MOSA awarded in Kaikoura

Pumping waves at the Kaikoura Surf Classic on Queens Birthday made it hard for judges to decide who should be crowned the Seventhwave Most Outstanding Surfer Award (MOSA). There were a host of Kaikoura locals in line for the award, including Richard Baxter and Seventhwave's Al TeMoananui, who both charged through some amazing barrels at Kahutara on Day One. But the deserved winner was another Kaikoura local, Nigel Wiseman. Nigel charged the entire comp with passion and flair, and found himself 3rd in the Open final. Congrats Nigel!

Whale Watch Kaikoura Surf Classic June 2012

 
Kaikoura played host to the final round of the South Island surf circuit for 2012, on Queens birthday weekend. Day 1 was a beautiful sunny day with little wind down at the K, the ocean rolling beautiful double overheads at the beach for the masters, juniors, seniors & grand masters heats. Day 2 another lovely sunny day at Kahutara, swell having dropped to 3ft producing an awesome field for the womans, cadets and longboard heats. Day 3 was held at Meatworks, Meaties had possibly its best waves of the year on display, late morning was pumping to say the least, semi finalists able to showcase there skill on the great waves. 2pm Day 3 the southerly hit kaikoura during the Masters final and completely flattened & slopped the waves at meatworks, the competition was moved up the coast to Mangamaunu, where the bay sheltered the bitter southerly and provided long rides for the finals.

Kaikoura Boardriders Club spokesman Brent Proctor said the conditions were arguably the best ever for the three-day event, a permanent fixture in the Kaikoura diary for Queen's Birthday Weekend. 

A number of Seventhwave team riders traveled north to the event, you can see many of them in the video showing off their Custom Wetsuits.
Look out for Luke O'Neill, Al Te Moananui (Bright Yellow) and Niwa Ututaonga.

For more info and pics check out http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/sport/7043574/Near-perfect-waves-for-memorable-classic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wuVqSbbBFY


Results:
Mount Lyford/Whaler Grand Masters: 1 Richard Baxter (Kaikoura), 2 Neil Robb (Sumner), John Roussey (North New Brighton), 4 Tony Low (North New Brighton).

Encounter Kaikoura/Southern Paua Cadets: 1 Jared Crawford, 2 Max Marshall (Sumner), 3 Harrison Whiteside (Redcliffs), 4 Niwa Ututaonga (Sumner).

Surge Surfboards/Pacific Pools Seniors: 1 Haden Brain (Kaikoura), 2 Nick Black (North New Brighton), 3 Josh Thickpenny (Dunedin), 4 Dane Robertson (Kaikoura).

McCrory Plumbing Longboards: 1 Nash Robertson (Kaikoura), 2 Ambrose McNeill (Sumner), 3 Josh Martin (Westport), 4 Matt McCrory (Kaikoura).

R&R Sport Juniors: 1 Hugh Ritchie (North New Brighton), 2 Jacob Kohn (Gisborne), 3 Harrison Whiteside (Redcliffs), 4 Cody McClusker (Kaiapoi).

Te Aroha/Board Silly Women's Open: 1 Alethea Lock (Sumner), 2 Haley Baxter (Kaikoura), 3 Leilani Brain (Kaikoura), 4 Tammi Martin (Kaikoura).

Whale Watch Kaikoura Men's Open: 1 Hayden Brain (Kaikoura), 2 Anthony Hema (Westport), 3 Nigel Wiseman (Kaikoura), 4 Dane Robertson (Kaikoura).

Monkey business/Ace 4WD Masters: 1 Dave Lyons (Kaikoura), 2 Al Te Moananui (Kaikoura), 3 Richard Baxter (Kaikoura), 4 Aaron Surgenor (Kaikoura).

Worse for wear at Worser Bay

Seventhwave recently got behind the Worser Bay Boat Club Hebtro Trophy Day, held in Wellington. Once again the weather turned on one heck of a show, as Maurice Scott writes:

Over the twenty one years of Hebtro Trophy Day we have struck atrocious weather that has forced the cancellation of the key feature, the keelboat race, on only three or four occasions. Fortunately we have become rather adept at working around this and such was the case this year. Extended talks by our two special guests Dr Lyndall Patterson and Andrew Fagan (see http://www.wbbc.org.nz), followed by an extensive auction, and then a series of three races for parents in their children’s Optimist Dinghies all contributed to a successful and entertaining day, despite the weather – suffice to say there was a fair amount of carnage in the Optimist races!

