Photos by Fish Bowl Diaries
Mast high waves produced a thrilling spectacle for Day 1 of the Aloha Classic Playa Sur Grand Final in Hawaii. World title dreams ensured plenty of action, but the light, mildly onshore wind also made conditions a little tricky for those with less experience at Maui’s Hookipa Beach Park.
Some dangerous local wildcards entered the bracket at Round 2, including the likes of Kai Lenny, Levi Siver, Graham Ezzy and Francisco Goya. Competitors nervously awaited to see who would get these in-form riders. Lenny came a close second in his heat to Arthur Arutkin and ended up with a Round 3 draw against former Aloha Classic winner, Bernd Roediger, another red hot local favourite.
Not expecting such an intense match up so early in the competition, Roediger shifted from a more carefree attitude, saying
“Seeing Kai in my heats, that changed my energy”.
The crowd favourites didn’t disappoint and used strong local knowledge to pick the best waves. A free flowing Roediger attacked sections and managed to just pull off a 360 manoeuvre. But Lenny answered back with an impossibly tweaked aerial and a wave 360 of his own to take the win. Lenny explained his secrets,
“It’s really wave choice out there. If I get on the best wave, that’s really steep, I can perform my surfing manoeuvres. The board I’m riding is one that I shaped and was built by Quatro. This was a really big inspiration from short board surfing. This board is unique compared to what everyone else is riding and especially suits today when you need to produce a lot of thrust at the bottom.”
Meanwhile, the highest heat totals of the day were shared by two of the world title contenders, Maui residents Morgan Noireaux (France) and Marcilio Browne (Brazil).
Browne, the 2022 and 2023 World Champion, rode particularly deep, which meant he flowed from critical move to critical move, something that few others could achieve in the tricky conditions. As usual, his timing was impeccable and his moves flawless. He was the only rider to finish the day with every wave score being a 6 or above. His variety of moves and consistency of making them, are proving a third consecutive world title is well within his grasp.
Finishing in second place to Browne was Ezzy, who was excited to land a perfectly executed wave 360.
Throwing down the gauntlet in Heat 3, Noireaux also got some of the highest scores of the day with a pair of sevens. In the lighter, more onshore conditions, he too rode a little bit deeper and managed to get more critical hits than anyone else in his heat, as well as a perfectly executed goiter. Noireaux has lifted to another level this season and is a genuine podium contender, for both the Aloha Classic and the world title.
An in-form Siver blazed into second place, securing a direct spot in Round 5 with his sharp under-the-lip hits, tweaked airs, and explosive top turns.
The remainder of the renowned wave riders lived up to their reputations, delivering spectacular performances. Antoine Martin (Guadaloupe) made even the hardest moves looks easy. His one-handed aerials were smooth, the goiter was perfect and his critical under the lip moves somehow seemed relaxed.
Likewise, Guadaloupe’s Camille Juban used his trademark precision to effortlessly land multiple aerials and wow the crowd with tweaked airs.
Not surprisingly, French rider Thomas Traversa didn’t hold back in the bigger waves, charging the lip at every opportunity to secure a strong win.
Traversa forced world title contender Marc Pare (Spain) into a second place finish, but an aggressive, fast paced Pare still secured his Round 5 spot.
Takara Ishii (Japan) had a close heat in the lightest winds of the day and progressed alongside an ecstatic Vincent Beauvarlet. Using moves that included goiters, one handed aerials and well timed lip hits, the boys were thrilled to send former world champion, Germany’s Philip Koster and Chilean charger, Alex Vargas to the elimination round.
Current world number two, Spain’s Victor Fernandez took the win in the final Round 3 heat of the day, showcasing blow tail top turns, aerials and lip hits.
The Pro Women ran the first challenger round only and local favourite, Shawna Cropas took a convincing win in the large surf with strong bottom turn / top turn combinations. Also progressing was Toia Sanjurjo and Svenja Chudoba.
The Aloha Classic Wave Grand Final event is running until 1 November at Hookipa Beach Park in Maui, Hawaii.
The current forecast predicts promising wind and swell for the next few days, which should provide for some incredible Grand Final performances.
Follow the live competition scores on LiveHeats. The full Live Broadcast will be streamed on the IWT Wave Tour YouTube channel, and the official IWT event page. Follow on social media channels @IWT_Wave_Tour and @PWAworldtour. The event also offers spectacular free viewing at Hookipa Beach Park.
