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look who came TO TOWN
Once again, Taranaki hosted the best women surfers in the world, when the ASP World Tour graced the shores of Fitzroy for the fourth year in a row. I may have written this every year, but the NZ leg is unique in many ways. Taranaki is typical of much of New Zealand, the people are friendly and welcoming and Kiwi’s in general do not fall victim to superstar ground worshipping. When the pros come to town they are treated with the same down to earth friendliness as the next person and it makes for a unique and “down to earth” experience.
ABOVE LEFT: Mt Taranaki from the water, Image by Cory | ABOVE: The form that took Coco Ho to the finals, Image by Cory Scott
THE wild card
Also unique to the New Zealand tour is the wild card entry spot. Free entry allows any Kiwi girl the chance to surf for a place on the Taranaki leg of the World Tour, with the opportunity to then surf against the best in the world. It’s a pretty incredible opportunity, which was won in 2011 by Sarah Mason, in 2012 by Gabby Samson and this year by Whangamata’s Ella Williams.
TOP TO BOTTOM: Gabby Sansom | Ella Image by Cory | Bianca | Carissa Moore and Bianca Image by Cory | Ella wins the wild card spot
Grace Spiers from Whangamata
Some of the best NZ surfers turned up with the hope of taking out the coveted NZ title. The finals was closely contested between local favourite, Thandi Tipene, Raglan’s Jess Santorik and Whangamata locals Grace Spiers and Ella Williams. But it was Ella who showed both the consistency and flair needed to take out the win. To say she was elated is an understatement. Not only was she guaranteed at least US$5000 in prize money, she got to surf against World No 1, Carissa Moore and current tour leader, Tyler Wright in round two.
Ella WIlliams in winning form
Jess Santorik
Thandi Tipene
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t r N KI THE LOCAL FAVS There is no doubt that without Paige Hareb, this event would never have taken place. Taranaki is a proud region and as soon as Paige qualified for the World Tour back in 2009, the locals began planning for this event. It’s a great chance for the local hero to shine in her home town and Paige always draws a big crowd. Wherever you walk in New Plymouth you’ll see signs of support for the famous local surfer. The first year the event was held here, someone spray painted “Go Paige” on the front of the Beach Street Store. Local surfer and store owner, Arch, has kept the sign as a reminder of their local hero. This year, however, local knowledge did not work in Paige’s favour and she was knocked out in round two by Sage Ericson, in a tightly contested round that left many with their eyebrows raised as to the outcome. But this is how competitive surfing goes, your fate lies in the hands of a group of judges who get to say what they think is a better manoeuvre. I can tell you, there was a whole bunch of people who believed they got it wrong that day, but that’s just how the story goes. The other local favourite was Taranaki based Thandi Tipene who was vying for the wild card spot against the onfire, Ella Williams. Unfortunately Ella’s style and consistency overpowered Thandi’s local knowledge. Both Thandi and Paige are fantastic ambassadors for surfing in NZ and for Taranaki in particular. Thandi went on to attend the ISA Worlds later this year with Ella Williams, see more on page 12. Thanks must go out to all the hard working volunteers in Taranaki who help make this event happen each year. It’s easy to turn up to events without giving a moment of thought to what it has taken to get it to this place, so huge props to everyone for another great year.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Thandi Tipene in action | Paige receives a high five from one of her many fans
ABOVE:Paige Hareb at home in Taranaki, Image by Cory Scott
Sally Fitzgibbons practising her aerial manouevers during a free surf at Fitzroy | RIGHT TOP TO BOTTOM: Woodsy tucks into a gem | Silvana takes to the air
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t r N KI THE main event The New Zealand event is also unique in our Maori heritage and the welcoming ceremony is one the girls always remember. From the singing to the speeches and hongis, the girls have no doubt that they are in Aotearoa. As always, Taranaki produced some excellent conditions throughout the week, with the sun shining and the mountain glistening in the background, it’s a pretty fantastic backdrop for such an event. Back after a year of injury last year, Silvana Lima took to the air with her usual finesse. However the level of competition seems to have grown so much in the past year and Silvana was knocked out in round two. Much to my disappointment as she’s one of those surfers I love to watch, you can never quite guess what she’s going to do next. With the level of competition so high this year, high scoring heats were seeing some incredible talent knocked early. An onfire Sofia Mulanovich just happened to come up against an even more on-fire Stephanie Gilmore and was knocked out with a heat score of 16.50. Coming into the event at Taranaki, on-form Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright were holding the first and second spots and were both surfing incredibly. However, Tyler, who looked unstoppable at one point was knocked by Lakey Peterson in round Four and Carissa by eventual winner, Courtney Conlogue in the quarters. Although it was a closely contested competition, there were some definite standouts for me. While photographing one day, Sally Fitzgibbons was free surfing just in front of me. Wave after wave she launched herself in the air, trying out her aerial manoeuvres that she has been working on last year in Dubai. I was surprised, not only by how much air she got, but by the fact that she landed nearly every one of them. Unfortunately, Sally did not get the opportunity to pull them off in her heat but I am sure that with a little more time under her belt we’ll be seeing boosts as part of her day to day arsenal.
