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2007 NMD Gissy Pro Presented by Mountain Dew

1st January 1970

Epic waves for the last event of the 2007 BBSNZ Tour

Jarad Ferris has taken out the 2007 NMD Gissy Pro Presented by Mountain Dew and with it the BBSNZ Open Men’s tour title for 2007.  Ferris was on fire all day in the epic 3-4ft conditions at Pines on Wainui Beach.

Competition got underway at 8am for the 50 strong field of competitors who had turned up to contest the last event of the 2007 BBSNZ National Tour.  Riders from as far a field as Brazil were on hand to battle it out in the perfect 3-4ft conditions.  Early upsets included former national champion Haydn Middleton from Napier bowing out in the first round and Greymouth Dropknee legend Jolan Killkelly also exiting early.

The Gisborne locals showed how it was done in the early rounds, completely destroying the waves on offer at Pines.  Big Inverts, Backflips and ARS’s were the order of the morning and the Open Men, Amateur and Under 18 divisions all surfed through their first rounds on the incoming tide.

The Dropkneers were up late in the morning and again the Gisborne locals showed their class with some massive cutbacks, driving turns and floaters.  Former New Zealand Team representatives Nathan and Reuben Quirk from Gisborne demonstrated their knowledge of the changing conditions at Pines, linking together several strong turns on each wave to progress through to the Semi’s.

The Under 18’s second round was dominated by the current Number 1 and 2 riders on the BBSNZ National Tour.  Steve Abraham from Opotiki showed his form with several strong combo waves as did Luke Elliot from Mount Maunganui.  The two progressed to the final in a tight battle to see who would claim the 2007 BBSNZ Under 18 Tour title.

As the day kicked on the call was made to carry on through and complete the entire event in one day.  The conditions on hand were superb and with the possibility of a drop in swell and change in wind direction for the following day, the best option was to keep going while the waves were pumping.  The final part of the day was crisp and clean with light winds, offering up fantastic conditions for the Semis and Finals.

First final up for the afternoon was the Open Women’s which was a truly international final with Vanessa Pavlak from Brazil lining up in her first BBSNZ Tour event.  NZ representatives Mihi Wells, Erica Cusak and Serena Ball were all part of the final along with Melanie McElwee from Wellington.  The Women’s final got off to a cracking start with Vanessa Pavlak’s opening ride resulting in a big looping roll off the end section of a nice wave.  Mihi Wells followed up with a similar wave pushing her out in to second place.  Erica Cusak, Serena Ball and Melanie McElwee all got good opening waves before Serena Ball moved up in to second place with a solid wave and a big roll off the end section.  Vanessa Pavlak threw the knockout blow about mid way through the heat, taking off on a set wave and driving through a deep barrel, she then exited with a huge clean roll and then skimmed through to the inside and rolled off the end section.  Mihi Wells again followed suit with a solid wave and a big roll off the section which cemented her second spot.  Serena Ball held on for third and Erica Cusak and Melanie McElwee rounded out the 5 woman final.

Next up was the Amateur division.  This division has been developed to make it easier for new competitors to get in to competition without the pressure of going up against the big guns.  The final was a showcase of what’s to come with solid combos from all of the riders.  The Bay of Plenty had a solid showing in this final and the eventual winner Mitch Tombleson thanked his fellow BOP riders for making the journey down to the event.  Navare Taylor did enough with his clean looping rolls to take second spot with Aran Naysmith in 3rd.  The lone Greymouth finalist Jade Morrison was unable to get the waves required in the final and had to settle with 4^th place.

In the Under 18’s the close battle between Steve Abraham and Luke Elliot continued.  The final was neck and neck the whole way through with solid rolls, spins and inverts from Abraham and Elliot as well as fellow finalists Mitch Tomblesom and Sam Ashton.  In the end it was the clinical display from Abraham that boosted him in to first place and the 2007 BBSNZ Under 18 tour title.  Elliot had to settle for a close second with Mitch Tombleson and Sam Ashton taking out 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

The Dropknee was a Gisborne versus B.O.P affair with 3 of the finalists from the local area.  Reuben and Nathan Quirk had been dominating through the early rounds, cruising through to the final as had local lad Jarad Ferris.  The outsider was Mount Maunganui local Ryan Davidson who had knocked out some of New Zealand’s top riders on his way to the final.  Reuben Quirk started things off with a couple of nice waves with his fluid style and flowing roundhouse cutbacks.  Nathan started with a solid wave also, just falling at the end of a tricky floater.  Jarad Ferris nabbed a couple of long waves before letting loose with two high scoring waves.  The first was a massive backhand hack on a smaller inside wave and the second was a brutal front side turn, sending spray back over the shoulder of the wave on a nice right hand set.  The Quirk brothers both traded off waves throughout the final with Ryan Davidson Finding it hard to get a footing in the final against the fierce Gisborne locals and eventually ending up in 4^th place.  Nathan Quirk taking third with brother Reuben in second.  Jarad Ferris had cemented 1^st place with his two clinically powerful waves and with it the 2007 BBSNZ Dropknee tour title.

As the Open Men’s final came around the conditions had become clean and the tide had almost come full circle.  The low tide banks that had offered up such perfect waves earlier in the morning were back in to play and the stage was set for a classic final.  The Gisborne boys once again took the stage with Jarad Ferris, Nathan and Reuben Quirk lining up.  Former NZ representative Duncan Smith also took his place in the 4 man final and was the only chance to snatch this year’s title away from the Gissy locals.  The final started strongly with all of the riders getting solid waves under their belts.  Smith powered ahead with a number of strong rolls and inverts and sat comfortably in first place for the first half of the final.  Jarad Ferris then managed to get a couple of long waves behind him, setting up some nice Pines barrels before busting off the end bowl.  The Quirk brother failed to really put their stamp on the final and Nathan ended up in 4^th place with Reuben in 3^rd.  After a solid start to the heat, Duncan Smith was unable to hold on to his lead and placed second with Jarad Ferris fittingly taking first place in his home waves and with that winning the BBSNZ Open Men’s tour title for 2007.

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