Monday, November 2, 2009   6 Comments

The first ever Origin Jeans North Island Longboarding Championships took place over the weekend, with the Open Men’s division being taken out by Daniel Procter.  In his acceptance speech, Procter stated that he was hugely gratified to have “taken out the NZ Triple Crown this year – including the National Longboard title, the Maori Nationals Longboard title and now the North Island Longboarding Championships”.


Above: Dan Procter - Photo: Alan Ashworth


 67 competitors rolled into the car park at Te Arai point on a stunning Saturday morning, dismally looking out on a nearly flat ocean.  As the tide dropped however, the southerly swell showed some lumps on the horizon and by 9am they were wrapping around the point, creating a nice contestable bank to get going on.  1 – 2ft waves were just big enough to allow the crew of longboarders to put on a great display of their skills.


Above: Leroy Rust - Photo: Alan Ashworth


 Round one of the Open Men’s and the Over 40’s divisions were contested on day one, with some impressive surfing to be seen.  For many, it was their first contest since the completion of the Hyundai Pro Circuit at Port Waikato in March earlier this year and so the weekend provided the perfect opportunity to have a catch up with those they hadn’t seen in a while.

 The Open Men’s division draw was absolutely stacked with the majority of the top seeds from around the country making the trip to be there.  Trevor Medcalf headed a tireless team of judges, including Isaac Johnston and Gavin Bisman along with many volunteers throughout the weekend; who ensured that the event rolled smoothly from heat to heat.


Photo: Alan Ashworth


 By 1pm, the tide had filled in completely drastically affecting the quality of the wave conditions.  After a conference with the Under 18 division’s contestants, the event coordinators put off the remaining Round One Heats until the following day.

 Sunday saw the swell drop off even further, causing a relocation of the event to the Mangawhai Heads.  A big thank you is in order to the Mangawhai Surf Lifesaving Club for allowing the team of judges to use their deck and the contestants to take over the lawn in front.

 The Under 18 division kicked the day off in good style on the beach break to the left of the bar.  The waves allowed some solid nose rides and impressive cutbacks to be performed by a talented bunch of young surfers.  The contest site was then put onto the Mangawhai Bar and put all of the contestants paddling ability to the test.  A fast flowing outgoing tide and a strong offshore wind had everyone constantly on the go to stay in the right place for take-off.


Photo: Alan Ashworth


 A group of dolphins cruised through the second semi-final of the Women’s division, creating one of those rare moments of being totally immersed in nature – and many forgot that they were still in the closing minutes of their heat!

 By the time the finals were in the water, the swell was again threatening to disappear.  The contestants however were able to pick off the better waves and see the competition out on another day that conjured up feelings of it really being summer time.  The results for the finals were as follows:

 Open Mens:

1st Daniel Procter (Gisborne); 2nd Michael Burling (Wanganui); 3rd Sam Johnson (Gisborne); 4th Mathew Cockayne (Whangaporoa);

Open Womens:

1st Kirstie Tomson (Whangarei Heads); 2nd Sasha Brownlie (Gisborne);  3rd Shelley Jones (Whangaporoa);  4th Kelly Talbot (Mangawhai);

Over 40’s:

1st  Viv Tracey (Whangarei Heads);  2nd Paul Browne (Whangaporoa);             3rd Mal Brady (Mt Maunganui); 4th Ian Parker (Campbells Bay);

Under 18’s:

1st   Leroy Rust (Dunedin); 2nd Hone Douglas (Ohope);  3rd Charlie Brown (Gisborne);  4th Joseph Stewart (Whakatane);

A massive thank you to all the sponsors that jumped on board, including Origin Jeans, Smith Optics, The Orewa Longboard Club, Liberty Life, Ultimate Surf Shop, Slide Magazine, Charlies, Sanuk, Morris Surfboards, 09 Magazine and surf2surf.com.  Without the support of each and every one of you, this event would not have been possible.