The 2008 NMD/Mountain Dew Gissy Pro was all wrapped up on Saturday 25th October 2008 after a solid 12 hour day of competition that finished just before dark.  Competition took place on Wainui Beach at the well known Chalets break.  Competitors surfed in changing conditions throughout the day in workable 2-4 ft waves with some good sections with potential for some great high scoring waves.

Kicking off the day right on 8am was the Da Fin Amateur round One. There was some excellent riding from these competitors with some great combo's going down.  Current amateur BBSNZ Tour leader Aran Naismith progressed through the first round along with his rival Navare Taylor.  Surfing in his first competition in NZ Alistair Scott surfed well to make his way through the first round.

Next up was the first round of the Seventhwave Under 18's.  Things were looking good with the waves now starting to show some better form.  Mitch Tombleson surfed solidly to easily progress through to the next heat, as did current Under 18 BBSNZ tour leader Luke Elliot.  It was good to see some new faces in this division with Opunake's Andrew Corkill surfing a well constructed first heat to also progress through to the next round. 

With the conditions getting increasingly better with light winds the first round of the Mountain Dew Open Men kicked into action.  It was a solid field of competitors from all around the country which paved the way for some amazing bodyboarding.  The tone was set early on in the day with some huge powerful inverts, setting the standard of what was expected for the last event of the 2008 BBSNZ tour.   All the tour front runners progressed through to the second round, with Ben McKinnon, Floyd Smith, Richard McKenna and Duncan Smith still all within reach of the 2008 BBSNZ Tour Championship.  The light winds kept swinging back and forth throughout the day with some high performance bodyboarding going down in the ever changing and sometimes tricky conditions. 

Next to surf was the first round of NMD Drop Knee with some fast powerful dropknee riding taking place.  Sam Peters and Duncan Smith were basically neck and neck on tour rating points leading into this event.  Both easily progressed through the first round heats making some solid floaters and powerful turns to progress through. 

The 2nd round of the Mountain Dew Open Men's commenced just after lunch with some extremely stacked heats lining up.  Dylan Russ was unfortunate and did not progress after making the trip up from Christchurch.  The most stacked heat of the second round between Ben McKinnon, Richard Mckenna and Mitch Tombleson was a tight one with the apprentice Tombleson having to settle for third against the two more experienced competitors.

After two aborted attempts, it finally looks like the planned date for the Auto-Sleepers British Nationals will coincide with a swell forecast to do the competition justice. Therefore, we are aiming to proceed with the headline Open Division of the competition this Sunday the 16th of November.

Early indications are of a 7-8ft swell set to produce some very contestable waves, along with a change from the persistent rain of recent weeks.

Check-in at Porthtowan will be from 8am onwards, with the first heats hitting the water at 9am.

With £1,000 for 1st place, £500 for 2nd, £250 for 3rd and £150 for 4th, the £2k prize pot is burning a hole in the BBC coffers; so make sure you’re there either to compete or see the new National Champion walk away with a grand in his pocket.

Any original entrants who did not make the first check-in are invited to join the official reserve list, but you must complete an entry form if you have not already done so.

Overnight accommodation is available at the Beach Hotel: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or The Sick Lame & Lazy backpacker’s rooms: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with prices to fit all budgets.