CHAMPION: Chris Malone in action. Picture by Col/Surf2Surf.com
Chris Malone, of Te Aitanga a Mahaki, and Zhana Hutchieson, of Taranaki, surfed to victory at the Aotearoa Maori Titles at the weekend.
In doing so, they claimed two of the trials slots for the Piha Pro in March.
They fought off some tough opponents with excellent surfing on the final day of the event held in one-metre to 1.5m waves at Tuiraho (Stent Road) in Taranaki.
They were two of 10 champions crowned on Sunday before the poroporoaki was held at Parihaka Pa to close out the event, with Te Atiawa taking the prestigious Iwi of Origin title.
Malone, a Gisborne-raised former national champion whose son Navryn won the under-14 boys’ title at the weekend, used his exceptional ocean sense to pick off two of the best waves that came through in the final as conditions deteriorated over the low tide in the afternoon.
He surfed to an astonishing 17.5-point heat total in the final to defeat the Taranaki trio of Jamie Andrews, defending champion Bachelor Tipene and Brandon Kingi, who finished second through fourth respectively.
“Far out, I haven’t had my hands on this trophy since the event almost started, maybe back in the late 1990s,” Malone said at the prizegiving ceremony.
“I am super stoked to win and especially up against these guys here beside me who I have competed against for years.
“The slot in the Piha Pro Trials is an added bonus but this event is mainly about bringing Maori surfers from around Aotearoa together for the unique event that this is.”
Hutchieson left her winning wave until the final 20 seconds.
She was languishing in third place for much of the 20 minutes. With seconds to go, Hutchieson paddled down the point and away from leaders Elin Tawharu (Mt Maunganui) and Thandi Tipene (Taranaki) and found a small wave on which she managed to complete three nice backhand turns for a 6.0-point ride and the win and title defence.
Tawharu was second, Tipene third and Kiri Binnersley (Raglan) fourth.
The under-18 titles went to Kora Cooper (Rag) who posted a massive 16.26 point heat total for the win and birthday girl Indi-Lee Ruddell (Whangarei) in the girls’ division, a perfect present for the 10-year-old who showed amazing courage to tackle the Stent Road waves.
Raglan surfers Josef Jungwirth and Navryn Malone made it a clean sweep of the boy’s age group divisions winning the u16 and u14 boys’ divisions, the two surfers pipping Taranaki’s Ryder Pennington on both occasions.
Results —Open men, final: Chris Malone (Te Aitanga a Mahaki), 17.5, 1, Jamie Andrews (Ngati Ruahine), 11.24, 2, Bachelor Tipene (Ngati Ranginui), 10.3, 3, Brandon Kingi (Nga Raru), 8.5, 4
Under-18 boys, final: Kora Cooper (Ngai Tai), 16.26, 1, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Nga Puhi), 10.13, 2, Josef Jungwirth (Ngai Te Rangi), 9.6, 3, Jacob Buckle (Nga Puhi), 8.13, 4
U16 boys, final: Josef Jungwirth (Ngai Te Rangi), 12.74, 1, Ryder Pennington (Te Atiawa), 12.06, 2, Navryn Malone (Te Aitanga A Mahaki), 9.03, Kora Cooper (Ngai Tai), 7.5, 4
U14 boys, final: Navryn Malone (Te Aitanga A Mahaki), 12.3, 1, Ryder Pennington (Te Atiawa), 12.1, 2, Jack Mckenzie (Ngai Tahu), 8.83, 3, Rakiatea Tau (Ngai Tahu), 4.5, 4
Open women, final: Zhana Hutchieson (Tara), 10, 1, Elin Tawharu (Ngati Raukawa), 8.87, 2, Thandi Tipene (Tara), 8.8, 3, Kiri Binnersley (Ngati Porou), 2.01, 4
U18 girls, final: Indi-Lee Ruddell (Te Atiawa), 7.6, 1, Mya Crowe (Tainui), 7.2, 2, Poppy Pennington (Tara), 4.83, 3, India Kennings (Ngati Whatua), 0, 4
Over 35 men, final: Manu Schafer (Kahungunu), 17.17, 1, Henry McKinlay (Tainui), 12.5, 2, Chris Malone (Mahaki), 12.54, 3, Brandon Kingi (Nga Rauru), 11.1, 4
Over 45 men, final: Motu Mataa (Tara), 16.0, 1, Dawson Tamati (Tara), 8.64, 2, Darren Kiwi (Ngai Te Rangi), 8.34, 3, Jason Matthews (Tara), 7.17, 4
Longboard final: Jason Matthews (Te Atiawa), 12.33, 1, Isaac Johnston (Ngapuhi), 10.3, 2, Billy Whelan (Ngati Maru), 9.54, 3, Tama Blackburn (Maniapoto), 6.2, 4
Men’s SUP final: Jamie Andrews (Ngati Ruahine), 15.07, 1, Alan Te Moananui (Tamatera), 14.16, 2, Curtis Nu’u (Tuwharetoa), 6.83, 3