Photos by Fish Bowl Diaries
Up to four meter wave faces created plenty of drama and action for the 40th anniversary of the Aloha Classic Playa Surf CBbC Grand Final at Hookipa Beach Park in Maui, Hawaii. The variable winds occasionally wreaked havoc for competitors in selecting the right gear as it shifted from very light to very windy at seemingly random moments, but the solid waves held all day, providing the right platform for a mind blowing show.
The 2022 and 2023 World Windsurfing Wave Champions, Sarah-Quita Offringa from Aruba and Marcilio Browne from Brazil both achieved an incredible third consecutive world title by finishing in second at the final event of the year.
But it was the consistency, experience and perfection of the Maui residents, Bernd Roediger and Sarah Hauser, that took home the prestigious Aloha Classic wins.
EMOTIONAL VICTORIES AT WOMEN’S ALOHA CLASSIC
A nerve wracking first semi-final produced a see-saw battle between the two world title contenders, Offringa and Germany’s Lina Erpenstein, with both needing to claim a finals berth to keep their title hopes alive. However, Guadaloupe’s Coco Fouveau was determined to play spoiler, with her aggressive surf style turns in the power zone. Erpenstein carved through clean waves with precision and aggression, whilst Offringa showcased her strength and control in the gusty, high winds. She executed under the lip power turns and finished with a clean end section hit to take the semi-final win over Fouveau.
With Erpenstein relegated to a 5th place finish at the Aloha Classic, the world title became Offringa’s. Overcome with emotion, Offringa tearfully said:
“It means more to me that I thought. I’m glad I could be out there and be in the final.”
Incredibly, Offringa has won the Freestyle, Slalom X and Wave World Titles this year.
“It’s been a goal of mine, I thought it was unattainable to do wave, freestyle and slalom but this is insane.”
In the second semi-final, New Caledonia’s Sarah Hauser, dominated from the start. The long time Maui resident powered through her turns and attacked the lip on multiple waves for a near excellent heat total of 15.30. Switerland’s Pauline Katz secured her first ever Aloha Classic finals berth with sweeping rail turns in the face of set waves.
The final showdown started with Hauser carving consecutive, precise turns in the pocket for a 6.0. But Offringa soon took charge, finding a long wave that offered five tight power turns, including a tail slide. Shortly after, she again found a wave where she connected powerful, tight turns under the lip and in the pocket to take the lead. Hauser waited patiently out the back. Upon finding a good set, she snapped turns tight in the pocket, hitting the lip at the end for a solid 8 and her third ever Aloha Classic win.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment for a long time. It means everything to me. This was the first competition I ever came to do in 2012. This is a legendary event, it’s a dream come true,” she said.
Coco Fouveau’s third-place finish marked a triumphant return after recovering from a concussion 15 months prior. With strong rail work, she has proven herself a rising threat in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Katz may not have found her rhythm in the final, but her aggressive style and impressive turns capped her most successful season yet.
TENSE MOMENTS AS ROEDIGER AND BROWNE SHINE
Tension mounted during the quarter final heats of the Pro Mens, as the variable wind dropped considerably during some of the heats. Fighting for a world title, the crowd watched nervously as Browne sat in 4th position for most of his heat. Holding his nerve well, Browne managed find the right waves and hit sections in the light wind to progress into the semi. In yet another clutch moment of the same heat, Liam Dunkerbeck from Spain knocked out Guadaloupe’s Antoine Martin by pulling a perfect wave 360, right after a failed goiter attempt by Martin.
The second quarter final was just as drama filled. Whilst French/US rider Morgan Noireaux secured a confident victory, the rest of the riders all had identical points, totalling 10.20. Progression was awarded to Japan’s Takuma Sugi over Maui’s Levi Siver and French rider Julien Flechet as Sugi’s back up waves were higher than the others.
Maui’s Kai Lenny and Bernd Roediger then produced one of the best spectacles of the morning. Roediger executed perfect goiters and huge aerials to advance with the morning’s highest heat total of 16.40, whilst Lenny popped an aerial goiter and critical, under the lip hits to advance in second.
The fourth quarter final saw Guadaloupe’s Camille Juban and world number two, Spain’s Victor Fernandez advance, which kept the pressure on and the world title race open, given Fernandez was sitting in second and less than 300 points behind Browne.
The first men’s semi was action packed, with only one point ultimately separating first from fourth place.
