Raglan’s Billy Stairmand has returned to the top of the podium taking out the King and Queen of the Point presented by Quiksilver, Roxy and Backdoor, the local surfer being joined by Aimee Brown (Gt Barrier) who claimed the Open Women’s Division.
In a wild day of action, Aotearoa’s top surfers were confronted with strong southwest winds and a grunty 2.0m swell that pushed many participants to their limits.
Stairmand effectively went head-to-head with Kehu Butler (Mnt) in the final with both surfers notching up excellent rides, Stairmand amassing 17.50 points to Butler’s 17.07.
“Every second year by the sounds of it. It is good to get another victory at home,” exclaimed Stairmand about his win.
“It is good practice for Krui, I am off there tonight for the first event of the regional qualifying series. And then off to Tahiti for some more training, and the Olympics coming up too,” added Stairmand of his busy schedule over the next three months.
“It was a wild final, super windy, but real fun waves. I like those conditions; if you pick the right waves you can do some big turns and the boys were going for it. Having Kehu back always pushes my surfing; he brings out the better competitor in me,” said Stairmand.
It was Butler that pushed Stairmand the entire final, first notching up an 8.9 point ride before Stairmand answered back with a 9.17 on his final ride, the highest of the final. In a final effort to hunt down the win, Butler came up short of the 8.61 required with an 8.1
Navryn Malone (Rag) finished third in the final, surfing his fourth heat of the day and running out of steam while Callum Chuter (Mnt) finished in fourth place.
A return to the competition arena has proved fruitful for 23 year old Great Barrier Island surfer Aimee Brown who today came through with a win in the Open Women’s Division to close out the NZ Surf Series on a high.
Brown finished the final with a total of 12.03 points, her last gasp effort for the win pushing her from fourth to first with a 6.83 point ride for committed surfing.
“Pretty hard out there, I am not going to lie, I am pretty unfit at the moment,” said Brown.
“For the first 15 minutes I was getting smoked from all the young girls paddling rings around me, they are so lively, but I guess I kept fighting and got a few waves in the end,” she added.
“I thought I needed to do something big on that last wave, that was my last opportunity, so it was good to put it up there and complete that turn,” said Brown who has had a break from competing over recent years.
“It has been really good for myself and my mental health and I am trying to enjoy competing now and not put pressure on myself,” she added.
In a final with three opponents under the age of 15, Brown was quick to heap praise on her counterparts. “All the girls are ripping so hard; wish I was that good at such a young age. I look forward to seeing where the girls take it, they are all amazing.”
All three of Brown’s opponents had contested the junior division earlier. It was Alani Morse (Rag) that finished runner-up in the Open Women’s, unable to complete the double alongside her junior division win. Morse posted a 9.76 point heat total to finish ahead of Lola Groube (Pau) who finished in third place and Kyra Wallis (Piha) in fourth.
Tai Murphy (Ohope) immediately put the pressure on his opponents in the Under 20 Boys Final with a 7.33 point opening ride, and never let up from that point. The in-form goofy foot surfer had posted a perfect ten-point ride in the semi-finals for two insane turns that had the hardy crowd cheering. In the final, Murphy finished with a 13.94 point heat total to defeat Cooper Ashill (Whngrei) who came home late with a two wave total of 12.0 points. Mount Maunganui’s Joe Goodjohn finished the final in third place ahead of Spencer Rowson (Tara) in fourth.
Murphy’s ten-point ride saw him take the Volkswagen Wave of the Day home for the third and final day of the event.
Local girl Alani Morse claimed the Under 20 Girls Division with an emphatic win and 14.66 point heat total. Morse held the lead for much of the final with a pair of six-point rides before stroking into her final wave on the hooter that netted the 13-year-old an excellent 8.33 points.
Pauanui surfer Lola Groube finished the final in second place with her last ride coming in at 6.57 for a 9.04 heat total. Kyra Wallis (Piha) finished in third place with fellow Piha surfer Poppy Arkle finishing in fourth.
