Mike Burling : photo Slide Magazine

Kereopa Falters As Mcbride And Burling Move Through

A new Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour champion will be crowned Sunday after Daniel Kereopa (Rag) was defeated in the round of 32 surfers today (Saturday 12th April) ruling him out of the three way race for the title.  Rubbing salt into Kereopa’s wounds was Daryn Mcbride (Mnt) and Michael Burling (Gis) who both progressed through to the quarterfinals with ease winning their heats in small 0.5m waves at Port Waikato.

The Port Waikato event is the last of seven on the 2008 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour. The small swell got the better of Kereopa and by the time his heat rolled around the incoming tide had all but squashed the waves.  Australian Harley Ingleby dominated the heat for an easy win scoring 14.50.  Kereopa required a 5.25 on his last scoring ride but fell short posting a 4.8 to be eliminated by Ingleby and Matt Gillespie (Auck). 

The ocean basically went flat for four agonising minutes at the end of the heat leaving Kereopa waveless until the hooter sounded to end the heat and his title aspirations.

Ingleby was the clear standout on day one with some slick movement up and down the board and stylish cutbacks.  Light on his feet, Ingleby will be favoured to progress well into the final rounds of the event and perhaps upset the remaining two title contenders Mcbride and Burling come finals time.  Ingleby posted the days highest heat total of 18.50 in the first round.

Current ratings leader Daryn Mcbride, another small wave exponent, excelled in the small conditions moving through to the last 16 surfers.  Mcbride scored 18.25 in his heat to beat Dave Elley (Rag) and Steve Tyro (Chch).  “I am not too nervous about how this will unfold. I think my surfing is suited to the waves we have and after today’s performance I am confident of surfing to the best of my ability” commented Mcbride.

Likewise Michael Burling posted 15.25 points to win his heat and keep his hopes of winning the title alive. Both Burling and Mcbride were outwardly pleased with the demise of Kereopa which happened after Mcbride’s heat but prior to Burling’s. 

The winner of the tour walks away with big accolades as well as driving away in a new Hyundai Santa Fe.  While no one likes to see others lose, there is a lot on the line and a two surfer race has a lot better odds than three surfers.

Kereopa was philosophical in his loss.  “I am definitely disappointed that I didn’t make the heat today” commented a dejected Kereopa.  “I wanted to see the race go down to the final if possible and I wanted to be in that final.  However either of those two surfers are deserved winners of the tour this year.  I know both have been putting in a lot of effort to win especially Daryn.  I guess it will be good to see a different surfer to drive away in that car, the third in three years”.

Along with Ingleby, two further surfers potentially pose big stumbling blocks for the title race.  1996 world champion Bonga Perkins (Haw) and current Queensland champ Jackson Close both progressed through to the quarterfinals today.  Close has frequented New Zealand on several occasions competing at various events while Perkins has not been in New Zealand since the World Championships were held at Raglan in 2003. 

Coincidentally the two surfers meet in the quarterfinals along with Mcbride and New Zealand representative Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) in the toughest heat of the round. Other day one heat winners included Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), Jay Reeve (Mnt), Sam Johnson (Gis) and Daniel Procter (Gis).

Claire Norman (Aust) top scored in the women’s division with some great footwork on show.  Norman posted 15.25 in her heat with a highest single wave score of 8.0 for a long righthander.  Norman currently sits in second place on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour but is unable to bridge the gap to ratings leader Daisy Thomas (Chch). 

However Norman will want to finish on a high with a win this weekend.  Thomas, despite having sealed the title at Wellington last weekend will also want to finish the tour on a high note.  Today she progressed through her heat in first place scoring a 9.5 point total heat total.

The Bay of Plenty surfers absolutely dominated the under 18 boys division.  Current ratings leader Sam Guthrie (Mnt) continued his good form to show the younger groms why he is at the top of the ratings scoring 13.0 points in his heat to move through to his fifth final of the season.  Equally as impressive was Ohope’s Rick Williams. 

The tiny frame of Williams suited the small lefthanders that he opted to surf.  Williams posted 12.0 points with footwork that the open men’s surfers would be proud of.

The surf conditions look set to remain the same on day two at Port Waikato with light offshore winds predicted and less than a 1.0m swell forecast.  Surfing will take place on from 8.00am until 2.00pm.  Prize giving will be held at the beach at the conclusion of the finals.

Hyundai have been involved with Surfing New Zealand since 2004 and also sponsor the most prestigious event in New Zealand – The Hyundai National Championships presented by Quiksilver.  However the focus is on longboarding and this year the tour is being televised on Maori Television with half hour shows dedicated to each event. 

Heke Ngaru is shown at 8.00pm every Thursday night.  Hyundai have also set up a specific surfing website focussing on longboarding and the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour - http://www.surf.co.nz/hyundai.

Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by Corona, Hyundai, SPARC & Smokefree.