Young surfers Kehu Butler (Ngati Ranginui) and Zhana Hutchieson (Te Atiawa) have defended their titles at the 2017 Aotearoa Maori Surfing Titles presented by Evitan Events over the weekend.
The event was held at Waitara, Taranaki and despite the less than desirable small waves and onshore winds that fronted participants at the event, the weekend’s activities were completed in the true spirit of the Maori Titles.
For Mount Maunganui surfer Butler, it was his first event in New Zealand waters this year.
His titles in the Open Men’s Division and the Under 18 Boys Division came with relative ease and helped Ngati Ranginui to claim the Iwi of Origin from hosts Te Atiawa.
Butler’s international experience showed with the 17-year-old starting both finals strongly and then dominating until the final hooter sounded. He posted a 17.0 point heat total out of a possible 20 in the Open Men’s Division Final, a performance that had both his peers and his supporters cheering on.
Butler defeated local surfer Jayson Zimmerman (Te Atiawa) who finished in second place with Butler’s Dad, Khan, in third and another local surfer Jamie Andrews (Te Atiawa) in fourth.
Butler now heads to Australia for a World Qualifying Series QS1000 event at Phillip Island this week in a bid to pick up more qualification points and further international experience to finish the competition year.
In the Open Women’s Division, it was Hutchieson’s local knowledge that helped her come out on top of a low scoring final with a 9.73 point heat total to defend her title.
Hutchieson is another young surfer and at the age of 16, this is her second title at the event. This year she held off a stern challenge from Kea Smith (Ngati Ranginui) with Kahana Ngaia (Te Atiawa) in third and Natasha Gouldsbury (Te Atiawa) in fourth.
Hutchieson could not complete the double like Butler, finishing runner up to Brie Bennett (Ngati Hine) in the Under 18 Girls Division.
A quartet of Raglan surfers dominated the Under 16 and 14 Boys Divisions but with differing results in each final. Josef Jungwirth (Ngati Ranginui) claimed his first national win of his short career winning the Under 16 Boys Division while the consistent Jayden Willoughby (Ngapuhi) picked up another win in the Under 14 Boys Division.
For the senior divisions contested, it was Khan Butler who took his son’s lead with a win in the Over 35 Men’s Division. Local surfer Pipi Ngaia (Te Atiawa) won the Over 45 Men’s Division to take home a second medal for the family after his daughter Kahana placed third in the Open Women’s Division.
Waitara’s Jamie Andrews competed in four finals throughout the day with one win coming in the Longboard Division while he also finished runner up in the Stand Up Paddleboard to Gisborne’s Geoff Pardoe (Ngati Porou).
For the first time at the event, an amateur division was contested to give relatively inexperienced surfers a chance at participating and joining in on the action. Young local surfer Patrick Kilmister made the most of his chances to win the division ahead of young Whangarei surfer Journey Lum (Ngapuhi).
Please see below for results from the 2017 Aotearoa Maori Surfing Titles presented by Evitan Events completed at Waitara Beach, Taranaki on Sunday 22nd October.
