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Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event #3
Surfing New Zealand
Mount Maunganui New Zealand
3 - 4 February 2007
Proctor Wins event N° 3 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour
19-year-old Gisborne surfer Daniel Proctor stepped up to claim his first Open Division victory in a national longboard competition with a clear cut win in the final of the Hyundai Longboard Classic at Sandy Bay . Proctor came in nearly two points clear of fellow Gisborne surfer and defending Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour champion Michael Fitzharris (Gis), with national longboard champ Daniel Kereopa (Rag) a further two points back in third place.
At the halfway point in the six round tour Kereopa is still in the lead and Fitzharris second, but Proctor, who said part of his winning cheque would go towards petrol for getting to the South Island legs of the tour, is now in the reckoning for a shot at the overall title.
More than 100 longboarders converged on Sandy Bay for the two day event, with the surf on Sunday being slightly better than the half metre conditions on the first day, but still not offering a lot for the more modern, progressive style of longboarding favoured by Kereopa and many of the younger contestants.
In the open final Proctor started slowly with few decent waves coming his way but his persistence paid off. While the other three contestants hunted for action up to 200 metres away they left Proctor to pick off the best of several ‘rights’ coming from the north end of the beach. The young Gisborne surfer made the most of his opportunities combining nose rides with progressive top to bottom surfing wherever the small, near glassy waves allowed.
Another young surfer to make a big impression at the Hyundai Sandy Bay event was 11-year-old Hone Douglas from Whakatane. Coming up against seasoned campaigners in the under 18 division the young surfer displayed a rapidly developing style with big slashes and stylish nose riding that kept him within reach but eventually placed him fourth in the final. The Barnfield brothers Dylan and Eli from Ohope took out first and third places respectively with Sam Guthrie from Mt Maunganui second.
In the senior divisions Johnny Ayton formally from Whangarei but now a regular visitor to the event from Victoria, Australia, took out the over 50s and placed second in the over 40s.
Ayton’s smooth combination of drop knee turns and nose rides earned 9.75 points in the over 50s final against second placed Orewa surfer Paul Brown’s 9.10 gathered mainly from traditional board walking and nose riding. However, in the over 40’s final Raglan board maker Mike Thomson scored 10.30 to pip Ayton’s 9.70.
In the Women’s division local surfer Pauline Pullman used her eighth and last wave to score a 4.5 ride which took her ahead of Piha surfer Anna Jolly.
Final results:
Junior Men:
Dylan Barnfield (Ohope) 11.75 pts, 1;
Sam Guthrie (Mt Maungonui) 7.75, 2;
Eli Barnfield (Ohope), 7.20, 3;
Hone Douglas, 6.75, 4.
Women’s:
Pauline Pullman (Sandy Bay) 8.25, 1;
Anna Jolly (Piha), 7.30, 2;
Josephine Moore (Muriwai), 5.90, 3;
Kirstie Thomsen (Whangarei), 5.40, 4.
Over 40 Men:
Mike Thomson (Raglan) 10.30, 1;
John Ayton (Victoria), 9.70, 2;
Bruce Shortridge (Hawkes Bay), 8.60, 3;
David Storck (Auckland) 4.35, 4.
Over 50 Men: John Ayton (Victoria), 9.75, 1;
Paul Browne (Auckland) 9.10, 2;
Viv Tracey (Whangarei) 8.65, 3.
Con Fowler (Whangarei) 5.90, 4.
Open Men:
Daniel Proctor (Gisborne) 14.40, 1;
Michael Fitzharris (Gisborne), 12.65, 2;
Daniel Kereopa (Raglan) 10.25, 3;
Daryn McBride (Mt Maungonui) 8.75, 4.
