A challenging final day at the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing has seen Zen Wallis (Piha) and Ava Henderson (Chch) use their experience to work their way through the tough conditions to take titles in honour of godfather of surfing – Duke Kahanamoku.
The two surfers were among fourteen champions at the event that is held at New Brighton Beach, Christchurch.
The swell built overnight with an unruly 1.0m – 1.5m swell and moderate northeast winds pummeling New Brighton Beach all day making it a challenge for all participants.
The Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing is a dual sanctioned Surfing New Zealand and South Island Surfing event.
Wallis took his first win in three starts on the New Zealand Longboard Tour this year posting a 15.4 point heat total.
“I have been pushing hard, I have had a couple of not so good results, so I am stoked to come away with this one” said Wallis of his performance.
“Beforehand it was looking all over the place and I was thinking, how am I going to make a plan for this. I am going to have to trust my instincts. But once I got out there the line up opened and there were a few good waves” he added.
“I have been working on my longboarding heaps as I haven’t been getting into the good scoring range but I have talked to guys and worked hard to up my scores”.
Wallis ousted Nick Tuhikarama (Chch) who finished runner up ahead of Jack Tyro (Chch) in third and Will Jamieson (Chch) in fourth.
Ava Henderson (Chch) won the family rivalry in the Women’s Longboard Division relegating her mother to a runner up finish. It was Henderson’s first foray into the longboard division and the stormy conditions played into her skill set as she surfed to a 7.33 point heat total ahead of her mother. Siohban Jayes (Chch) finished in third place after winning the Women’s Canterbury Championships while Henderson’s step sister Estella Hungerford (Chch) finished in fourth.
“It was pretty funny, conditions were quite tough out in the final” said Ava Henderson.
“It was good to have a heat with mum. I wouldn’t have heard the end of it if I got beaten by Mum so I am lucky to win this one” she added.
Henderson claimed the Under 18 Girls Division too after earlier having trouble in her Under 16s heat.
“I had a not that great final in the Under 16s so I wanted to do my best in the Under 18s and try and do my best to get the result and I got there in the end” said Henderson.
The senior longboard divisions were claimed by Jamie Clyne (Chch) in the Over 45 Division, Grant Corchrane (Chch) in the Over 60 Division and Ron Carter (Chch) in the Over 70 Division.
Anneliese Coberger (Chch) came out on top in a close final for the Over 40 Women’s Longboard Division. Coberger backed up a good result from the previous weekend at Sumner in the Canterbury Women’s Championships with today’s win. She finished ahead of Sarah Armstrong (Chch), Donna Henderson (Chch) and Katrina Millar (WGM) who finished second through fourth.
Ava Henderson made up for her miss in the Under 16 Division with a comfortable title in the Under 18s. Henderson finished with an 11.33 point heat total for a couple of big turns to outpoint fellow Christchurch surfer Leah Wilson. Brock sisters Anna and Sophia of Mount Maunganui finished in third and fourth respectively.
Myka Black (Chch) went head-to-head with Jack Hinton (Mnt) in the Under 18 Boys Division and came out on top after the final exchange in the dying stages of the heat. Black finished with a 12.2 point heat total besting Hinton who jumps to third on the NZ Grom Series rankings. Tyler Perry (Kaik) made it a pair of thirds for the weekend with Jake Owen (Dun) in fourth.
Tao Mouldey (Mnt) claimed his second of two titles in the Under 16 Boys Division. Two committed backhand hacks on one wave sealed the deal in the final with the wave scoring 8.0 for a 15.4 point heat total. Tyler Perry (Kaik) and Jack McKenzie (Chch) finished in second and third respectively with double finalist Taj Millar Dal Bosco (WGM) finishing in fourth.
Leia Millar (Piha) claimed her second title of the day with a big win over Ava Henderson (Chch) in the Under 16 Girls Division. Millar found a couple of rare waves that peeled through to the inside allowing her several good turns versus the single turn waves of Henderson with a 13.2 v 10.03 point difference. Chloe Groube (Pau) finished in third place ahead of Anna Brock (Mnt) in fourth.
National Champions Tao Mouldey (Mnt) and Leia Millar (Piha) shown above their opponents in the Under 14 Division, both surfers winning with big margins. Mouldey posted a 14.2 point heat total and Millar finished with an 11.6 point heat total. Benji Lowen (Chch) finished runner up to go with his second in the Under 12 Boys Division while India Kennings (WGM) finished runner up in the girls division.
Kaikoura’s Sonny Lyons and Orewa’s Alani Morse claimed the Under 12 Divisions with participants showing exceptional courage to tackle the conditions, doing laps of the beach to combat the longshore current.
See below for finals results of the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing completed at New Brighton Beach, Christchurch today (Sunday 14th March).
