Comment
Share
Posted on Wednesday October 3rd 2012 at 9:21 a.m.
Tweet
Sean Kettle riding a wave through to the inside and was another heat winner today moving through to the final 12 surfers in the Under 18 Boys Division. Image by Col/Surf2Surf
The West Coast turned on a typical mix of spring weather with howling westerly winds and solid 2.0m waves smashing the Taranaki coastline with rain fronts thrown in at regular intervals.
Despite the tough conditions, the oldest of the surfers at the event showed what was possible. Honours for the day went to Ben Poulter surfing for Waikato and Paul Moretti who is surfing for Northland. Both surfers amassed 14.0 out of a possible 20 points in their second round match ups to convincingly win their heats.
'There was so much water moving out there" exclaimed Poulter exiting the water after his heat. "That last wave I got at the end was a good one, I think if you do one decent turn out there you will get a good score, like I rode that other wave all the way to the beach and only got a four point ride but that last wave was just like Manu Bay at home, it was good" commented Poulter on how the heat unfolded.
Poulter posted the highest single wave score of the event to date after executing two critical backhand re-entries for a 9.17 point ride on his last wave ridden.
Moretti also surfed brilliantly scoring a 7.33 point ride early in the 25 minute heat completing two excellent turns on his forehand. Moretti also backed up that wave with a 6.67 win for the point ride late in the heat.
It was a big win for Northland, the heat including two surfers from the top ranked Bay of Plenty Team. It was Josh Taylor (BOP) who progressed alongside Moretti, together the two surfers eliminating New Zealand representative Mackenzie Christie (BOP) who finished third and Fraser Seymour (Northland) in fourth.
The Auckland team had another clean sweep today with their two surfers moving through to the third round after placing first and second in the final heat of the day. Waretini Wano led the way with an 11.83 point heat total followed by Wade Kindred in second place.
The Kettle brothers led the way for hosts Taranaki, both winning their heats to move through to the next round as did Eli MacDonald who took a late heat win in heat 7 to progress alongside Max Cooke (Cant).
The oldest of the Kettle brothers, Josh, said that he felt a 'little bit' of pressure on him after Sean got through in the first heat of the round but as much as anything he wanted to get through for the Taranaki team.
"We did real well today, we had three wins and Brodie (Arbuckle) just got knocked in my heat. Hopefully we can continue on tomorrow and then take out the title at the end of the week" Kettle said.
Kettle also reiterated the fact that conditions were hard but said his team has the upperhand having surfed many club comps in similar conditions. "We know these types of conditions and know what to expect with the change in tides and how it affects the waves at Fitzroy."
The tough conditions forced the event to finish early when officials decided to hold off the Under 16 Boys Division for what everyone hopes will be an improvement on Wednesday.
With the first competitors of the event being eliminated, the team points table started to take shape. The Taranaki Team currently lead the way followed by Northland and Auckland who round out the top three teams. Less than 1500 points separate the top five teams meaning one poor result can push a team down as many as five standings.
Competition will resume tomorrow (Wednesday 3rd October) at 8:00am with a decision on the location and order of events determined once conditions are assessed. The surf and westerly winds are both expected to ease overnight.
Everyone can keep up with the action via the Surfing New Zealand website and social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on your mobile.
The WWF Maui's Trial will take place tomorrow and Thursday and will highlight the plight of the endangered Maui Dolphins.
Please see below for results from an abbreviated day two of the 2012 National Scholastic Surfing Championships held at Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth today (Tuesday 2nd October).
Team Points (After Day 2)
1, Taranaki, 22820
2, Northland, 21925
3, Auckland, 21800
4, Bay of Plenty, 21628
5, Gisborne, 21505
6, Canterbury, 19075
7, Coromandel, 18110
8, Waikato, 14950
Under 18 Boys Repecharge Round 1
Heat 1
William Bowden (Nrthld), 5.33, 1, Flynn Hart (Nrthld), 3.4, 2, Wiremu Ormsby (Wai), 2.03, 3
Under 18 Boys Round 2
Heat 1
Sean Kettle (Tara), 8.4, 1, Flynn Hart (Nrthld), 5.93, 2, Callum Mepsted (Coro), 4.53, 3, Jared Crawford (Chch), 2.7, 4
Heat 2
Ben Poulter (Wai), 14, 1, Levi Stewart (Coro), 7.47, 2, Justin Moir (Wai), 3.27, 3, Niwa Ututaonga (Chch), 2.1, 4
Heat 3
Josh Kettle (Tara), 11.1, 1, Jules Craft (Gis), 8.73, 2, William Bowden (Nrthld), 5.8, 3, Brodie Arbuckle (Tara), 5.5, 4
Heat 4
Paul Moretti (Nrthld), 14, 1, Josh Taylor (BOP), 11.67, 2, Mackenzie Christie (BOP), 10.93, 3, Fraser Seymour (Nrthld), 6.83, 4
Heat 5
Eli McDonald (Tara), 10, 1, Max Cooke (Chch), 7.73, 2, Corey Asplin (Wai), 6.43, 3, Dillon Tarrant (Wai), 4.83, 4
Heat 6
Ware Wano (Auck), 11.83, 1, Wade Kindred (Auck), 8.6, 2, Duncan Milne (Gis), 3.8, 3, Drew Dunfoy (Chch), 0, 4
For more information on the National Scholastic Surfing Championships please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Media releases will be distributed at the end of each days surfing.