Mangawhai’s Johnson and Piha’s Paul Claim Titles at NZ Longboard and SUP Open

Mangawhai surfer Glen Johnson claimed his first career win at the Coast Papamoa New Zealand Longboard and SUP Open held at Papamoa Beach today (Sunday 21^st February).

Johnson was joined by another first time winner in young Piha surfer Gabrielle Paul who won the Women’s Longboard Division.

The surf remained around the 1.0m mark all day with moderate cross-offshore winds at Papamoa Domain. Varying tides made for an array of conditions ranging from long peeling waves on the outer banks over the low tide to short and sharp beach break waves on the full tide.

Johnson went one better than the 2015 event where he finished runner up to another finalist today, Owen Barnes (Mnt). Today it was Johnson that chose to surf down the beach from his competitors and capitalised on the empty waves to notch up an 11.5 point heat total for the win.

The stylish natural foot surfers picked off some perfect runners on his forehand managing to get to the nose on several occasions despite the incoming tide making conditions tricky.

Gisborne’s Sam Johnson placed second in the final, less than a point behind Glen with Paul Culpan (Auck) in third and 2015 winner Owen Barnes in fourth place.

Piha’s Gabrielle Paul claimed a tight win in the Women’s Longboard Division pushing defending champion Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach) back in to second place despite a late charge for the lead which came up short by less than 1.0 point. Paul finished with a 7.87 point heat total to defeat Poulter, Kiri Binnersley (Mnt) finishing in third and Kelsi McKenney (Mnt) finishing in fourth.

The senior experience of Shane Murrell (Auck) saw him clinch a last minute victory in the Starboard Men’s SUP Division. Murrell placed third at the National Championships in January and continued his excellent form with a win at today’s event. Murrell was sitting in third place for much of the final before he edged over a set late in the final where heat leader Karl Aarsen (WGM) could not. Murrell went on to score a 6.33 point ride which was enough to elevate him to first, bumping Aarsen back to second. Ollie Houghton (Auck) placed third in the final with Murrell’s son Oscar finishing in fourth.

Like 14-year-old Paul, Gisborne’s Stella Smith, who is only 13, won the Starboard Women’s SUP Division. It was Alexis Poulter that again played bridesmaid gunning for a late win but coming up short by less than 0.50. Smith is an all-round waterman having only last week taken back-to-back national wins on her shortboard as well as successfully competing in surf lifesaving events. Auckland’s Pea Strickland placed third in the final ahead of Naiomi Madeiros (Auck) in fourth.

Previous to Owen Barnes finishing fourth in the Open Men’s Division final, he defended his title in the Over 40 Longboard Division. Barnes crushed his competitors in the final posting a 13.17 point heat total out of a possible 20. Orewa surfer Brendon Callaghan finished in second place ahead of Mal Brady (Mnt) in third and James Atutahi (Mnt) in fourth.

It was another local surfer in Jeremy Williams that claimed the On The Way RV Over 50 Longboard Division title. Williams defeated Mark Hoyle (Orewa) who finished in second ahead of double finalist Brendon Callaghan in third and Peter De Mooij (Mnt) in fourth.

Thomas Kibblewhite (Red Beach) won the Logger Expression Session.

Ollie Houghton (Auck) won the Starboard King of the Waves race which comprised three laps of the 1.0km course in and out of the waves. Houghton opened up a massive lead of the first leg which he held throughout the race. Armie Armstrong (Auck) finished in second place ahead of Jeremy Stephenson (Auck) in third.

The Coast Papamoa NZ Longboard and SUP Open brings together longboard and stand up paddleboard surfers from around New Zealand eyeing wins across the eight divisions contested over one day.

This is the third year the Open has been held at Papamoa Beach.

Coast Papamoa Beach development manager Kranish Reddy says it is a fantastic event for surfing and for Papamoa.

“We are proud to sponsor an event that embraces the spirit of this wonderful beachside community that we live in. As a popular surf beach, Papamoa is the perfect location,” he says.

“It is a great opportunity for locals and visitors alike to enjoy some action on the water, while soaking up some beautiful Bay of Plenty scenery.”

Coast Papamoa Beach is a premium, masterplanned, coastal development, at Papamoa, spanning 24 hectares.

Please see below for final results from the Coast Papamoa Beach NZ Longboard and SUP Open completed at Papamoa Beach today (Sunday 21^st February 2016).

