Patiently waiting on her board at Raglan’s Manu Bay, 15-year-old Alani Morse found herself in a position all too familiar for competitive surfers.
It was the final of the annual Queen of the Point competition, an event that had added significance this year as the winner secured a wildcardinto the World Surf League Championship Tour event at the break from May 15-25, and the Raglan local was left needing a score as the seconds ticked towards the heat’s end.
A lot needs to go right for a competitor in such a scenario. First, the ocean needs to be accommodating with waves. Second, the athlete needs to have priority, or at least be in a position to snake the wave if they can. Third, they have to execute.
Often, the scenario ends at the first step as the water goes into a lull to end the heat. Sometimes, the athlete has to try and force things on a wave that doesn’t offer as much to work with.
For Morse, a small wave in the final minute of the heat gave her a fairytale finish.
“At the start of the heat, I got one wave and then I kind of went out of rhythm for a bit,” Morse told the Herald of the final.
“Then at the end of the heat, I knew I needed a pretty good score so I just waited and waited and luckily at the end one came and you know, it was a score. But yeah, I was pretty lucky to get that.”
Morse executed well, scoring a 6.93, which was enough to see her climb from last in the heat to first. It was the second-best single wave of the heat and saw Morse pip WSL Championship Tour veteran Paige Hareb at the death by 0.53 points.
Tom Butland, 24, from Taranaki, won the men’s King of the Point title, posting the top two single-wave scores of the final to claim the second Kiwi wildcard into the men’s Championship Tour event. He joins Raglan local Billy Stairmand, who had previously been granted a wildcard for the competition.
Alani Morse and Tom Butland won the Queen and King of the Point titles and will surf in the Championship Tour event in Raglan next month. Photo / PhotoCPL, Surfing NZ
For Morse, a year 12 student at Raglan Area School who spoke to the Herald this week during a lunch break, the result was a reward for the work she had been putting into her surfing.
From a surfing family and having been involved in the sport from a young age, she said she knew her abilities were good enough, and will now get to test that against the best in the world, including some of her favourite athletes in the sport, in less than a month.
“Yeah, so my favourite surfer’s Caity Simmers and I’ve looked up to her for a few years now,” Morse said. “I met her in Raglan a few times and you know, I feel like we share quite a similar personality or even just the same look towards surfing and I’m really stoked to be able to compete with her as well. Also, Stephanie [Gilmore] and Carissa Moore, I’ve always loved those girls.”
While she knows she might not be drawn into a heat with any of those three, she was excited by the opportunity to test herself against any of the 23 women on the tour.
For now, Morse was just enjoying being able to call herself Queen of the Point; taking out an event that has been a staple in the New Zealand surfing calendar, with the wildcard being a bonus.
When the time comes to paddle out with some of the best surfers in the world, Morse will be ready for the moment.
“I’m pretty lucky and I hope that the community will be supporting me. I think they’re all really excited to see a young surfer, so I hope I can share that on the world stage as well, like, bring a new approach and yeah, just hopefully turn some eyes.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