The usually consistent Noireaux perhaps started to feel some pressure as the competition moved into the semis. Renowned for impeccable wave selection, the majority of his waves offered excellent single moves and big aerials, but didn’t have the connecting sections needed to beat the world’s best.
In the final moments, he pulled an incredibly critical, under the lip wave 360 off a solid wave. But without offering any other moves, the wave was awarded a 7, which wasn’t quite enough to move him into the advancing second place.
After almost being knocked out in the quarters, Browne made no mistakes at the start of this heat. he secured his winning scores right at the start with a mix of aerials, vertical lip hits, tweaked aerials and power turns.
The rapidly improving Dunkerbeck showcased a series of tail slides, aerials, lip hits and yet another perfect wave 360, where he rotates over the section to land on the wave face, ready for another move. Advancing into the final, the rising star said
“It feels amazing I can’t believe I made the final for the Aloha Classic. I’m just super stoked.”
The world title was decided in semi-final two, when Fernandez was knocked out by the aerial wizardry of Juban and Roediger, making Browne the world champion. Juban’s high amplitude aerials and late attacks on critical sections allowed him to progress in what his now his 8th consecutive finals appearance at world wave tour competitions.
Roediger looked to be having fun with a big aerial, but shifted gear to make a huge goiter off the main peak of a mast high set. He landed almost in floater position, flicked his hair out of the way and followed up with an aerial in the bowl and a heat winning eight point wave.
Some big names had to fall in the semis, and, unfortunately, one of those was Kai Lenny. Lenny still made multiple aerials on waves, one handed cut backs, floater re-entries and a tweaked air. His fast, rail work throughout the event showed good innovation, as he managed to squeeze more turns than everyone else. He devastatingly missed out on the final by 0.2 points, but left no doubt that the day he may achieve his lifelong dream of winning the Aloha Classic is near.
The Men’s Final started with a bang. Browne started with a vertical, under the lip aerial, followed by a strong hit on an incoming section for 7 points. He then followed with a massive aerial on the next set wave to secure a heat total of 13.90. These remained his best two scores and he finished the event in second place, but as the 2024 World Champion.
“I’m lost for words. It’s an incredible feeling. I never thought I’d be standing here, I’m so happy. It’s my fifth world title and fourth in the waves. I can’t believe it. It’s more than I ever dreamed of. It’s a day I’ll never forget,” an ecstatic Browne said.
Roediger wasn’t daunted by the newly crowned world champion though. Early in the final, he took a solid wave with a set up turn that led into two critical aerials and then a perfect goiter for an 8.5. Gaining momentum, he continued his flow and charged at the next wave, seeming to float across heavy, looming sections as though he were part of the wave. Needless to say, his effortless lip hits and huge aerials impressed for a 7.1 and an Aloha Classic winning heat total of 15.60. A surprised Roediger said,
“I’m totally speechless. I didn’t see this for myself at all. It’s one of those things, you have a certain feeling throughout the contest. You think things will go well, but you know you’re you and you know how fallible you are. You don’t think that about the other people. You just think ‘Those guys don’t make mistakes, those guys don’t fail’ It’s pretty cool.”
Young gun Dunkerbeck made it clear he wasn’t going to rest on the laurels of making his first final. Opting for slightly smaller waves, he attacked each lip with precision, kicking out his tail and landed two flawless wave 360s on consecutive rides to challenge the leaders. With a third place finish, Dunkerbeck solidified his reputation—no longer as an up-and-coming grom, but as a true contender and a real threat in Hawaii.
Despite landing some extraordinarily high aerials and stylish lip drifts, Juban made a few uncharacteristic errors on his early rotation attempts. Just as he looked to be gaining momentum, a wipeout caused him to lose his gear to the infamous Ho’okipa rocks and finish the event in a respectable fourth place.
The Aloha Classic finished the World Windsurfing Wave tour for 2024. Competitors will take a break and meet again at the first event in Japan in February 2025.
Pro Men’s Results
1 Bernd Roediger
2 Marcilio Browne
3 Liam Dunkerbeck
4 Camille Juban
=5 Kai Lenny / Morgan Noireaux
=7 Victor Fernandez / Takuma Sugi
Pro Women’s Results
1 Sarah Hauser
2 Sarah- Quita Offringa
3 Coco Fouveau
4 Pauline Katz
=5 Lina Erpenstein / Lisa Wermeister
=7 Maria Andres / Shawna Cropas
