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8TH ANNUAL OCEAN FEST FEEDS FRIENDLY RIVALS Competition is good for business, and in surfing friendly competition is good for the sport. You can offer parental advice, go over films and tactics, but the one thing that drives Kaua‘i’s young riders to greater heights of performance is the spirit of a friendly competitive session on an uncrowded day. Or at a surf contest in the heat of summer, like at the KSA 8th Annual Ho‘onua ‘O Ke Kai Ocean Festival presented by Quiksilver. On Saturday the waves were virtually perfect rights and lefts and reforms and even a mini-barrel or two was discovered by the body boarders in the early morning.
Mikey Petro proved his worth by taking home first place trophies in the 13-15-year-old and the Drop Knee divisions. Jeremy Ferguson maintained his dominance with a win in the 16 and Up division and in the 12 and Under grouping, Roy Carvahlo nudged Anabelle Marvin (a north shore surfer) in some fun surf and fun times. Then with the onset of surfing, things got a little fierce. In the 12 and Under Open division the girls challenged the boys with some spectacular waves and rides. Little Luke Hitchcock was a consistent shredder throughout the competition as was Keola Careira. And though both Leila Hurst and Nage Melamed gave the boys a solid run for their money, Luke captured first place. Leila came in second and Keola bettered Nage’s waves for a 3rd place finish giving the boys some bragging rights, though the girls kept them in tune throughout the day. In the Boys 13-14-year-old division Koa Smith emerged from the outside lefts, which he connected to the inside with some power surfing that slashed the inside right to shreds. Even Keola Careira couldn’t stop Koa Smith, who had just returned from a lengthy trip to Samoa the day before. Luke Hitchcock continued to surf strong but was only able to muster a 3rd place finish in this division. It should be noted that the top three riders were surfing out of their age grouping, being only 10 and 11 years old. You might say Kaua‘i has a bright future with plenty of depth in the world of surfing. In the Girls 17 and under finals the waves shifted back and forth from a few waves at Smokies to the mid stream peak and lined up perfectly on the inside right. Alana Blanchard has learned to surf waves around the world this year and from her string of competitions and free surfs in varying conditions she made herself at home in the final, capturing the three best set waves of the heat. Bettering Savannah Sussman’s inside knowledge, Leila Hurst’s consistency, and a steep backside lip blast on the outside from Nage Melamed. Sisters Kristen and Erika Steiner’s attempts at high scores also fell short in the smaller waves of the heat. Most of the girls in this heat surf together on a daily basis and they push each other into new areas of wave riding, bettering their performances on a continuing basis. Look out world, Kaua‘i’s girls have a lot to offer and they will be strutting their stuff for many years to come. And the lineup of ladies we have is far deeper than just those finalists! The 15-18-year-old Boys final on Sunday was one of the most exciting heats of the day. The dying south swell on Sunday was affected by crossing east swells and strong winds along with shifting tides. This local knowledge of the surf break played a very important part in the final results. As the waves dwindled the power surfing became restricted and tail slides, mini-air reverses and boosts became a necessary move to become champion. This played right into the hands of PK’s favorite sons Aaron Swanson and Kyle Ramey. Swanson is tough to beat at his home break, especially under these conditions, even against a world class competitor like Kyle Ramey. Swanson did so against some strong turning action of Ramey, and the remaining field of finalists that included a feisty and powerful Kaimana Jacquias, Aaron Hacker, Kyle Galtes and the travel weary contest savvy Alex Smith. They were all no match for Swanson’s adept moves and reformatory knowledge of that inside right hander that took him off the faces of the waves. The Womens 18 and Up division featured two newcomers to the age bracket. Both Andrianna Mendivil and Mia Melamed just turned 18 this year and they squared off against a field of riders that had the closest judged final of the contest. The waves lulled out during this heat and the girls continued to try and find an open wave face. Mendivil got the only connecting wave from the outside and carved it thru the inside section giving her an advantage midway thru the heat. But with just 45 seconds remaining, Melamed found a peeling right with which she hit four solid turns and back slashed through to the shallow reef giving her a winning score on one judge’s sheet. But Mendivil inched her out by fractions of a point on the other two score sheets. Finally, Andrianna who has surfed PK’s for countless years, emerged a very graceful winner. In the older divisions, Max Medeiros and his wife Renee took home the respective Mens 45 and Up and Womens 35 and Up trophies. Craig Balmores continues to turn out wins in the 50 and Up Grandmaster division. Kelly Franklin nose rode home with a first place trophy in the 18 and Up Longboard final. Female Erika Steiner beat out male Aaron Hacker in the 17 and Under Longboard final much to the chagrin of Hacker, who received plenty of rabble rousing from his friends at the banquet hosted by Joes on the Green. One of the most exciting heats of the two-day event showed us of another blossoming rivalry to come in future years. Remember these names, Hunter Cabral and Elijah Alderete. These two 4-year-old hard-charging, pushing riders had the crowd to their feet; screaming as the keiki pumped, arched and cutback their way into everyone’s heart. Little Hunter glided across sections and took down the power pumps of Elijah to bring home a first place honor for the Cabral family. In all, more than 72 fifteen-minute heats, paddle board and swimming races, lunches, competition tee shirts and a fabulous awards banquet filled in two full days of competition that raised monies for the Kaua‘i Surfing Association. This annual contest serves as a major fundraiser for Kaua‘i’s youth who wish to compete in local, organized amateur contests here on Kaua‘i. The KSA thanks all of Kaua‘i for their volunteer work, support, participation, donations, respect for mother nature in and out of the water and friendly, competitive respect for each other. And we all respect the versatile Jeremy “Skiz” Doudt on his fourth consecutive win, after eight years running, for being the overall Open surfing champion of the contest. CONTEST RESULTS Keiki Push-in Boys and Girls 12 and Under 6th place: Mana Wong Boys 13 & 14 6th place: Elliot Leon Juniors 15-18 6th place: Alex Smith Girls 17 and Under 6th place: Erika Steiner Open Division Grand Champion 6th place: Kalani Vierra Open Womens 18+ 6th place: Sienna Dizon Women 35+ 4th place: Tracy Vierra Men 45+ 6th place Al Careira Men 50+ 6th place Presley Wong 18+ Longboard 5th place Kelly Hunt Longboard 17 and Under Open 6th place KC Ford Body Board Drop Knee 6th place Anson Achuara Body Board 16+ 6th place Dennis Jose Body Board 13-15 6th place Pohaku Kehaualoa Body Board 12 and Under 4th place Coby Sangin Rough water swim: Paddleboard winner: |