Men’s Longboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Owen Barnes (Mnt), 12.5, 1, Sam Johnson (Gis), 11.9, 2, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 11.2, 3, Bruce Shortbridge, 1.53, 4
Heat 2
Zen Wallis (Piha), 12, 1, Paul Culpan (Auck), 6.7, 2, Branko Vela (Auck), 6, 3, Andy Collins (Mnt), 4.43, 4
Heat 3
Glen Johnson (Auck), 8.27, 1, Matt Hands (Mnt), 6.9, 2, Michael Gray (Auck), 2.17, 3, Charles Vujcich (Napier), 0.5, 4

Men’s Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Sam Johnson (Gis), 15.67, 1, Paul Culpan (Auck), 12, 2, Zen Wallis (Piha), 8.47, 3
Heat 2
Owen Barnes (Mnt), 13.33, 1, Glen Johnson (Auck), 8.87, 2, Matt Hands (Mnt), 6.27, 3

Men’s Longboard Division Final
Glen Johnson (Auck), 11.5, 1, Sam Johnson (Gis), 10.7, 2, Paul Culpan (Auck), 9.67, 3, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 9.43, 4

Starboard Men’s Stand Up Paddleboard Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Armie Armstrong (Auck), 9.6, 1, Leigh Hawes , 4.57, 2, Stuart Holland (Rag), 4.43, 3, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 3.73, 4
Heat 2
Shane Murrell (Auck), 12.5, 1, David Storck (Auck), 5.93, 2, Bryan Evans (Auck), 2.47, 3, Lynden Kennings (WGM), , N/S
Heat 3
Ollie Houghton (Auck), 8.73, 1, Gavin Houghton (Auck), 6.53, 2, Shaan Miller (Auck), 5.93, 3, Jack Evans (Auck), 5.53, 4
Heat 4
Oscar Murrell (Auck), 12.33, 1, Karl Aarsen (WGM), 10.17, 2, Mark Jones (Mnt), 6.53, 3, Cormac McCulloch, 3.43, 4

Starboard Men’s Stand Up Paddleboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Karl Aarsen (WGM), 14.77, 1, Ollie Houghton (Auck), 14.73, 2, Armie Armstrong (Auck), 13.6, 3, David Storck (Auck), 6.13, 4
Heat 2
Shane Murrell (Auck), 10.97, 1, Oscar Murrell (Auck), 7.57, 2, Gavin Houghton (Auck), 7.33, 3, Leigh Hawes (Auck), 4.27, 4

Starboard Men’s Stand Up Paddleboard Division Final
Shane Murrell (Auck), 12.4, 1, Karl Aarsen (WGM), 11.2, 2, Ollie Houghton (Auck), 10.7, 3, Oscar Murrell (Auck), 5.07, 4

Duck Point Wines Women’s Longboard Division Final
Gabi Paul (Piha), 7.87, 1, Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach), 6.9, 2, Kiri Binnersley (Mnt), 6.23, 3, Kelsi McKenny (Mnt), 5.33, 4, Marguerite Vujcich (Napier), 4.6, 5

Starboard Women’s Stand Up Paddleboard Division Final
Stella Smith (Gis), 8.6, 1, Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach), 8.37, 2, Pea Strickland (Auck), 8.33, 3, Naiomi Madeiros, 3.6, 4, Katie-Marie Jervis, 1.6, 5

Over 40 Men’s Longboard Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Owen Barnes (Mnt), 15.7, 1, James Atutahi (Mnt), 10.6, 2, Andy Collins (Mnt), 5.43, 3, Tatana Heke (Mnt), 5.27, 4
Heat 2
Brendon Callaghan (SAF), 13.2, 1, Mal Brady (Mnt), 9.1, 2, Whare Heke (Mnt), 8.43, 3, Guy Rencher (Mnt), 7.83, 4

Over 40 Men’s Longboard Division Final
Owen Barnes (Mnt), 13.2, 1, Brendon Callaghan (SAF), 7.5, 2, Mal Brady (Mnt), 5.63, 3, James Atutahi (Mnt), 4.1, 4

On The Way RV Over 50 Men’s Longboard Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Brendon Callaghan (SAF), 10.7, 1, Mark Hoyle (Auck), 10.17, 2, Bruce Shortbridge (Mnt), 8.83, 3, Mal Brady (Mnt), 7.9, 4, Marguerite Vujcich (Napier), 1.07, 5
Heat 2
Peter De Mooij (Mnt), 6.83, 1, Jeremy Williams (Mnt), 5.77, 2, Paul Halford (TGA), 5, 3, David Storck (Auck), 3.15, 4

On The Way RV Over 50 Men’s Longboard Division Final
Jeremy Williams (Mnt), 12.7, 1, Mark Hoyle (Auck), 9.37, 2, Brendon Callaghan (SAF), 8.43, 3, Peter De Mooij (Mnt), 7.1, 4

Starboard King of the Waves Race
1, Ollie Houghton (20:10), 2, Armie Armstrong 21:55, 3, Jeremy Stephenson (22.54)

Further Information
For further information on the 2016 Coast Papamoa Beach New Zealand Longboard and SUP Open please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.

Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing at the event will be available to media free of charge courtesy of Surf2Surf.com.

Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506. This will be updated daily at approximately 7am with venue, divisions contested and conditions for the day.

Partners
Generous support from Coast Papamoa Beach, Wine2U, Starboard, Surf2Surf.com, On The Way RV and Super Liquor Papamoa have made this event possible.

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

Follow the event
Follow the action via the SNZ Facebook and SNZ Twitter. Check out @surfingnz on Instagram for more fun-filled content. Follow the event hashtag – #NZLO2016.

Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by

Sport NZ
SunSmart