It was a dominant week of performances and resulted in a second straight championship for Team Hawai‘i at the 2013 International Surfing Association World Masters Surfing Championship. The group headed east to Montanita, Ecuador, and again showed the rest of
It was a dominant week of performances and resulted in a second straight championship for Team Hawai‘i at the 2013 International Surfing Association World Masters Surfing Championship. The group headed east to Montanita, Ecuador, and again showed the rest of the world that the birthplace of surfing is still the sport’s elder statesman.
These yearly ISA events, ranging from Juniors to Masters, are always great to both promote the sport and show the camaraderie between nations. Hawai‘i’s team returned a few members from last year’s gold-medal group and a few new faces, who helped propel the Aloha State to the top of the standings. Hawai‘i’s 10,844 total points made it a runaway winner, outpacing South Africa (8,976), USA (8,165) and Brazil (8,087), which took home the silver, bronze and copper medals, respectively.
Of the five individual categories, a Hawai‘i surfer reached the final heat in four. O‘ahu’s Sunny Garcia, the 2000 Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion, took the gold in the Grand Masters division of male surfers over 40 years old. O‘ahu’s Love Hodel joined him in that final heat and surfed his way to the bronze.
Garcia also made the final and took copper in the Masters (35+) division, as he reached the podium alongside teammate Kalani Robb, who claimed silver. The gold was taken by South Africa’s Greg Emslie, who ripped a two-wave score of 19.46.
Sunset Beach’s Mike Latronic nabbed a gold medal of his own in the Kahuna (45+) division, working his way through the Repechage heats to make the final and, ultimately, win the crown.
Latronic and Garcia were each part of the 2012 Hawai‘i team that wrestled the title away from Team USA, as was Kaua‘i’s Rochelle Ballard, who returned this year and made the final of the Women’s Masters division.
Ballard, influenced in her youth by Margo Oberg, is one of the most well-known big-wave riders in women’s surfing. She helped secure a team title last year with a gold-medal performance and added copper in 2013. Australia’s Layne Beachley, who won seven ASP Women’s World Tour Championships between 1998 and 2006, won gold this time around.
Kaua‘i’s Reuben Balmores, of Kalaheo, appeared on his way to a final heat appearance after two firsts and two seconds in his first four heats. A tight heat in round five and an even tighter one in the final Repechage round saw his event end just short of the podium at sixth place in the Kahuna category.
Honolulu surfboard designer Shuji Kasuya finished in eighth place in the Grand Kahuna (50+) division, which was eventually won by South Africa’s Chris Knutsen.
The ISA announced that it will return to Ecuador for the 2014 ISA Masters event, so Team Hawai‘i will be on familiar territory when it goes for the three-peat.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
