Team USA 2009 World Titles
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METALCOASTIE
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SFKneelo
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surfhorn
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Surfersvillage just posted this story on the Worlds:
http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/4 ... f-news.htm
http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/4 ... f-news.htm
kbing since plywood days
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Scott
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Hi, everyone. Today is Tuesday, April 14 (but for most of you it’s still Monday). Thanks for all the words of encouragement about these posts! We really want you to feel like you're with us.
Another full day of competition at Arawhata Road, initially under dismal skies, onshore winds, and upper 50 degree temps. We huddled on the cliffs to keep warm, watching a still solid 4-6’ swell, although somewhat mixed up in the wind. Most all of us were surfing either in the Open Division repercharge or already in Round Two. The highly competitive field has been cut down now from its original 96 to 48 quality surfers. There are no more repercharge heats from here on out, both in the Open and in the age division heats (which begin tomorrow). Still alive in the Open out of our original 15 U.S. kneelos are Barry Baker, Tom Backer, Robb Salfen, Bob Gove, Mike Fernandez, Mike Neal, Tom Linn, and Scott Wessling. Many of the heats were tightly scored; some of our guys lost out of the Open by less than one point!
As the day progressed, so did the weather—it “fined up” nicely, as they like to say it here in New Zealand. It ended up bright, sunny, light winds and everyone without board shorts and t-shirts were sweatin’ it. The water temp the whole time has been sweet; maybe 64 degrees; a 3/2 full wetsuit is more than enough. But booties are a must to avoid the urchins!
After the main heats for Team USA were completed today, some of the guys went free surfing. Brad and Ed had a memorable session at Mangahume, which Brad said had incredible scenery. Also having head high plus surf in great conditions and only two other guys out in this reef-break right made it all the more memorable.
Tonight’s planned activities for the surfers include Texas Hold’Em Poker and “Speed Billiards”.
On the forecast front, both the swell and inclement weather will be on the increase; a full day of heats are planned from dawn to dusk with uncertainty on the horizon.
For your enjoyment, check out the interview with KSUSA All Stars Tom Backer and Tom Linn recorded earlier today (just uploaded a few minutes ago):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaFQTivymo
Bob Gove has also been busy with his camera, and provided a nice series of pics of many of the guys surfing today and yesterday. You'll see a lot in shortly in the albums in this site, both the regular one and in the album dedicated to the World Contest.
Thanks for all you support—we can really feel it when we read your posts!!
Another full day of competition at Arawhata Road, initially under dismal skies, onshore winds, and upper 50 degree temps. We huddled on the cliffs to keep warm, watching a still solid 4-6’ swell, although somewhat mixed up in the wind. Most all of us were surfing either in the Open Division repercharge or already in Round Two. The highly competitive field has been cut down now from its original 96 to 48 quality surfers. There are no more repercharge heats from here on out, both in the Open and in the age division heats (which begin tomorrow). Still alive in the Open out of our original 15 U.S. kneelos are Barry Baker, Tom Backer, Robb Salfen, Bob Gove, Mike Fernandez, Mike Neal, Tom Linn, and Scott Wessling. Many of the heats were tightly scored; some of our guys lost out of the Open by less than one point!
As the day progressed, so did the weather—it “fined up” nicely, as they like to say it here in New Zealand. It ended up bright, sunny, light winds and everyone without board shorts and t-shirts were sweatin’ it. The water temp the whole time has been sweet; maybe 64 degrees; a 3/2 full wetsuit is more than enough. But booties are a must to avoid the urchins!
After the main heats for Team USA were completed today, some of the guys went free surfing. Brad and Ed had a memorable session at Mangahume, which Brad said had incredible scenery. Also having head high plus surf in great conditions and only two other guys out in this reef-break right made it all the more memorable.
Tonight’s planned activities for the surfers include Texas Hold’Em Poker and “Speed Billiards”.
On the forecast front, both the swell and inclement weather will be on the increase; a full day of heats are planned from dawn to dusk with uncertainty on the horizon.
For your enjoyment, check out the interview with KSUSA All Stars Tom Backer and Tom Linn recorded earlier today (just uploaded a few minutes ago):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaFQTivymo
Bob Gove has also been busy with his camera, and provided a nice series of pics of many of the guys surfing today and yesterday. You'll see a lot in shortly in the albums in this site, both the regular one and in the album dedicated to the World Contest.
Thanks for all you support—we can really feel it when we read your posts!!
I'm not influenced by the past; I change it!
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Bob Gove
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By the way, detail on specific heats are available on Surfing New Zealand. Here is the link:
http://www.surfingnz.co.nz/locals_fight ... titles.htm
http://www.surfingnz.co.nz/locals_fight ... titles.htm
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jim richardson
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Keep 'em coming! 
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randiego
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Just got a quick call from Brad with a surf report - the Open heats for Wednesday (it's 3pm Wednesday afternoon now in NZ) are being contested in 6-10 ft faces with howling offshores! 
