Zane Schweitzer secures an emotional win at the Hawaii Island Finals
Tuesday 29 November
Zane Schweitzer secures an emotional wind on Big Island
After a great year of competition, 18 year old Zane Schweitzer charges his way through to the Final and puts on a dominant performance to secure an emotional win at the Hawaii Island Finals.
In epic Honoli’i surf, Zane read the point perfectly, linking together critical turns and progressive maneuvers to finish in the top spot at the Hawaii Island Finals ahead of a fiercely competitive selection of athletes.
“I am just so stoked to end the year with a win, and finish in the finals at both Hawaii events in 2011, Mahalo to the Big Island for its warm Aloha and to Starboard for my great boards”
Kai Lenny comes from behind to take 2nd place in final
Kai Lenny comes from hehind in the dying minutes of the heat to secure 2nd place at the Hawaii Island Finals, the icing on the cake for the 2 times World Champion who had already secured his World Title in advance of the Finals.
In a challenging heat, Kai scraped to find the good waves, but finally linked into a workable righthander and boosted an impressive aerial to secure his well deserved 2nd position.
Sean Poynter steps up, putting on an impressive display
Sean Poynter turned it on today at Honoli’i, linking together critical backhand snaps, one after the other for some of the most high performance surfing of the day, convincingly winning his semi final heat, and finishing in an impressive 3rd place at this fiercely contested Hawaii Island Finals. A great end to the year for the young American who moves up to 7th place overall in the Final standings for 2011.
Bullet Obra does the Big Island proud with a Top 4 finish
Bullet Obra completes a phenomenal run here at the Hawaii Island Finals, finishing in 4th place in this stacked final, much to the delight of his home crowd. Bullet put on a display of some of the most consistent and impressive surfing of the week, winning the Trials and making it all the way to the Finals amidst the World’s very best stand up paddlesurfers.
Bullet will certainly be someone to look out for in the 2012 Stand Up World Tour season, starting with Sunset Beach in February, as he represents the Big Island in World Championship competition around the world.
Caio Vaz takes down Leco Salazar to reach the semifinals
Caio Vaz makes it all the way through the trials and main event to provide one of the biggest upsets of the day in the quarters, winning his heat against Kai Lenny, Leco Salazar and Kai Sallas, knocking out one of the favorites for the event win and fellow countryman, Leco Salazar.
Caio is also a bright light for the future and one to watch out for in 2012, as is his brother Ian, representing the young and fledgling talent pool in Brazil.
Kai Sallas narrowly misses out on advancing in quarters
Kai Sallas shows great form in the quarterfinals, narrowly missing out on advancing despite a great performance throughout the event. Kai is definitely a strong talent to look out for in 2012, as he steps up to assert his presence on Tour.
Riggs Napoleon wins the Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge
RIggs Napoleon puts on an impressive performance in the Finals of the U16 Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge amidst an intense selection of the world’s leading youth contenders. Noah Yap from Maui, Yuri Daberkow from Brazil and Mo Freitas from Oahu all challenged Riggs lead, but an impressive hit towards the end of the heat secured Riggs’ win, much to the delight of his family and Riggs’ fans all over the world.
“I didn’t think I would win, but I am stoked and was lucky to get a couple of good waves – I’m really happy”
Women’s Exhibition is a resounding success at Honoli’i
An elite heat of 4 woment headed out for the Women’s exhibition event, showcasing just how far the sport has come as well as the growing talent amongst the women competitiors. In the end it was local girl Manu Napeahi, followed by Kanani Yockman, Ellen Sylvestre and Donica Shouse – congratulations to all the women.
Final Rankings for the 2011 season are now complete
Following this climactic final event on the Big Island of Hawaii, the 2011 rankings are now finalized with a few changes amongst the Top 10: Zane Schweitzer moves up to 3rd place overall, while Aaron Napoleon secures 6th place overall, after another solid result here at Honoli’i. Also moving up is the US’ leading star, Sean Poynter, whose 3rd place finish combined with his 4th place in France put him in 7th place overall for 2011.
Antoine Delpero climaxed in the semi finals, with an impressive display of performance surfing, but in the semi finals, failed to find the right waves to secure his Finals berth having to settle for 7th place in the event, dropping back to 4th place overall in the 2011 rankings, behind Zane Schweitzer,
Still to come here at the 2011 Hawaii Island Finals
Still to come here at the Hawaii Island Finals is the Official Prize-giving and Awards event for both the event and the World Championship Tour, to be held at the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort in Hilo Bay tomorrow evening from 6pm.
The athletes will be treated with a cultural performance of Polynesian dance, the Official Awards Ceremony and the Waterman Concert, featuring Ekolu Kalama, as an incredible 2011 season comes to a close. The Big Island has done us proud this year, with its warm Aloha and some incredible waves that provided the ideal platform for the very best athletes in the world to showcase the very best action.
Highlight videos will be up online by tomorrow morning at www.standupworldtour.com and stay tuned for the latest news and information on the Tour at this site, but also the Stand Up World Tour facebook page.
Aloha from the Waterman League
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