What is it with the South Island Surfing Championships? Or Easter? It seems that no matter when they are held, you can be assured that the Otago coastline will be firing. This past week was classic. First a monster swell brought the North Coast to life from Wednesday, then a south swell for Friday, then another south swell for Easter Monday and eerily perfect winds the entire time. Even Otepoti's favourite, St Clair Beach, turned the south swell into magical walls for the event – rising to the occasion despite its high-tide woes.
Outstanding surfing from local surfer JC Susan was enough to defeat the perpetual powerhouse surfing of Maz Quinn in the final, with Britt Kindred, of Muriwai, rising to the top of the women's despite a slew of young girls raising the standard to the next level and right at her heels. In the junior men's it was all about the Jack McLeod and Elliot Brown show. Elliot, the current New Zealand Under-18 Champion, managed to take out both main events winning the U17 and U20 events and cementing his position as one of New Zealand's most promising young surfers.
Away from the competition site every surfer in Otepoti was the winner this past week. Most managed to paddle into some waves that etched another layer of epic memories into their surf tome. From standout barrels, of which there were so many, to playful surfs on novelty waves in the harbour. It's hard to believe that none of these swells earned names like the infamous Cyclone Pam, yet all three of them delivered something magical, maybe even better, than Paml was able.
My personal wave count for the week ranges from fun to frightening to a complete test of my fitness and back to fun again. That dull ache in my shoulders is a welcome sign that this has been an Easter weekend well spent. I hope you had the same.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS The South Island Surfing Championships are run by Surfing New Zealand in conjunction with the South Coast Boardriders Association. Two great organisations doing their best to progress surfing in New Zealand ... I'll raise a Corona to that.
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