The Toxicity of Surfing...

http://www.greensurfshop.com/surfing-infographic/

13-year-old Xavier Campbell wins MOSA #3

The Seventhwave Most Outstanding Surfer Award (MOSA) had another first recently, with the award being taken out by Xavier Campbell at the 2012 Canterbury Champs. The 13-year-old's outstanding surfing—noticeably improved and honed through the summer season—makes Xavier our youngest winner, and highlights the depth of skill coming up through the South Island ranks.

Indeed, Xavier had to fight of a host of other groms nipping at his heels for the award, especially Nick Takarama and Jack Wilson. These guys have obviously been practicing, and a friendly competitive rivalry has seen the overall level of youth surfing develop in leaps and bounds.

Seventhwave has always supported up-and-coming groms, so we're stoked to see Xavier take out MOSA #3. Will it be another grom at the Nationals in Dunedin this weekend?

2012 New Zealand Police Association Surf Champs

A few shots from the 8th Annual NZPA Surf Champs, held in Kaikoura. Click on a pic to enlarge.

All SEWN up in Sumner

Close to one hundred happy film-goers turned up to Sumner's iconic Hollywood cinema last Friday to witness the first New Zealand longboarding film in over a decade: SEWN. The fact that only three seats were left in the theatre is a testament to the buzz this movie has created, and viewers weren't disappointed. After an introduction from film maker Nicolas Brikke, we were treated to a well paced, well edited and interesting documentary canvasing four corners of the North Island and a few hand-picked inhabitants.

There was a good balance of storytelling and surfing, and both were interesting in their own right. Nicholas had done a lot of work getting to know the interviewee's and earning their respect, and you could tell. Humour, birth, belonging, place, community—all themes that were skillfully investigated without being forced, and which left us wanting to know more. Indeed, the film could have been slightly longer without losing our attention, a nod to the year's worth of editing. The surfing — a range of waves and different boards, all ridden with a different twist — was great to watch, and was reinforced with some memorable quotes on the nature of board ridding, and what it actually means to ride a longboard. Surfers? Tanner and Lillis' styles shone through in this one, but all surfers had a more than enjoyable section.

Coupled with the personalism and surfing footage was a decent dose of kiwiana — scenery shots, indigenous perspectives, and a home grown soundtrack (featuring the Phoenix Foundation and others). The result? SEWN is a great documentary that should be watched by longboarders and the non-surfer alike. Think Endless Summer appeal but in a New Zealand context; the kind of movie you could show the entire whanau without getting bored yourself.

After Q&A with Brikke, the night ended with an after party at The Thirsty Mariner, where punters enjoyed beers and bonus features from the film. Favourites were the wipeouts, the timelaspe segment, and Roger Hall's wooden surfboard process.

If you missed this live, then be sure to grab yourself the DVD. You won't be disappointed.

Winter blues? ISOmag wetsuit review

It's a fact many of us don't want to hear, but nonetheless, winter is on its way. Yet with the cold comes better waves and less crowds, especially in the South Island. It also means it's winter wetsuit season. To get you in a better mood about the chilly climate ahead, here's a 2011 review of the MAX 3/3 GS ZB Steamer from ISOmag, New Zealand's premier bodyboarding magazine. [Click image to enlarge]

Paige Hareb: testing our X-Over across the ditch

When Paige Hareb—kiwi World Tour surfing competitor and all around good sort—contacted us about trying out some Seventhwave gear, we didn't have to think twice. Before jumping on a plane to Australia for the Pro events of 2012, Paige did a quick measure up and sent us in her measurements. We made sure our X-Over Short John and a few other goodies were on the next flight via Lynne Dickinson of Pacific Media [Curl Magazine]. "I really love the blue and pink short john and how it looks at the back without a zip etc, very cool!!" wrote Paige. "Awesome!" Our lightweight rubber obviously helped her get off the ground in that second shot...

Unfortunately Paige has just fallen short of the Quaters at the ROXY event at Snapper Rocks, but she now heads to Bells Beach for event number two of the circuit. Seventhwave wish her all the best for the rest of 2012!

Most Outstanding Surfer Award: Dave Watkins takes Gold in Greymouth

The Seventhwave Most Outstanding Surfer Award (MOSA) is proving to be popular with the South Island Circuit competitors. At the Westport Cape Classic Anthony Hema took out the Grand Prize of a customised wetsuit of his choosing, and punters were poised for another round of judging in Greymouth.

Held over Waitangi Weekend, the waves on offer at Cobden meant many contenders were in the running. In the end, it was Dave Watkins who pipped James Washer and Sam Sands for the second-ever MOSA award. His outstanding surfing was a step up in personal performance, and he was unlucky not to progress further (incurring an interference in the Seniors). Hopefully a customised suit is some consolation.

Next up: the Canterbury Champs in March.