Throughout the week we got to witness some truly inspirational surfing and it just goes to show how far the women have come. Each heat matched worthy competitor against worthy competitor and at the end of the day a certain amount of luck determines who goes through to take out the event. It’s one of those events you really must put on your calendar. To get the chance to see the best surfers in the world on our own shores is something not to be missed. From here the girls flew to Rio de Janeiro for the fifth stop on the tour, where Tyler Wright found her form again and took out the event. We’ll be watching the remaining three events closely so stay tuned to see who will be this year’s World Champion. (July 10th – 14th: Roxy Pro in Bairritz, France | July 22nd – 28th Vans US Open in Huntington Beach, USA | Oct 3rd – 7th EDP Cascais Girls Pro, Portugal).
South African Tour Rookie, Bianca Buitendag, Image by Cory Scott
BELOW: Stephanie Gilmore, Image by Cory | TOP RIGHT: Bec Woods | BOTTOM RIGHT: Silvana Lima
ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT: The welcoming committee | Steph leans in for a hongi | Carissa, Pauline, Courtney, Kirby Wright, Lakey and Tyler
Peruvian World Champ and tour veteran, Sofia Mulanovich Image by Cory Scott
Brazilian, Silvana Lima takes to the air again. Image by Cory Scott
Lakey Peterson, from the USA Image by Cory Scott
Hawaiian’s Alana Blanchard Image by Cory Scott
Aussie girl, Laura Enever Image by Cory Scott
Four times World Champion, Stephanie GIlmore Image by Cory Scott
Hawaiian powerhouse, Carissa Moore Image by Cory Scott
ABOVE: Waves to be had all along the coast, Image by Cory Scott RIGHT: Malia Manuel, one of the crowd favourites.
Event winner, Courtney Cologue Image by Cory Scott
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STUFF TO DO One of the things I love about going to Taranaki is you can never get bored while you’re there. One of my favourite things to do is to hit the coastal walkway, either on bikes, skateboards or simply enjoy a walk; it really is a beautiful pathway through some spectacular scenery. The town of New Plymouth has been voted best NZ city for good reason. There are plenty of shops and great cafes to choose from all with the friendly vibe that is Taranaki. The rest of the coast is a surfers’ dream, with breaks facing nearly all directions so no matter what the wind you can generally find an offshore spot somewhere along the Surf Highway. In the winter, Mt Taranaki becomes a popular ski field, so you can ski and surf all in the same day. One of the things I would recommend if visiting Taranaki for the first time is to get a surf lesson. You may be quite experienced but it’s always great to go out with a guide/coach and get some firsthand advice on the local breaks. Local surf coach and resident photographer, Daisy Day, is my favourite surf chick in Taranaki, so give her a call and she’ll sort you out.
ABOVE: Tyler Wright finds a perfect wave at Fitzroy Beach. Image by Cory Scott
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31” Fort Knox Aqua Taylor had a hand in every aspect of the design of his signature model, from the template shape and specs to the graphics. Everything is designed to work with Taylor’s style of power surfing, from the wide tail to the slightly stretched wheelbase, which provides a bit more stability at speed. This is the board he cross trains on for strength and flow, carving it up and down the hills in front of his house like he’s ripping at J-Bay.
7 models to choose
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