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Surfers Poulter and Spiers Set To Contest Last Two Days Of Event |
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Saturday, 17 September 2011 01:41 |
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The fate of the Rip Curl New Zealand Junior Surfing Team will rest with only two surfers as the 2011 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship heads in to the penultimate day of action tonight (28th May).
After a long day of surfing it was Ben Poulter (Rag) and Grace Spiers (WGM) who fought through tough heats and progressed to the final two days of the event being held at Punta Hermosa, Lima, Peru.
Poulter surfed late in the day in small 1.0m inconsistent waves but rode to an impressive heat win on the left-handers scoring 9.07 out of a possible 20 points.
"I had 5.77 and 3.0 point rides and I was in second so during the last five minutes I put the pressure on the Costa Rican surfer in third place to keep him off the waves. Then I got lucky at the end and got a wave to bounce my up into first place. It was a really slow heat with not many waves at all" said Poulter down playing his win.
"It is good to get these heats wins after losing in the early rounds, I just hope I can keep it going tomorrow and into the final day" he added.
Unfortunately Poulter's three team mates suffered double losses on day five. First they contested their qualifying round heats and were eliminated to the reperchage round. It was in these do-or-die heats where they again suffered losses in the tricky conditions.
Tane Wallis (Piha) placed third in his heat. After being in a progression situation for much of the heat, he slipped back into third in the dying stages losing to the French and Australian surfers to finish the event in 33rd place.
Todd Doyle and Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata) placed fourth in their heats, Doyle going down fighting with big but unsuccessful manoeuvres while Moretti simply could not find a good wave. Both surfers finished the event placed 41st.
In the Under 18 Girls Division it was Grace Spiers (WGM) with two great heat wins that advanced through to the last 25 surfers in her division. Her progression was not without drama however after slipping into third place in her last heat of the day before getting a wave with thirty second remaining and scoring a 6.8 point ride to jump into first place. 
"I am so stoked to still be in the event and representing New Zealand. I am just looking forward to the up coming heats and I hope my roll continues" said Spiers.
"I am going to get some sleep tonight, wake up early and just stay relaxed and positive" she added as she builds up to the most important day of surfing in her career to date.
Jayda Martin - Fitzharris (Gis) was on the receiving end of Spiers roll today after first being relegated from the qualifying rounds and then placing fourth in her repechage heat when matched up with Spiers.
After slipping on the rocks on the paddle out, Martin - Fitzharris looked rattled falling on her first wave and she never managed to come back.
"Yeah it was a pretty hard day but everyone has bad days and bad heats and I guess it just wasn't my day" said Martin - Fitzharris.
"I honestly don't know where I went wrong, I just didn't get the right waves and show the judges what I can do" said Fitzharris not willing to place her misfortune on her circumstances leading up to the heat. Martin Fitzharris finished the event placed 31st.
In the Under 16 Boys it was Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha) that got off to a good start placing second in his first heat before placing fourth in his second heat and being eliminated from the event. Paerata - Reid finished the event placed 31st overall.
"I feel I got to where I wanted to get to in the event. Any more heats than that would have been a bonus for me" said Paerata who wants to return home and focus on staying in the qualifying rounds at the 2012 event and avoid the lengthy road through the repechage heats.
Both Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata) and Adam Grimson (Gis) suffered losses early in the day placing fourth in their heats and finishing the event in 43rd overall.
The team find themselves sitting in tenth place at present with two days remaining. Defending their current rank of seventh will require exceptional performances from Poulter and Spiers both tomorrow and on the final day.
The Rip Curl New Zealand Junior Surfing Team includes surfers from six regions throughout New Zealand with the small surf town of Whangamata providing three surfers, Northland, Auckland, Raglan, Gisborne all providing two surfers a piece with one representative from Mount Maunganui.
The event is being held at Punta Hermosa, Lima, Peru from the 21st - 29th May with two arenas catering for a record 276 surfers from 27 countries competing at the event.
Day six of the 2011 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship starts overnight Thursday (1:00am, 27th May). You can catch the entire event live via World Junior Surfing Championship.
Day six schedule (New Zealand time)
Podium One
1:00am Under 18 Girls Qualifying Round 4
2:00am Under 16 Boys Qualifying Round 4
3:00am Under 18 Bys Qualifying Round 4
4:20am Under 18 Girls Repechage Round 6
To be confirmed after first heats are surfed
5:20am Under 18 Girls Qualifying Round 5
6:00am Under 16 Boys Qualifying Round 5
6:40am Under 18 Boys Qualifying Round 5
Podium Two
1:00am Under 18 Girls Repechage Round 5
1:00am Heat 1 with Grace Spiers
2:00am Under 16 Boys Repechage Round 5
3:00am Under 18 Boys Repechage Round 5
3:40am Heat 3 with Ben Poulter
4:20am Under 16 Boys Repechage Round 6
5:20am Under 18 Boys Repechage Round 6
To be confirmed after first heats are surfed
6:40am Under 18 Girls Repechage Round 7
To be confirmed after round 5 and 6 heats are surfed
7:20am Under 16 Boys Repechage Round 7
8:00am Under 18 Boys Repechage Round 7
To be confirmed after round 5 and 6 heats are surfed
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