THE EDGE and Waveski.info 2008 NZ Waveski Open PDF Print E-mail
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Sunday, 30 March 2008 23:07
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A classy lineup of competitors from all around NZ attended the event in Gisborne over the Easter long weekend. They came from Christchurch, Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne and Australia. Even visiting waveski surfer, Bruce Morse from Maui, Hawaii, dropped by to catch the action.

This event had some great aspects for a waveski comp. The vibe was friendly and easy going with the competitors all just enjoying the friendly Gisborne atmosphere.

The event was well supported by Surfing New Zealand’s provision of their top contest director and operations manager complete with computer tabulation facilities and printer. A “Second Chance - Single Elimination” format was well received by all competitors and allowed each to surf at least twice before facing the prospect of elimination... THE EDGE provided national radio advertisements in the lead up to the contest and the Gisborne Herald as usual, giving great coverage in the newspaper. Blitz Surf Shop, Amor Bendall wines and Parmacy53 also provided great products as prizes and there were some happy recipients amongst the prize pool.

The start of the competition was greeted with clean 4-5ft conditions at Makorori Beach. The forecast was for a good swell with light winds. However, a Southerly front was also predicted to come through at some stage over the weekend.

Some solid surfing was witnessed and the early round standouts for the event were Nick Botica, Chris Vincent, Brian Howard, Steve Gibbs, Brett Cronin and newcomer Ike Te Ahorangi. Jo Zervos and Jackie Dillon also kept the serious threat alive for any males, who after falling in their wake, having to come up with cake!

As the day progressed it became apparent that the previously forecasted Southerly was soon to make its presence felt. The front came through around the same time as low tide and the previously clean waves were gradually blown out but not before the winds totally died for a brief moment during the middle rounds and one heat in particular getting to surf pure glass.

Officials eventually called a halt to the event at low tide to determine their next course of action. They had plenty of time up their sleeve to hold the event over for completion on the following day. But the forecast did not look much better. After giving the tide a couple of hours to change to incoming, it was decided to press on with the contest. It was then that empty waves coming through the point at Makorori caught the eye of officials. The waves had good shape and the tide had just turned from low to incoming giving more consistency in the sets. The point also provided reasonable protection from the wind. The waves, although not perfect and clean, were still very contestable.

The competitors were keen to surf this high profile NZ break to themselves. Eventually, a few board riders could not resist the waves and also ventured out amongst the competitors. Despite anticipated hassles being experienced, the opposite in fact occurred.

Surfboarders were hooting some of the guys onto waves and even asking if they could catch waves competitors were letting by. This vibe amongst fellow surfers would be unlikely to be experienced in many places around NZ or elsewhere in the world for that matter.

As the day progressed, some competitive surfing was also seen amongst the Grand Masters and it became a hotly contested division. A very close result in the final saw Steve Gibbs just edging out Chris Vincent for the title.

The Seniors final also saw another tight encounter between Brian Howard and Nick Botica. Eventually, Nick claimed the Seniors title ahead of Brian by 0.2 points. Mathew Scott and Ike Te Ahorangi finished 3rd & 4th respectively.

Gisborne local Denis McLean showed his superiority on his favourite break to take out the Veterans final ahead of Ziggy Gorzynski and Dave Conway respectively.

Jo Zervos demonstrated some solid surfing through the event and took out the Women’s title ahead of Jackie Dillon.

The Open division witnessed some of the hottest surfing in the event. Nic Botica and Brian Howard were shredding any walls and bashing any lips when they had the chance. Steve Gibbs and Brian Howard progressed to the Open final alongside surprise package Ike Te Ahorangi surfing his “pink panther” (see the pics and you’ll understand!).

However, Brett Cronin set the standard for the event. He accomplished the top 3 heat scores for the entire event starting with the first heat of the day and finishing with strong wins in both the Open and Master Finals he contested.

Cronin took out dual titles in the Open and Masters with Brian Howard 2nd, Steve Gibbs 3rd and Ike Te Ahorangi 4th taking the other top spots in the Open.. Tony Gibbs placed 2nd followed by Jo Zervos 3rd in the Masters.

The atmosphere at this event was friendly and enjoyable with a lot of fun and humour occurring on the beach.. Gisborne demonstrated its usual high level of hospitality both in and out of the water and all competitors had a great time.

Until next time………………………….!

See Chris photos here.
Last Updated on Sunday, 30 March 2008 23:07
 

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