Further event dates for the 2007 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour are as follows:
Hyundai Pro Longboard, Christchurch – 17th – 18th February
South Island International Longboard Pro-Am in association with Hyundai, Kaikoura – 16th – 18th March
Hyundai Pro Longboard, Port Waikato – 24th – 25th March
Hyundai have been involved with Surfing New Zealand since 2004. 2006 saw the relationship go from strength to strength with sponsorship of the national champs and the longboard tour. The relationship is now having a serious impact on the sport of surfing and particularly longboarding in this country.
The Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour is brought to you by Billabong, Oceanbridge, Nickelodeon, Coke, Panasonic, Clearasil, UV Triple Guard, Von Vipper and Kustom. Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by Corona, Vodafone, Hyundai, SPARC, Smokefree,
Tradition Vs Power at The Hyundai Pro Longboard Event
3 February, 2007 : - - Longboarding got back to its classic best when the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour hit Sandy Bay, Northland today. Small but reasonably consistent wave conditions forced the country’s best longboarders to rely on style rather than aggression in the battle for points in the third round of the six event tour.
National open champion Daniel Kereopa (Rag) and some of the other younger competitors like Wellington’s Kirk Beyer relied largely on a modern tight turning style to win their way through the early heats, Kereopa scoring the highest wave of the day with an 8.75 ride. But others such as defending 2006 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour winner Michael Fitzharris from Gisborne looked towards more traditional stepping, nose riding and drop knee turns for their points in the clean half metre waves.
Mount Maunganui’s Darren McBride and Ohope junior Dylan Barnfield were among others who stood out with stylish noseriding in the open men’s division. In the juniors Dylan Barnfield and his younger brother Eli both made it through to the semi finals, as did 13 and 15-year-old Mangawhai brothers Louie and Sam Smith, with 11 year-old Hone Douglas from Whakatane also stepping up to the plat to progress to the semifinals.
With the first round of this year’s Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour at Mt Maunganui abandoned due to lack of waves and the second round being incorporated into the Hyundai National Surfing Championships at Taranaki this weekend’s Sandy Bay event is the first time this season the country’s top longboarders have had for a serious match up between one another.
Surfers who have progressed into Sunday’s Semifinal rounds of the Northland Longboard Classic include: Women’s: Kirstie Thomsen (Whangarei), Shereen Lobb (Port Waikato), Anna Jolly (Piha), Melody Spaul (Whangarei), Pauline Pullman (Sandy Bay) Rea Ansin (Auckland), Monique Waitzer and Josephine Moore (Muriwai).
Junior Men: Eli Barnfield, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), Louie Smith, Sam Smith (Mangawhai), Hone Douglas (Whakatane) and Sam Guthrie (Mt Maungonui) Over 40 Men: Richard Dorahy (Whangarei), John Ayton (Victoria, Aus), Bruce Shortridge (Hawkes Bay), Al Ashworth (Muriwai), Mike Thomson (Raglan), Scotty Riach (Stanmore Bay), David Storck (Auckland) and Roger Hall (Ruakaka).
All finals will be completed on Sunday with the action commencing at 8am in the morning. A full media release and results will be distributed at the end of the days surfing.
Further event dates for the 2007 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour are as follows:
Hyundai Pro Longboard, Christchurch – 17th – 18th February
South Island International Longboard Pro-Am in association with Hyundai, Kaikoura – 16th – 18th March
Hyundai Pro Longboard, Port Waikato – 24th – 25th March
Hyundai have been involved with Surfing New Zealand since 2004. 2006 saw the relationship go from strength to strength with sponsorship of the national champs and the longboard tour. The relationship is now having a serious impact on the sport of surfing and particularly longboarding in this country.
For more information on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Alternatively, please contact Hyundai Marketing Manager Daniel Carroll on 64 9 573 2050 or dcarroll@hanz.co.nz.
The Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour is brought to you by Billabong, Oceanbridge, Nickelodeon, Coke, Panasonic, Clearasil, UV Triple Guard, Von Vipper and Kustom. Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by Corona, Vodafone, Hyundai, SPARC, Smokefree,
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