Paper Plus Men’s Longboard Division Finals
Zen Wallis (Piha), 15.3, 1, Nick Tuhikarama (Chch), 8.5, 2, Jack Tyro (Chch), 7.2, 3, Will Jamieson (Chch), 5.2, 4.
Alpine Spas Women’s Longboard Division Finals
Ava Henderson (Chch), 7.33, 1, Donna Henderson (Chch), 6.43, 2, Siobhan Jayes (Chch), 5.73, 3, Estella Hungerford (Chch), 5.47, 4
Signmark Over 60 Men’s Longboard Division Finals
Grant Corchrane (Chch), 10.07, 1, Paul Bennett (Chch), 9.2, 2, Tim Clemence (Chch), 8.07, 3, Mark Andrews (Chch), 0.7, 4
Sadhana Surf Over 40 Women’s Division Finals
Annelise Coberger (Chch), 8.1, 1, Sarah Armstrong (Chch) 6.07, 2, Donna Henderson (Chch), 5.5, 3, Katrina Millar (WGM), 3.1, 4
Industrial Partners Over 70 Men’s Longboard Division Finals
Ron Carter (Chch), 8.1, 1, Dave Poyner (Chch), 6.83, 2, Jan Everett (Chch), 4.13, 3, Ray Briggs (Chch), 2.6, 4.
Dan Beker Over 45 Men’s Longboard
Jamie Clyne (Chch), 9.1, 1, Steve Tyro (Chch), 8.37, 2, Paul Bennett (Chch), 8.03, 3, Steve Andrews (Chch), 6.5, 4
Exit Surf Under 18 Boys Division Final
Myka Black (Chch), 12.2, 1, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 11.7, 2, Tyler Perry (Kaik), 10.2, 3, Jake Owen (Dun), 8.8, 4
Against the Grain Under 18 Girls Division Final
Ava Henderson (Chch), 11.33, 1, Leah Wilson (Chch), 7.50, 2, Anna Brock (Mnt), 6.27, 3, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 5.17, 4
Switch Under 16 Girls Division Finals
Leia Millar (Piha), 13.2, 1, Ava Henderson (Chch), 10.3, 2, Chloe Groube (Pau), 8.93, 3, Anna Brock (Mnt), 7.03, 4
Penguin Arms Under 16 Boys Division Finals
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 15.4, 1, Tyler Perry (Kaik), 10.7, 2, Jack McKenzie (Chch), 9.13, 3, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 7.9, 4
Shoreline Fitness Under 14 Boys Division Finals
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 14.2, 1, Benji Lowen (Chch), 8, 2, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 7.83, 3, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 7.83, 4
Toi Collective Under 14 Girls Division Finals
Leia Millar (Piha), 11.6, 1, India Kennings (WGM), 6.47, 2, Alani Morse (Orewa), 4.43, 3, Lola Groube (Pau), 2.83, 4
Hawke Financial Services Under 12 Boys Division Finals
Sonny Lyons (Kaik), 8.97, 1, Benji Lowen (Chch), 7.67, 2, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 4.23, 3, Zen Mouldey (Mnt), 3.9, 4
Joyce and Co Under 12 Girls Division Finals
Alani Morse (Orewa), 7.47, 1, Lola Groube (Pau), 7.10, 2, Amelie Clark (Chch), 2.8, 3, Torah Kennings (WGM), 0.77, 4
The three-day Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing celebrates the sport under the name of legendary Hawaiian waterman and Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku with surfers from the length of the country heading to New Brighton to take part. Many enter the event purely for the festivities and the great cause behind the festival which brings to life New Brighton.
The Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing is dual sanctioned by Surfing New Zealand and the South Island Surfing Association.
About the Duke Festival of Surfing
In 2015 Ross Tyson made the amazing replica of the Duke’s surfboard as part of the centenary celebrations of Duke Kahanamoku’s surfing and swimming displays in the area. Ross designed the support framework; the pattern for the board was kindly drawn out in full size by Mark Calcutt; Dave Poyner finished the board surface with a beautiful high spec coating.
These celebrations spurned the inaugural “Duke Festival” the following year and the festival is now one of New Zealand’s largest surfing events.
The Duke Festival is about more than just the sport of surfing; it’s about the culture of the beach and those who love the sand between their toes and salt in their hair.
The Duke Festival uses the sport and culture of surfing to raise pride in, and the perception of, the wider New Brighton area.
Information
For more information on the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing please contact Mark O’Malley on 021 207 5177 or malsa09@yahoo.co.nz or Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
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Keep in touch with all the surfing info from around the country by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Follow the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing on Instagram – @dukefestivalofsurfing, Facebook – @Dukesfestival and @dukefestivalof2 on Twitter.
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