gisborne-Mahia surfer Christie went into the event ranked 30th and needing to make the final to have any chance of advancing into the top 22 and retaining his place for the 2016 CT.
Gisborne’s Quinn, the only other New Zealander to have made the men’s CT (in 2002), said Christie surfed well throughout the year and was unlucky not to progress through several heats.
“ . . . you have got to get back on the horse, chin up and move
forward. I am sure that is what Ric will do.” — Maz QuinnFor example, at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa, he was knocked out by Parkinson in round 2 despite totalling 18.13 out of 20 — a score that would have won every other heat in that round.
“Every heat he surfed really well in, the other competitor stepped up their game as well,” said Quinn. “Some of the heat scores he got would have won most other heats in that round.
“That is just surfing, though, Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it does not. Sometimes if you blow up and surf really well, so does the other guy.”
The first year on the CT was the hardest because of a lack of experience of surfing the spots, he said. As a rookie, he found it hard to get used to the breaks in the time available.
“You only get one shot but if you can get past that first year, the next will be better.”
A rough startChristie had a rough start to the tour. He finished 25th and joint-last in the first two events, which placed him low on the ratings ladder. This made it even harder for him to progress through early rounds because the lower seeds get pitted against the top guys.
Christie did not win a single round 1 heat on tour and was eliminated eight times in round 2.
Good results were even harder to achieve in the lower-ranked Qualifying Series. He placed 49th in five out of the 10 events he entered.
A late charge — third, ninth and 13th — in the last three QS 10,000 contests bumped him up to 21st on the rankings but he needed to finish in the top 12 to re-qualify for the CT through the QS.
Christie did have his moments on the CT. This included heat wins against Brazilian front-runners Filipe Toledo and Adriano de Souza, who went into the Pipeline Masters sitting second and third respectively on the rankings led by Australian Mick Fanning.
A finish at fifthAfter beating de Souza in round 3 of the Oi Rio Pro in Brazil in May, Christie went on to finish fifth — his best result of the year.
Quinn said the challenging conditions on the CT brought out the best in Christie and he expected him to bounce back and be competitive on the QS next year.
“It can be hard, it was a big disappointment for me when I got knocked out. But you have got to get back on the horse, chin up and move forward. I am sure that is what Ric will do. He will not have too much of a problem re-qualifying again.”
Christie had earned respect from other surfers and organisers on the tour, Quinn said.
“He is a really easy-going guy. It looks like he got along well with everyone on tour and people took a shine to him. He showed with his surfing how good he is.”
Many people have sent messages to Christie on social media wishing him well for next year and crediting him as an ambassador for New Zealand surfing.