Mammoth Day to Start the Canterbury Champs

For immediate release

24^th April 2016

From: Surfing New Zealand
Sport: Surfing
Event: Go Pro Men’s Canterbury Championships
Dates: 23^rd – 25^th April 2016
Divisions: Open Men, Under 20, 17 and 14 Boys, Over 28, 35, 45 Men’s Divisions and Longboard
Location: Christchurch Beaches
Websites: Surfing New Zealand

Mammoth Day to Start the Canterbury Champs

A spectacular sunrise greeted 140 entrants on day one of the Go Pro Men’s Canterbury Championships held yesterday (Saturday 23^rd April).

The quarterfinalists in the premier Fussion Solutions Open Men’s Division were determined during a big day of surfing that saw competitors going head-to-head through until the sun had well and truly set.

As forecasted, the surf remained small all day, well under the 1.0m mark. However the outgoing tide early in the morning produced some nice waves before the northerly kicked in during the mean’s heats.

Mount Maunganui surfer Matt Hewitt was the stand out surfer of the day notching up a 16.83 point heat total using the northerly to his advantage completing a couple of nice airs on his waves.

Number one seed Maz Quinn comfortably won his opening heat and both he and Hewitt are set to meet in the semifinals should they advance out of their respective quarterfinal match ups.

One of the young stars of the day was 12 year old Myka Black (Chch) who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Open Men’s Division as well as the semifinals of the Under 14 and 17 Boys Divisions.

Others to advance included Harrison Whiteside (Chch), JC Susan (Dun), Zen Wallis (Piha), Daniel Farr (Tara) and Connor McLennan (Chch) who all won their heats.

In the junior divisions it was Elliot Brown (Dun) with heat scores of 15.5, Daniel Farr (Tara) with 10.9 and Myka Black (Chch) with 10.93 out of a possible 20 who all showed a level of surfing that has them looking likely finals contenders.

Black was again in action in the Under 14 Boys Division showing he will be fighting for more than one final on the last day of the event scheduled for Monday. Black was joined by Neko Tohiariki (Chch) and Ruben Peyroux (Dun) as the other stand outs in the division.

The Senior Men’ Division took place late in the day with Josh Thickpenny (Dun), Mike Oakley (Chch), Willy Newman (Chch) and Nick Black (Chch) all winning their heats.

The three-day event takes place from Saturday through until Monday (23^rd – 25^th April) along the Christchurch coastline and is sanctioned by both Surfing New Zealand and the South Island Surfing Association making for a high calibre field of surfers from around New Zealand.

The Go Pro Men’s Canterbury Championships also features senior divisions – Over 28 Men’s, Over 35 Men’s and Pier Lodge Over 45 Men’s plus the Longboard Division.

Pier Lodge is also offering up a $250 prize for the best Father/Son result of the event with a number of Christchurch families expected vie for the title.

The surf is forecasted to remain small for the remainder of the event with neighbouring Taylors Mistake and Gore Bay possible location options on the final day.

Please see below for results from day one of the Go Pro Men’s Canterbury Champs held at North Beach, Christchurch on Saturday 23^rd April 2016.

Open Men’s Division Round of 40
Heat 1
Johnny Wardrop (ChCh), 7.80, 1, Willy Newman (Chch), 7.00, 2, Ryan Robertson (Chch), 4.10, 3
Heat 3
Levi O’Connor (Kaik), 10.50, 1, Max Marshall (Chch), 7.80, 2, Jai Forsyth (Chch), 5.50, 3
Heat 4
Cody Mccusker (Chch), 10.00, 1, Conor Mclennan, 9.03, 2, Matthew Adams (Chch), 5.90, 3

Open Men’s Division Round of 32
Heat 1
Myka Black (Chch), 9.50, 1, Johnny Wardrop (ChCh), 9.07, 2, John Klevstul (Muriwai), 8.20, 3, Jack Wilson (Chch), 6.90, 4
Heat 2
Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt), 16.80, 1, Willy Newman (Chch), 8.20, 2, Luca Brunotti (Dun), 8.10, 3, Moss Thompson (Chch), 7.10, 4
Heat 3
Zen Wallis (Piha), 12.5, 1, Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 8.33, 2, Max Cooke (Chch), 6.03, 3, Alex Casey (Chch), 5.8, 4
Heat 4
Maz Quinn (Gis), 12.80, 1, Anthony Hema (Wesport), 8.07, 2, Ross Dalkie (Chch), 5.60, 3, Hugh Ritchie (ChCh), 5.30, 4
Heat 5
JC Susan (Dun), 11.50, 1, Levi O’Connor (Kaik), 11.23, 2, Rowan Klevstul (Auck), 9.03, 3, Josh Thickpenny (Dun), 6.70, 4
Heat 6
Daniel Farr (Tara), 9.97, 1, Max Marshall (Chch), 7.9, 2, Ben Rees (Chch), 7.53, 3, Cody McClatchy (Chch), 3.1, 4
Heat 7
Harrison Whiteside (ChCh), 11.90, 1, Cody McCusker (Chch), 8.60, 2, Nick Tuhikarama (Chch), 7.00, 3, Stephen Lee (Bull), 7.00, 3
Heat 8
Conor Mclennan, 7.37, 1, Sam Sands (Chch), 7.30, 2, Ethan Burge (Wgtn), 6.20, 3, Jonty White (Chch), 3.30, 4

