It's fair to say that Dunedin was absolutely pumping over the Easter weekend. The Emerson's South Island Surfing Championships were on, the sun was out, the swell on the rise and even Ed Sheeran was belting out his magic to 40,000-strong crowds over three nights.
It made me proud of this wee city of ours. And it absorbed the masses like a sponge. Sure, getting a park anywhere near St Clair Beach was a big ask, but it was worth the walk in with the buzz of the surf comp in full swing. The Esplanade was loaded from dawn to dusk with the onlookers, surfers and those out of town visitors who just had to get to the beach for the warm, sunny days.
A mob of groms swarmed around the South Coast Boardriders Clubrooms on their skateboards hoping to bump into their surf heroes and perfect their backhand snaps on the grassy verges. Out to sea the small, but contestable waves of Friday soon filled in thanks to a southerly blast that turned the arena into a pretty complicated landscape for the Saturday and Sunday rounds. Britt Kindred, of Muriwai (now living and studying in Dunedin), described the arena at one point as being like "surfing in a washing machine". She should know – she finished second by a hair's breadth in the Women's Open event (to Tegen Bishop, of Chistchurch) and won the Under 20s.
The Men's Open event went to first-time winner, the mutli-talented Zen Wallis, of Piha, who managed to fend of another Piha local, Elliot Paerata-Reid. Elliot was clearly enjoying the juice on offer – he posted the event's only 10-point ride in his quarterfinal.
The full results can be found here.
Like all events there are often a few rising stars and this event really gave them a canvas to shine. Here are my top five standouts:
1: Misha Peyroux. She's 11 and earned her berth in the Under 14 Girls final only to paddle out into some truly challenging high-tide conditons at St Clair that would have most adult surfers thinking twice. She finished fourth among a pack of talented young girls coming through with Ava Henderson, of Christchurch, taking the win.
2: Shani Ayson. Since Britt Kindred moved to Dunedin the pair have teamed up to chase waves and it's paying off with Shani taking second place in the Under 20 Girls behind her friend.
3: Anika Ayson. Shani's little sister is just 14, but fought her way into the U18 Girls' final in style and went out and hunted down some great waves in her backyard. She finished third just ahead of another local standout, Jaya Reardon, in the final.
4: Tegen Bishop. This girl's on a roll, winning the Open Women's and Under 18 Girls at the Emerson's South Island Surfing Championships. She's one more to watch ...
5: South Coast Boardriders Association. Putting together a comp like this and executing it so superbly through flat spells and wild southerly blasts is true testament to the community behind the club. And arranging The Wendy's to play at the clubrooms on Friday night and Six60 and Ed Sheeran the other nights is pure genius. And then there is The Shark Bell – a special brew by Emerson's that is somewhere between a hammock between two palm trees and an evening glass off with just your best mates in the water ...
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS The legendary Alan Te Moananui, of Kaikoura, battled hard to win the SUP division and I'm pretty sure his extra motivation came from his desire to protect the threatened Mangamaunu point break – his local. Al Te dedicated his victory speech to it, letting the packed clubroom know that there is a move to put a cycleway around the rocky foreshore that could have a dramatic affect on the wave. He urged everyone present to sign this online petition. More info here. Thanks, Al Te.
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