Open Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Khan Butler, 10.8, 1, Jamie Andrews, 10.7, 2, Chris Malone, 7.73, 3, Jason Matthews (Tara), 3.33, 4
Heat 2
Kehu Butler, 17.2, 1, Jayson Zimmerman, 8.13, 2, Jason Ruddell, 6.17, 3, Gavin Kelly, 4.17, 4
Open Men’s Division Final
Kehu Butler, 17, 1, Jayson Zimmerman, 11.6, 2, Khan Butler, 9.83, 3, Jamie Andrews, 6.17, 4
Under 18 Boys Division Final
Kehu Butler (Mnt), 16.2, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 8.57, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 7.07, 3, Jared Lewis (Tara), 1.27, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Kora Cooper (Rag), 11.2, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 9.5, 2, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 8.5, 3, Kava Matthews (Tara), 7.07, 4
Heat 2
Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 9.07, 1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 8.36, 2, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay), 4.2, 3, Te Ihi Nehua (Sandy Bay), 0, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Final
Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 11.8, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 11.6, 2, Kora Cooper (Rag), 11.4, 3, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 3.4, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Kora Cooper (Rag), 12.7, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 8.63, 2, Kava Matthews (Tara), 7.67, 3, Jack Luke (Tara), 2.1, 4
Heat 2
Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 11.2, 1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 10.6, 2, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 8.83, 3, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata, 7.67, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Final
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 15.1, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 14.8, 2, Navryn Malone (Rag), 6.97, 4, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 7.87, 3
Open Women’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Kahana Ngaia (Tara), 7.23, 1, Brie Bennett (Rag), 3.5, 3, Natasha Gouldsbury, 4.77, 2
Heat 2
Kea Smith (Mnt), 9.5, 1, Zhana Hutchieson (Tara), 9, 2, Renee Ruddell (Whngrei), 6.43, 3
Open Women’s Division Final
Zhana Hutchieson (Tara), 9.73, 1, Kea Smith (Mnt), 7.23, 2, Kahana Ngaia, 4.77, 3, Natasha Gouldsbury, 3.23, 4
Under 18 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 2
Zhana Hutchieson (Tara), 11.43, 1, Natasha Gouldsbury (Lev), 10.83, 2, Nia Kereopa (Rag), 1.50, 3
Under 18 Girls Division Final
Brie Bennett (Rag), 9.67, 1, Zhana Hutchieson (Tara), 8.5, 2, Kea Smith (Mnt), 7.27, 3, Natasha Gouldsbury (Lev), 6.3, 4
Over 35 Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Jamie Andrews (Tara), 14.2, 1, Erin Pennington (Tara), 3.83, 2, Gavin Kelly (Rag), 2.93, 3
Heat 2
Khan Butler (Mnt), 11.8, 1, Jamie Andrews (Tara), 11.8, 2, Jason Ruddell (Whngrei), 6.67, 3, Kupe Lewis (Tara), 7.7, 2
Over 35 Men’s Division Final
Khan Butler (Mnt), 11.6, 1, Jamie Andrews (Tara), 10.3, 2, Erin Pennington (Tara), 8.63, 3, Kupe Lewis (Tara), 8.47, 4
Over 45 Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Phill Willoughby (Rag), 2, 1, Gavin Kelly (Rag), 1, 2, Jeff Piper (Tara), , N/S
Heat 2
Pipi Ngaia (Tara), 14.5, 1, Jason Matthews (Tara), 10.8, 2, Les Haami (Tara), 4.93, 3
Over 45 Men’s Division Final
Pipi Ngaia (Tara), 11, 1, Jason Matthews (Tara), 7.03, 2, Phill Willoughby (Rag), 3.53, 3, Gavin Kelly (Rag), 2.77, 4
Men’s Longboard Final
Jamie Andrews (Tara), 12.2, 1, Geoff Pardoe (Gis), 5.37, 2, Charles Kauwhata (Whngrei), 2.63, 3
Stand Up Paddleboard Division Final
Geoff Pardoe (Gis), 12, 1, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 5.77, 3, Jason Matthews (Tara), 2.93, 4
Amateur Division Final
Patrick Kilmister (Tara), 9, 1, Journey Lum (Whngrei), 3.5, 2, Chris Abraham (Tara), 3.33, 3, Renata Blair (Auck), 2.33, 4
Information
For more information on the 2017 Aotearoa Maori Surfing Titles presented by Evitan Events, please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution images will be available to media upon request. Images will be distributed free of charge.
Partners
The 2017 Aotearoa Maori Surfing Titles would not be possible without support from hosts Waitara Bar Boardriders Club, Evitan Events, Beach Street Surf Shop, Surfing Taranaki and Surfing New Zealand.
