Gisborne surfer Johnny Hicks in action at the Rip Curl Pro at Raglan over the weekend. Hicks reached the semifinals. Cory/NZ Surfing Magazine picture
Billy Stairmand of Raglan and Ella Williams of Whangamata retained their titles at the Rip Curl Pro in a fiercely competitive day of surfing at Raglan on Saturday.
Stairmand had a heat score of 13.0 out of a possible 20 in the 30-minute final. Raglan’s Luke Cederman (11.95) was runner-up.
In the women’s final, Williams scored 13.8 to hold off runner-up Anne Dos Santos of Brazil (12.0).
Best-performing Gisborne surfer was Johnny Hicks, who won all his heats until he was eliminated in the semifinals.
Gisborne’s Chris Malone won all his heats until he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Results —
Friday (heats with Gisborne-linked entrants only) — Open men, Round of 64, Heat 2: Caleb Cutmore (Ham) 13.65, 1; Navryn Malone (Rag) 9.5, 2; Jared Crawford (Chch) 8.4, 3; Ben Smith (Hot Water) 7.7, 4.
Heat 5: Mike Banks (Rag) 12.75, 1; Finn Vette (Gis) 10.25, 2; Jack Lee (Whaka) 7.6, 3; Ben Storey (Te Awa) 5.85, 4.
Heat 10: Johnny Hicks (Gis) 12.75, 1; Dune Kennings (Whmata) 12.6, 2; Jayden Willoughby (Rag) 10.65, 3; Jordan Hart 5.75, 4.
Heat 11: Lee Ririnui (Mnt) 14.45, 1; Kora Cooper (Rag) 11.05, 2; Josef Jungwirth (Rag) 11, 3; Phill Willoughby (Rag) 5.25, 4.
Heat 13: Chris Malone (Gis) 14.2, 1; Luke Cederman (Rag) 14.05, 2; Christo Gilbert (HB) 9.36, 3; Andrew Archibald (Rag) 3, 4.
Heat 15: Daniel Farr (Tara) 16.65, 1; Ben Kennings (Whmata) 11.55, 2; Buck Woods (Gis) 11.5, 3; Jack McDonald (Wgtn) 6.8, 4.
Open women, Heat 2: Elin Tawharu (Mnt) 14.15, 1; Keala Tomoda-Bannert (USA) 12.75, 2; Emma Dubes (France) 8.25, 3; Saffi Vette (Gis) 7.65, 4.
Saturday — Open men, Round of 32, Heat 1: Xavier Huxtable (Aust) 13.9, 1; Zen Wallis (Piha) 13.5, 2; Callum Chuter (Mnt) 11.25, 3; Caleb Cutmore (Ham) 10.9, 4.
Heat 2: Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha) 13.5, 1; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 11.8, 2; Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt) 8.85, 3; Navryn Malone (Rag) 6.1, 4.
Heat 3: Billy Stairmand (Rag) 16.5, 1; Jay Piper-Healion (Whiti) 9.4, 2; Larry Fisher (Rag) 5.4, 3; Mike Banks (Rag) 2.4, 4.
Heat 4: Lucas Vicente (Brazil) 11.75, 1; Nick White (Mnt) 11.5, 2; Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay) 8.5, 3; Finn Vette (Gis) 6.95, 4.
Heat 5: Johnny Hicks (Gis) 12, 1; Finn Hill (Aust) 9.7, 2; Guilherme Ribeiro (Portugal) 8.25, 3; Kora Cooper (Rag) 3.85, 4.
Heat 6: Luke Hughes (Rag) 14.25, 1; Dune Kennings (Whmata) 11.5, 2; Lee Ririnui (Mnt) 7.5, 3; Marc Moore (Auck) 3.75, 4.
Heat 7: Chris Malone (Gis) 13.75, 1; Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch) 11.4, 2; Ben Kennings (Whmata) 10.5, 3; Alex Dive (Mnt) 9.6, 4.
Heat 8: Luke Cederman (Rag) 10.5, 1; Daniel Farr (Tara) 9.2, 2; Kona Eru (Indonesia), 7.9, 3; Cole Houshmand (USA), 6.9, 4.
Quarterfinals, Heat 1: Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 17.4, 1; Xavier Huxtable (Aust) 13.8, 2; Zen Wallis (Piha) 13.65, 3; Elliot Paerata Reid (Piha) 11.85, 4.
Heat 2: Billy Stairmand (Rag) 16.75, 1; Nick White (Mnt) 12.7, 2; Lucas Vicente (Brazil) 7.75, 3; Jay Piper-Healion (Whiti) 7.75, 4.
Heat 3: Johnny Hicks (Gis) 14.45, 1; Finn Hill (Aust) 12.1, 2; Dune Kennings (Whmata) 11.7, 3; Luke Hughes (Rag) 9.15, 4.
Heat 4: Daniel Farr (Tara) 14.75, 1; Luke Cederman (Rag) 13, 2; Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch) 11.65, 3; Chris Malone (Gis) 4.15, 4.
Semifinals, Heat 1: Billy Stairmand (Rag) 14.75, 1; Nick White (Mnt) 13, 2; Xavier Huxtable (Aust) 9.3, 3; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 6.85, 4.
Heat 2: Luke Cederman (Rag) 14.25, 1; Daniel Farr (Tara) 12.15, 2; Finn Hill (Aust) 11.2, 3; Johnny Hicks (Gis) 9.4, 4.
Final: Billy Stairmand (Rag) 13, 1; Luke Cederman (Rag) 11.95, 2; Nick White (Mnt) 7.1, 3; Daniel Farr (Tara) 7, 4.
Open women, semifinals, Heat 1: Anne Dos Santos (Brazil) 7.25, 1; Keala Tomoda-Bannert (USA) 6.95, 2; Kirra Belle-Olsson (Aust) 3.4, 3.
Heat 2: Ella Williams (Whmata) 16.9, 1; Elin Tawharu (Mnt) 12.5, 2; Aimee Brown (Great Barrier Is) 9.75, 3.
Final: Ella Williams (Whmata) 13.8, 1; Anne Dos Santos (Brazil) 12, 2; Keala Tomoda-Bannert (USA) 11, 3; Elin Tawharu (Mnt) 10, 4.