Surfing: First national champions found

9.30pm

The first National Champions have been found at the 2004 National Surfing Championships. Eleven divisions and disciplines were completed by today, a day in which stormy conditions added additional challenges for all competitors. The swell conditions remained at the 1.5m mark but strong onshore winds caused messy conditions.

Junior and Cadet Women, Under 14 Boys, Kneeboard, Women Bodyboard, Junior Bodyboard, Dropknee Bodyboard, Grandmasters, Women Longboard and Junior Longboard were all completed by the end of day competition on Day six.

The Under 19 Junior Girls faced up to the surf on the outside banks at South Piha. Jess Santorik of Raglan rose to the occasion for the final, surfing the lefthanders just as if they were her home break at Raglan. Scoring two seven-point rides for a total of 15.75, Santorik left her opponents to fight it out for the minor placings.

Santorik will now look to take confidence from the win and use it to her advantage as she enters the Open Women's Final which will be held tomorrow. The remaining three girls in the final, Mischa Davis (Piha), Airini Mason (Gis) and Paige Hareb (Tar) all toughed out the conditions but were unable to find two good scoring waves. After having competed in the Under 16 final earlier in the morning both Davis and Mason looked to be running out of energy. Mason finished second with Hareb in third and Davis in fourth.

In the Under 16 Cadet Women final, Airini Mason and Mischa Davis both ventured out the back for the bigger waves while Daisy Thomas (Chch) and Pae Pou (Inv) settled for the smaller inside waves. The gamble paid off for Mason and Davis who placed first and second respectively. The lead changed several times during the final as the two young girls traded waves. Ultimately it was Mason who got the longer waves connecting manoeuvres together and eventually winning the heat. Davis kept with her aggressive approach but was unable to connect more than one or two turns in the difficult conditions. Pae Pou was also aggressive in her run for the title but surfing the smaller waves in the middle of the beach hindered her scoring potential as was the case with Daisy Thomas. The two surfers finished third and fourth respectively.

The Under 14 Boys were eager to hit the water after the finalists had been decided several days ago. Again it was a case of two surfers challenging the outside break and two on the inside. Favourite throughout the week, Ryan Hawker lived up to expectations winning the final. Hawker being a local surfer knew where the best waves on offer were and surfed the final like clockwork. Scoring 15.75 for his two-wave combination Hawker, showed maturity in his surfing and now has a New Zealand title to show for it. Making a late charge late in the heat was Karne Pitcher of Whangamata. Needing a huge score late in the heat Pitcher gave everything he had on his last wave completing two huge manoeuvres for which the judges rewarded him with a 9.0. Also surfing the inside bank was third placed Adam Cranston of Gisborne. Sean Peggs (Coro) challenged the bigger waves out the back but was unable to find any waves that offered big scoring potential and finished in fourth.

The last final to be surfed on day six was the Over 45 Grandmasters. As a front moved in from the Tasman the wind increased and the rain drove in horizontally. It didn't seem to deter John Gisby (Gis) who came away with another national title to add to his collection. Gisby trailed the other three competitors for much of the heat until he caught his last two rides late in the heat. The joy of winning a national title never seems to fade as shown by Gisby upon receiving the word that he had won. It was a clenched fist and a 'gritted teeth' "yes" that said it all. Placing second was Piha local Alistair Goodwin from whom Gisby stole the win in the dying minutes. Rod Welch (Gis) and Craig Hughes finished in third and fourth positions.

In the Junior and Women's Longboard finals, two surfers took similar paths to victory. Lucy Parkes (Auc) took a stranglehold on the title after an excellent wave mid heat that sealed victory. In the Junior division it was the experience of Daniel Procter that gave him the edge over his opponents scoring 16.25 in the finals. Procter was able to manoeuvre his 9ft board with more power in the messy surf and judges rewarded him for his efforts.

Three Bodyboard divisions were completed with Mihi Wells winning the Women's division over the Araroa sisters, Jamie and Noella. Wells of Auckland also competed in the Dropknee division placing third. Simon Caley was the winner of the Dropknee division after a closely fought final with Gavin Murdoch who finished second. Danny Nemani finished in fourth.

In the Junior Bodyboard division Floyd Smith outclassed his competitors to take the title with a heat score of 13.5. He was followed by Gene Hogan in second, Thomas Smith in third and Sam Anderson in fourth.

Earlier in the week the Kneeboard division was completed at North Piha. Craig MacDonald of Auckland won the national title over Paul Anderson, Craig Hooper and Kelvin Weir (Tar).

All titles are to be awarded after the conclusion of the Open Men's final at the contest site at South Piha on Saturday afternoon.

JUNIOR U19 WOMEN FINALS

Jessica Santorik, Rag, 1, Airini Mason, Gis, 2, Paige Hareb, Tar, 3, Mischa Davis, Piha, 4

CADET U16 WOMEN FINALS

Airini Mason, Gis, 1, Mischa Davis, Piha, 2, Pae Pou, Inv, 3, Daisy Thomas, Chch, 4

GROMMET (U14) FINALS

Ryan Hawker, Piha, 1, Karne Pitcher, Whmata, 2, Adam Cranston, Gis, 3, Sean Peggs, Coro, 4


OPEN KNEEBOARD FINALS

Craig McDonald, 1, Paul Anderson, 2, Craig Hooper, 3, Kelvin Weir, 4

GRAND MASTERS OVER 45 FINAL

John Gisby, Gis, 1, Alistair Goodwin, Piha, 2, Rod Welch, Gis, 3, Craig Hughes, Rag, 4

JUNIOR LONGBOARD FINAL

Daniel Procter, Gis, 1, Anthony McColl, Mt, 2, Kirk Bayer, Wgtn, 3, Liam Creavy, Mt, 4, Sam Guthrie, Mt, 5

WOMENS LONGBOARD

Lucy Parkes, Piha, 1, Anna Jolly, Piha, 2, Leilani Morgan, Kaikoura, 3, Mihi Wells, Auck, 4, Fern Watson, 5

OPEN WOMEN BODYBOARD

Mihi Wells, Auck, 1, Jamie Araroa, Auck, 2, Noella Araroa, Auck, 3

JUNIOR BODYBOARD

Floyd Smith, Piha, 1, Gene Hogan, 2, Thomas Smith, Piha, 3, Sam Anderson, Piha, 4

DROPOKNEE BODYBOARD

Simon Caley, 1, Gavin Murdoch, 2, Mihi Wells, 3, Dany Nemani,4