Gisborne’s Maz Quinn finished third in the final.
GISBORNE surfer Maz Quinn went for broke trying to peg back on-fire Billy Stairmand in the national championship final on Saturday.
But Raglan’s Stairmand was unstoppable in the two-metre surf at Dunedin’s St Clair Beach, and his two-wave score of 18.17 out of 20 had the other finalists scrambling for answers.
Both Quinn and Stairmand were bidding for a fifth national title to equal the record shared by Auckland surfers Wayne Parkes and Iain Buchanan.
Stairmand’s victory gave him his third national title in a row, a feat not achieved since 1987 when Buchanan won the last of his five successive titles.
Quinn beat Stairmand in the quarterfinal of this year’s event, but finished second to him in the semifinal and third in the final.
Quinn could not find the right waves in the final. With time running out, he started to go for broke to bridge the gap but fell on crucial waves, finishing with a two-wave score of 13.57.
Raglan’s Luke Hughes, who shapes Stairmand’s boards, finished second with a two-wave score of 16.40 after leading early in the 30-minute final.
Dunedin surfer JC Susan, the only goofy-footer in the final, was fourth with a heat total of 8.17.
Stairmand heads to Hawaii in the next two weeks to start his international campaign at the Volcom Pipe Masters, so the national title comes as a timely confidence boost.
“To have my name on that trophy with all those amazing surfers like Al Byrne, Wayne Parkes, Iain Buchanan, and Maz and Jay Quinn is crazy,” Stairmand said.
In the women’s division, former world junior champion Ella Williams, of Whangamata, won her first open title.
“I have dreamed of getting that title since I was seven years old,” said Williams, who won the final with a two-wave total of 13.5.
She will now try to qualify for the World Tour, with her focus on the first event of the year, at Burleigh Heads in Australia at the start of February.
National champs host club South Coast Boardriders Association claimed the club championship from defending champions Bay Boardriders of Mt Maunganui.
Mt Maunganui surfer Kea Smith, 15, was second in the women’s final. She contested three finals and was runner-up in each of them.
Third was Mt Maunganui’s Elin Tawharu, who won the women’s under-18 and u16 divisions, and fourth was Auckland’s Bianca Sansom.
Raglan’s Daniel Kereopa contested more heats than anyone else during the week and on the final day. He ended with four runner-up finishes — in the over-28 and over-35 divisions, men’s longboard and men’s stand-up paddleboard.
Vehicle breakdown thwarted the national championship hopes of Gisborne over-60s surfers John Gisby and Ross Moodie.
Results of national championship finals Open men: Billy Stairmand (Rag) 18.17, 1; Luke Hughes (Rag) 16.40, 2; Maz Quinn (Gis) 13.57, 3; JC Susan (Dun) 8.17, 4.
Under-18 boys: Elliot Brown (Dun) 12.5, 1; Sam Sands (Chch) 11.1, 2; Jonas Tawharu (Mnt) 10.3, 3; Caleb Cutmore (Ham) 10.2, 4.
U16 boys: Kaya Horne (Mnt) 13.37, 1; Jack McLeod (Dun) 10.6, 2; Jared Gebert (Ohope) 9.73, 3; Joel Clegg (Tara) 9.17, 4.
U14 boys: Tom Robinson (Whngrei) 12.9, 1; Maddy Barclay (Oam) 10.1, 2; Ruben Peyroux (Dun) 7.9, 3; Taylor O’Leary (Mur) 5.17, 4.
Open women: Ella Williams (Whmata) 13.5, 1; Kea Smith (Mnt) 11.1, 2; Elin Tawahru (Mnt) 8.2, 3; Bianca Sansom (Auck) 7.37, 4.
Over-30 women: Tash Civil (Dun) 8.33, 1; Sarah Armstrong-Park (Chch) 5.23, 2; Lucy Te Moananui (Kaik) 4.57, 3; Margurite Vujcich (HB) 0, 4.
U18 girls: Elin Tawharu (Mnt) 12.7, 1; Kea Smith (Mnt) 9.27, 2; Raiha Ensor (Mnt) 7.03, 3; Billie Scott (Whangarei) 5.1, 4.
U16 girls: Elin Tawharu (Mnt) 14.8, 1; Kea Smith (Arataki) 12.1, 2; Zhana Hutchison (Tara) 6.23, 3; Tiana-Breeze de Mooj (Mnt) 4.97, 4.
Over-28 men: Felix Dickson (Dun) 15.6, 1; Daniel Kereopa (Rag) 14.9, 2; Josh Thickpenny (Dun) 14.8, 3; Luke Hughes (Rag) 11.8, 4.
Over-35 men: Jarred Hancox (Tara) 13, 1; Daniel Kereopa (Rag) 12.4, 2; Nick Black (Chch) 12.3, 3; Craig Higgins (Dun) 6.3, 4.
Over-40 men: Mike Christensen (Chch) 12, 1; Ben Kennings (Wgm) 9.27, 2; Justin Summerton (Chch) 7.23, 3; Lyndon Fairburn (Dun) 5.8, 4.
Over-45 men: Morgan Cronin (Auck) 13.8, 1; Andrew Christensen (Chch) 11.7, 2; Richard Baxter (Kaik) 11.5, 3; Patrick Bonner (Chch) 7.1, 4.
Over-50 men: Neill Robb (Chch) 9.07, 1; Phillip Griffin (Mnt) 8.33, 2; John Rousey (Chch) 7.63, 3; Mark Stevenson (Dun) 6.43, 4.
Over-55 men: Ken Nicholson (Auck) 8.23, 1; Peter De Mooij (Mnt) 6.07, 2; Michael Gray (Auck) 5.13, 3; Kevin Shaw (Chch) 1.5, 4.
Over-60 men: Michael Gray (Auck) 8.43, 1; Clive Barron (Piha) 3.9, 2; Ken Nicholson (Auck) 1.07, 3
Men’s longboard: Zen Wallis (Piha) 14.9, 1; Daniel Kereopa (Rag) 13.4, 2; Jordan Griffin (Mnt) 11.7, 3; Nick Black (Chch) 10.2, 4.
U18 boys’ longboard: Sam Sands (Chch) 7.9, 1; Henry Hawke (Chch) 7.6, 2; Neko Tohiariki (Chch) 5.7, 3; Cairo Griffin (Dun) 3.93, 4.
Women’s longboard: Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach) 11.27, 1; Estella Hungerford (Chch) 7.43, 2; Renee Davenport (Rag) 6.53, 3; Margurite Vujcich (HB) 5.57, 4.
Men’s stand-up paddleboard: Shayne Baxter (Chch) 14.2, 1; Daniel Kereopa (Rag) 11.5, 2; Shane Murrell (Auck) 8.53, 3; Shaan Miller (Auck) 3.43, 4.
Women’s stand-up paddleboard: Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach) 7.27, 1; Renee Davenport (Rag) 5.9, 2; Lucy Te Moananui (Kaik) 1, 3; Annabel Anderson (Qtown) n/s.
Kneeboard: Kelvin Weir (Tara) 13.17, 1; Malcolm Diack (Dun) 9.93, 2; Greg Bell (Dun) 6.63, 3; Murray Weir (Tara) 5.9, 4.