MA‘ILI POINT, O‘ahu — A mix of building southwest and declining northwest swells was the perfect concoction of contestable conditions for T.J. Barron to win the ASP Hawai‘i presents the Macy’s E-Series Event No. 1. Barron’s victory in the 1-star
MA‘ILI POINT, O‘ahu — A mix of building southwest and declining northwest swells was the perfect concoction of contestable conditions for T.J. Barron to win the ASP Hawai‘i presents the Macy’s E-Series Event No. 1. Barron’s victory in the 1-star World Qualifying Series event held at Ma‘ili Point on Saturday in 2-foot surf, earned him $2,500 dollars and 250 WQS points. Second place went to Joel Centeio (Makakilo, $1,000, 219 points), third was Flynn Novak (North Shore, $800, 188 points), and fourth was Love Hodel (North Shore, $700, 178 points).
Although Ma‘ili is predominantly a left-breaking wave, Barron won the 30-minute final by going right. The 25-year-old regular-foot used his front side attack brilliantly, linking up a tail slide, snap, and two roundhouse cutbacks over barely submerged reef.
“I wasn’t too sure what they were going to give me, but I knew it was one of the best waves of the heat,” Barron said of his winning wave. “This is a super fun wave and the rights on the high tide form better on the reef and you could actually go over the reef, but without the high tide it’s pretty much a left.”
The win for Barron didn’t come easy. Centeio was a close runner-up and third placed Novak snaked a wave from Barron and was penalized with an interference call during the final. Fortunately the drama didn’t affect Barron’s scores.
“I was just kind of baffled,” Barron said. “Luckily it went my way. I knew I barely got in his way and he kind of just forced his way over me. It seemed like the judges saw that it was a right because there was no left.”
Despite the penalty, Novak was satisfied with his result in the first final of his career.
“It was a peak that could have gone either way and that’s why I went for it. I didn’t even know I got that interference until my last two waves,” said the 25-year-old goofy foot. “It was disappointing for me, but I have take full responsibility for my actions. No hard feelings at all though because that’s just how competition is.
“I’m just stoked on the whole staff and event,” said Novak. “It’s a good vibe and I think it’s good to start doing these contests because we’re able to win more money and this is an actual ‘QS event. It helps the kids out a lot too because it’s a good stepping stone.”
ASP Hawai‘i and Macy’s collaborated for Hawai‘i’s pro surfing community, giving them a much-needed opportunity to win valuable WQS points towards qualification for the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and the 2009 elite World Championship Tour.
The ASP Hawai‘i presents the Macy’s E-Series Hawaiian Tour will continue with another 1-star WQS Men’s contest at Ala Moana Bowls from July 8 to 16. This second event will wrap up the Men’s Macy’s E-Series. Following the Ala Moana comp is the Grade 1-Junior Pro ASP Hawai‘i presents the Macy’s E-Series that will be held at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki, on August 18.
For event updates, check the hotline (808) 262-2488.
Macy’s E-series No. 1
Ma‘ili Point, May 17
Round of 32
R3HI: Jason Shibata, Makuakai Rothman, Nick Mita, Lance Gruver
R3H2: TJ Barron, Hank Gaskell, Wesley Larsen, Kai Barger
R3H3: Evan Valiere, Kiron Jabour, Casey Brown, Tom Dosland
R3H4: Love Hodel, Isaac Stant, Charlie Carroll, Derek Lyons-Wolf
R3H5: Joel Centeio, Shane Beschen, Torrey Meister, Derek Ho
R3H6: Nathan Carroll, Rainos Hayes, Ezra Sitt, Mikey Bruneau
R3H7: Flynn Novak, Dylan Melamed, John John Florence, Dustin Cuizon
R3H8: Daniel Jones, Chris Foster, Mason Ho, Marcus Hickman
Quarterfinals
H1: Jason Shibata, TJ Barron, Kiron Jabour, Isaac Stant
H2: Hank Gaskell, Love Hodel, Makuakai Rothman, Evan Valiere
H3: Joel Centeio, Chris Foster, Nathan Carroll, Dylan Melamed
H4: Shane Beschen, Flynn Novak, Daniel Jones, Rainos Hayes
Semifinals
H1: Love Hodel, TJ Barron, Jason Shibata, Hank Gaskell
H2: Joel Centeio, Flynn Novak, Shane Beschen, Chris Foster
Finals
1st: TJ Barron $2,500 250 points
2nd: Joel Centeio $1,000 219 points
3rd: Flynn Novak $800 188 points
4th: Love Hodel $700 178 points