Solid surf for the Worlds!
He also let slip a rumor that the Orange Ninja Kneelo has made the quarters of the Open
Go Team!
Solid surf for the Worlds!
He also let slip a rumor that the Orange Ninja Kneelo has made the quarters of the Open
Go Team!"Tomorrow is a promise to no one."
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Scott
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April 15. Day Four of the 2009 Kneeboard Surfing World Titles in Opunake, NZ, is in the books. It was a day that, I believe, every contestant will remember for the rest of their lives.
When we left the local pub/meeting place last night, Kenny Stapleton (the father of modern day kneelo organizing/competing) told us to “bring our big boards and our big fins.” He was spot on. We drove in to Arawhata Road to find the surf had grown significantly and the winds turned light offshore. Throughout the day, the surf pumped through non-stop, easily 2-4’ overhead, and sometimes double overhead. And when I say “the surf pumped”, I mean a pump that never shut off. Every single heat, all 27 of them, saw more waves than the contestants could ride. You could choose to sit outside for the “absolute rippahs” (as our announcer called them) or sit a bit inside for a “drainpipe”, and you could be confident you would get your waves. The only change throughout the day was that the wind got stronger and stronger offshore. The waves stood up far in advance of hitting the reef; everyone in the water saw them coming, so did everyone watching up on the cliff –the spray would start raining back and both groups would just go crazy!
The waves themselves were pretty much all rights—there were frequent lefts, but few bothered with them because of the risk of being caught inside on the sets. Barry Baker, Tom Backer and Baden each took one or two, however. The takeoff was pretty standard with a long smooth drop, your board chattering in the offshores, then a nice swooping bottom turn and hopefully a strong lip hit. Fairly quickly the wave would then slow down a bit with plenty of cutbacks, then it would develop (hopefully) a speed track along the inside with multiple opportunities to hit the lip, including the big ending whack in the shallow closeout that the judges were looking for. The whole ride was up to 250 yards of great surfing! The consensus of a number of us with years of competitive experience was that this was the best contest surf we have ever seen, even eclipsing the fine surf Santa Cruz put on display for us all in the 2007 World’s and the 2009 KSUSA Nationals.
The surfers who ended up advancing were those who could read the wave the best just before taking off, predicting which ones would reform to the inside speed track (less than 50% of the waves), then surf them powerfully. And there were a number of surprising upsets. Chayne Simpson and Matt Gallagher failed to reach the quarter finals. Dave Parkes was just killing every wave and looked on his way to at least the semis, but then was called for an interference (just a misunderstanding with another kneelo who he thought was going left but went right) and was eliminated to everyone’s shock. On the Team USA front, standout surfers Tom Linn, Tom Backer and Robb Salfen competed hard but were unable to reach the quaterfinals.
When the dust settled in the prestigious Open Division, the semifinals are set with five Aussies and one Yank: Simon Farrer, Gavin Coleman, Albert Munoz, Paul Harriot and our own Barry Baker. All the Kiwis are gone, as are the Brits (Kyle Ward!), the South Africans, the Tahitians, etc. Barry Baker is surfing with flair, power and abandon. His best move was an impossible slam off the top, freefalling 6 feet down into the trough, the board spinning first out to the left, then crossing underneath him to the right, and somehow he kept his balance perfectly to finish the move. The crowds went crazy! All that professional bullriding skills honed years ago has not left Barry…
The surprise of today’s heats was the assault on the Open Division by 58-year old Bob Gove of San Diego. Choosing the biggest waves, he pulled vicious turn after turn, using his built in handles on his K58 board. Kicking with those Super XL Duck Feet that give any other mortal screaming cramps, he motored back out to the distant lineup more quickly than the rest, even though he had to surf heat after grueling heat. He beat out Craig McDonald (former NZ champion) and others to advance to the quarter finals (actually only 12 surfers) before finally being eliminated. He can now claim to be the 12th best competitive kneelo on the planet at any age. Way to go, Bob!
Hey, yours truly reached number 18 in the Open rankings, just missing the quarters by a few points.
A few of us had a freesurf this evening at a local secret spot just south of town, which was also magnificent righthander even better than Arawhata Road, and with just a few guys out. There are so many waves around here with such light crowds from what we are used to.
Finally, this evening was capped off at the local pub with “The History Of Kneeboarding”, a crafty photoshopped spoof by Craig McDonald. To see about 20 photos, such as Moses parting the Red Sea with Contest Director Murray Weir carving off the top of the cascading waters under Moses’ staff, had everyone howling. You'll see that slide posted in the Album dedicated to the contest.
Predictions for tomorrow are for a slight swell decrease but with the important continuation of favorable winds. The age division heats will be running all day. The contest is on schedule to finish up by the end of Friday, with the awards presentation on Saturday.
April 15 – tax day for you,
for us, one of the greatest days in kneelo competition history!
P.S. See the corresponding surfing pics in the Album directory dedicated to the contest.