Under 17 Boys Division Round of 24
Heat 1
Jai Oakley (Chch), 8.2, 1, Maddy Barclay (Oamaru), 8.17, 2, Reuben Lyons (Kaik), 3.8, 3
Heat 2
Mitch Cameron (Chch), 8.5, 1, Jamie Horsefield (Chch), 7.6, 2, Josh McCaffrey (Chch), 5.7, 3, Seb Hudson (Chch), 3.5, 4
Heat 3
Ruben Peyroux (Dun), 10.4, 1, James Millar (Chch), 5.13, 2, Dara O’Malley (Chch), 3.6, 3
Heat 4
Thomas Harcourt (Chch), 7.53, 1, Angus Mossman (Chch), 7.17, 2, Mac McKenzie (Chch), 4.93, 3

Under 17 Boys Division Round of 16
Heat 1
Elliot Brown (Dun), 15.5, 1, Neko Tohiariki (Chch), 8.17, 2, Jai Oakley (Chch), 7.37, 3, Jamie Horsefield (Chch), 5.27, 4
Heat 2
Daniel Farr (Tara), 10.9, 1, Maddy Barclay (Oamaru), 6.3, 2, Jack McLeod (Dun), 5.8, 3, Mitch Cameron (Chch), 3.9, 4
Heat 3
Myka Black (Chch), 10.9, 1, Ruben Peyroux (Dun), 8.6, 2, Samuel Sands (ChCh), 7.8, 3, Angus Mossman (Chch), 5.3, 4
Heat 4
Connor McLennan (Chch), 9.1, 1, James Murphy (Dun), 8.1, 2, Thomas Harcourt (Chch), 7.3, 3, James Millar (Chch), 4.2, 4

Under 14 Boys Division Round of 18
Heat 1
Brooklyn Ward (Chch), 6.77, 1, Tom Jones (Chch), 4.03, 2, Charlie Owens (Chch), 2.47, 3, Jack McKenzie (Chch), 1.03, 4

Under 14 Boys Division Round of 16
Heat 1
Josh McCaffry (Chch), 6.9, 1, Maddy Barclay (Oamaru), 6.1, 2, Koby Cameron (Chch), 3.6, 3, Jahmal Hansen (Chch), 3.3, 4
Heat 2
Myka Black (Chch), 11.3, 1, James Millar (Dun), 5.2, 2, Tom Jones (Chch), 3.7, 3, Seb Hudson (Chch), 2.6, 4
Heat 3
Ruben Peyroux (Dun), 10.1, 1, Dara O’Malley (Chch), 4.6, 2, Henry Mossman (Chch), 3.4, 3, Brooklyn Ward (Chch), 2.9, 4
Heat 4
Neko Tohiariki (Chch), 10.1, 1, Jai Oakley (Chch), 9.9, 2, Ben Chittock (Chch), 2.8, 3, Reuben Lyons (Kaik), 1.9, 4

Over 28 Men’s Division Round of 16
Heat 1
Josh Thickpenny (Dun), 13.1, 1, Jonny Wardrop (Chch), 12.5, 2, Jamie Clyne (Chch), 7.73, 3, Stephen Lee (Bul), 7.7, 4
Heat 2
Mike Oakley (Chch), 11.5, 1, Anthony Hema (Bil), 7.5, 2, Alan Te Moananui (Kaik), 6.2, 3, Matthew Adams (Westport), 2.8, 4
Heat 3
Willy Newman (Chch, 9.5, 1, John Klevstul (Auck), 8.2, 2, Ross Balkie (Chch), 5.4, 3, Dave Lynons (Kaik), 3.3, 4
Heat 4
Nick Black (Chch), 15.8, 1, Ben Rees (Chch), 8.7, 2, Rowan Klevstul (Auck), 6.6, 3, Alex Casey (Westport), 4.5, 4

Information
For more information on the Go Pro Canterbury Championships please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Alternatively contact Russell Ritchie on 0274325972 – russell.ritchie@xtra.co.nz.

The Go Pro Canterbury Men’s Surfing Championships would not be possible without the support of Go Pro, Fussion Solutions, Mike Pero Real Estate, Pier Lodge, host club North Wai Boardriders and the South Island Surfing Association.

Imagery
High resolution images will be available to media upon request. Images will be distributed free of charge.

Follow Surfing New Zealand
Keep in touch with all the surfing info from around the country by following Surfing New Zealand’s social media networks.
Surfing New Zealand Facebook
Surfing New Zealand Twitter
@Surfingnz on Instagram

Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506. This will be updated daily at with venues, divisions contested and conditions.

Surfing New Zealand Newsletter
If you want to keep updated with surfing information right to your inbox then sign up to the SNZ Newsletter.

Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by:

Sport NZ
SunSmart

Ends