| Dylan Barnfield conquers the New Zealand National Longboard Championships |
| Sunday, 07 March 2010 12:26 |
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Ohope surfer Dylan Barnfield barnstormed his way to a national title today (Sunday 7th March) winning the Open Men’s Division at the Hyundai National Longboard Championships held at Whangamata Beach over the weekend. The surf remained large for the final day of the event with 2.0m waves hammering the Whangamata Beach as well as the remaining surfers in the event. For Barnfield, regarded as one of the most talented young longboarders in New Zealand, it was by far the biggest win of his career. The twenty-year-old surfer has won events on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour in the past but the added prestige of this event doubling as the National Championships bested all of his previous feats.
“This win is very different to others that I have had, the prestige around the national title is amazing I feel, I am super stoked – this is definitely a good comp to win” said a near overwhelmed Barnfield. Barnfield posted excellent early rides of 9.65 then an 8.75 (18.40 out of a possible 20 heat total) to put his opponents in serious trouble from the outset. “I combo’d TK (Thomas Kibblewhite) but he came back with a 9.0 point ride so I sat on him at the end and held out luckily” said Barnfield of how the final panned out. His waves comprised of some big turns as well as long hang tens that were aptly rewarded given the sizable beach break conditions. Kibblewhite finished the final in second place for the second year running, again missing out on a crucial win and national title. The Auckland surfer was on fire all day surfing through the latter rounds of the event. His 9.0 point ride in the final saw him complete two of the most critical backhand turns seen on the final day. Despite the excellent ride, he was left requiring a near perfect 9.41 for the win which proved too difficult at the end of the 25 minute final. Local surfer and triple finalist Lynden Kennings placed third in the final, also a repeat performance from 2009. Kennings simply ran out of energy in the final only catching three waves in what was his seventh heat of the day posting 9.90 points. Placing fourth was double finalist Charlie Brown – the youngest of the four competitors in the final. Brown could not keep up with the top two surfers battling Kennings for the minor placings and ending with a 9.30 point heat total. Barnfield by way of his win extends his lead on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour going into the last event in three weeks time. It is the perfect position to be in and he is well aware of that with one event remaining. “Yeah this win has given my ratings a boost. Daniel (Procter) had a bad heat this morning and a lot of the other top seeded surfers also lost early so I am looking forward to Port Waikato”. Earlier in the day Barnfield and Brown eliminated Owen Barnes (Mnt) and Matt Gillespie (Auck) in the first semifinal and Kibblewhite and Kennings defeated Ant McColl (Mnt) and Sam Johnson (Gis) in the second semifinal. Daisy Thomas (Chch) successfully defended her third national title in the Open Women’s Division styling her way to the win posting 13.25 out of a possible 20 in the final. The large lead was insurmountable for her opponents who were left fighting for the minor placings. “It has been hard work this weekend, heaps of paddling and heaps of swell so I am stoked to come away with the win” said Thomas of coming out victorious in the challenging conditions. “It was just tricky getting the in between waves instead of the bigger set waves that closed out” added Thomas of her strategy in the final. Piha surfer Mischa Davis placed second in the final and as a result, relinquished her Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour ratings lead to Thomas. “Mischa has been surfing real good too but that is the way things roll in competition and I am happy to be back on top going into the last event of the Tour” said Thomas. 2007 National Champion Anna Jolly (Piha) placed third in the final ahead of Denise Piper (Whangarei) in fourth contesting her first ever final. Brian Young (Orewa) took his first ever win on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour winning the Over 40 Men’s Division. Young only posted an 8.0 point heat total but that was enough to claim the victory with his opponents running out of steam in the final. Kennings in his second final of the day posted a single wave score of 6.25 but could not find a half decent second scoring ride after getting caught on the inside for much of the final. Michael Thomson (Rag) finished in third place while Rob Bayes (Auck) had to settle for fourth after incurring two interferences and having to exit the water early. Charlie Brown (Gis) dominated a low scoring final in the Under 18 Boys Division. Brown posted a two wave total of 10.50 in the final to take the lone title back to Gisborne after placing fourth in the final of the Open Men’s Division. Dunedin surfer Jae Kilgour placed second in the final. Kilgour missed his opportunity for the win, taking his performance to the limit in the testing conditions but falling at two critical moments. Kilgour posted 8.60 in the final to post his second consecutive runner up placing on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour in 2010. Ben Poulter (Rag) made a successful switch to the longboard for the weekend placing third in the final ahead of Blake Barnfield (Ohope) in fourth. It was third time lucky for Viv Treacy (Whangarei) in the Over 50 Men’s Division who took his first win of the year after contesting all three finals of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour to date this summer. Treacy scored 13.40 in the final edging past Michael Thomson (Rag) on 12.50. Thomson ended up in second place and will retain his ratings lead ahead of Treacy who moves up to second place. Orewa surfer Paul Browne finished the final in third place ahead of Grant Cochrane (Chch) in fourth. The first national title of the day went to Lynden Kennings (WGM) in the Stand Up Paddleboard Division. Kennings was unstoppable in the final posting 15.25 points with a 7.75 and a 7.25 in his total. It was Kennings twelfth national title but first in this division which has only been contested for the past two years. Placing second today was Shayne Baxter (Chch) who had won the two events in the lead up to the national champs. Baxter scored 12.25 points to beat Sean Hovell (Gis) into third and Shane Murrell (Auck) into fourth. Please see below for final results from the third event of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour held at Whangamata today (7th March). Open Men’s Quarterfinals Open Men’s Semifinals Open Men’s Final
Over 40 Men’s Final
Over 50 Men’s Final
Stand Up Paddleboard Final The final event for the 2010 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour follows: Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 5, Port Waikato – 26th – 27th March
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