When we left the local pub/meeting place last night, Kenny Stapleton (the father of modern day kneelo organizing/competing) told us to “bring our big boards and our big fins.” He was spot on. We drove in to Arawhata Road to find the surf had grown significantly and the winds turned light offshore. Throughout the day, the surf pumped through non-stop, easily 2-4’ overhead, and sometimes double overhead. And when I say “the surf pumped”, I mean a pump that never shut off. Every single heat, all 27 of them, saw more waves than the contestants could ride. You could choose to sit outside for the “absolute rippahs” (as our announcer called them) or sit a bit inside for a “drainpipe”, and you could be confident you would get your waves. The only change throughout the day was that the wind got stronger and stronger offshore. The waves stood up far in advance of hitting the reef; everyone in the water saw them coming, so did everyone watching up on the cliff –the spray would start raining back and both groups would just go crazy!
The waves themselves were pretty much all rights—there were frequent lefts, but few bothered with them because of the risk of being caught inside on the sets. Barry Baker, Tom Backer and Baden each took one or two, however. The takeoff was pretty standard with a long smooth drop, your board chattering in the offshores, then a nice swooping bottom turn and hopefully a strong lip hit. Fairly quickly the wave would then slow down a bit with plenty of cutbacks, then it would develop (hopefully) a speed track along the inside with multiple opportunities to hit the lip, including the big ending whack in the shallow closeout that the judges were looking for. The whole ride was up to 250 yards of great surfing! The consensus of a number of us with years of competitive experience was that this was the best contest surf we have ever seen, even eclipsing the fine surf Santa Cruz put on display for us all in the 2007 World’s and the 2009 KSUSA Nationals.
The surfers who ended up advancing were those who could read the wave the best just before taking off, predicting which ones would reform to the inside speed track (less than 50% of the waves), then surf them powerfully. And there were a number of surprising upsets. Chayne Simpson and Matt Gallagher failed to reach the quarter finals. Dave Parkes was just killing every wave and looked on his way to at least the semis, but then was called for an interference (just a misunderstanding with another kneelo who he thought was going left but went right) and was eliminated to everyone’s shock. On the Team USA front, standout surfers Tom Linn, Tom Backer and Robb Salfen competed hard but were unable to reach the quaterfinals.
When the dust settled in the prestigious Open Division, the semifinals are set with five Aussies and one Yank: Simon Farrer, Gavin Coleman, Albert Munoz, Paul Harriot and our own Barry Baker. All the Kiwis are gone, as are the Brits (Kyle Ward!), the South Africans, the Tahitians, etc. Barry Baker is surfing with flair, power and abandon. His best move was an impossible slam off the top, freefalling 6 feet down into the trough, the board spinning first out to the left, then crossing underneath him to the right, and somehow he kept his balance perfectly to finish the move. The crowds went crazy! All that professional bullriding skills honed years ago has not left Barry…
The surprise of today’s heats was the assault on the Open Division by 58-year old Bob Gove of San Diego. Choosing the biggest waves, he pulled vicious turn after turn, using his built in handles on his K58 board. Kicking with those Super XL Duck Feet that give any other mortal screaming cramps, he motored back out to the distant lineup more quickly than the rest, even though he had to surf heat after grueling heat. He beat out Craig McDonald (former NZ champion) and others to advance to the quarter finals (actually only 12 surfers) before finally being eliminated. He can now claim to be the 12th best competitive kneelo on the planet at any age. Way to go, Bob!
Hey, yours truly reached number 18 in the Open rankings, just missing the quarters by a few points.
A few of us had a freesurf this evening at a local secret spot just south of town, which was also magnificent righthander even better than Arawhata Road, and with just a few guys out. There are so many waves around here with such light crowds from what we are used to.
Finally, this evening was capped off at the local pub with “The History Of Kneeboarding”, a crafty photoshopped spoof by Craig McDonald. To see about 20 photos, such as Moses parting the Red Sea with Contest Director Murray Weir carving off the top of the cascading waters under Moses’ staff, had everyone howling. You'll see that slide posted in the Album dedicated to the contest.
Predictions for tomorrow are for a slight swell decrease but with the important continuation of favorable winds. The age division heats will be running all day. The contest is on schedule to finish up by the end of Friday, with the awards presentation on Saturday.
April 15 – tax day for you,
for us, one of the greatest days in kneelo competition history!
P.S. See the corresponding surfing pics in the Album directory dedicated to the contest.
I'm not influenced by the past; I change it!
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scoop
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great stuff Scott ... you have excelled with your reporting skills ... you are the new SCOOP lol ... we are getting nuthing here except for your great reports along with the UK site ... looks like I am going to have to make the next one no matter what ... lol
cheers matee and enjoy ... Tony
cheers matee and enjoy ... Tony
Love that "greenroom" feeling...(don't panic I finally found it)..... good ole' winki on a good day
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Mark Ramirez
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Mark R.-
SFKneelo