Tonga brings home Oceania Surfing Cup 2005 [1]
Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 14:45. Updated on Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 18:07.
The Tonga National Surf Team won the 2005 Oceania Surfing Cup, in Norfolk Island last week 14-19 February, after some outstanding surfing.
This is the second time in the nine-year history of the OSC that Tonga has bought home the Cup - the last time in 1999. The competition has traditionally been dominated by New Zealand and Tahiti but, Steve Burling reports that thanks to some outstanding performances by Tonga the cup is now proudly in the possession of the Tonga Surfriders Association.
Competition at this year's event was again tough with national surfing champions from throughout the region in attendance. The four divisions contested were Open Mens, Longboards, Open Womens and Under 18 Junior Mens- held at Kingston reef, one of Norfolk Island...s best surfing locations. Waves of around 1.5 ... 2 metres were on offer for the three days event.
Tonga...s Michael Burling (21), successfully defended his Oceania Longboard title by winning every heat he contested in this division. Michael...s domination of the Longboard division culminated in a total score of 18.65 out of a possible 20 points with second place going to Jamie Andrews of NZ on 14.44 points. Third place went to Laurent Cressely of New Caledonia on 10.54 points and fourth Place to Kirk Menghetti of Norfolk Is on 7.62 points.
The Open Mens division was loaded with some of the region's most talented surfers. Michael Burling and current New Zealand Open Mens and Junior Mens champion, Richard Christie, were at opposite ends of the draw and didn...t meet each other until the semi-final.
This was one of the best heats of the entire Oceania competition with both Michael and Richard providing the crowd with some explosive surfing. Michael went on to win the semi-final encounter against Richard but the young New Zealander was able to reverse that result in the final of the Open Mens division for a well deserved win.
Final placings in the Open Mens were Richard Christie (NZ) 18.10, Michael Burling (Tonga) 16.52, Brett Berganin (NI) 14.68, Jamie Andrews (NZ) 10.18
The Open Womens division was surfed over three rounds of competition. Again, competition was tough as the girls pushed each other to new levels of performance in an effort to take the Oceania Womens title.
Tonga...s ...Anau Burling showed her depth of experience to outclass the rest of the field and take the 2005 Oceania Womens Title. Also from Tonga, 14 year old Lavinia Sunia (Ha...atafu) put in her best international result to date by finishing in third Place. Final placings were ; Anau Burling (Tonga) 1st, Chantelle McCoy (NI) 2nd, Lavinia Sunia (Tonga) 3rd, Hana Evans (NI) 4th.
The Under 18 Junior Mens division was dominated by the young New Zealand champ Richard Christie, and none of the other junior surfers could match his radical and stylish surfing. To their credit the two Tongan Junior surfers in the event, 9 year old Alan Burling (Ha...atafu) and 15 year old Peter Johnson (Fatai) surfed very well and finished just short of a finals berth in fifth and sixth places respectively. Alan Burling was the youngest competitor and was presented with a special encouragement award. Final placings for the Junior Mens division were: Richard Christie (New Zealand) 19.94, Wiremu Rakutu (NZ) 11.9, Isaac Coste (New Caledonia) 11.7, Arnaud Reuter (NC) 10.92
The Oceania Surfing Cup is awarded to the national team that accumulates the most points from the four divisions contested. The top four teams:
1. Tonga 3,930 points
2. New Zealand 3,570 points
3. New Caledonia 3,390 points
4. Norfolk Island 3,180 points
Trophy for the best South Pacific surfer of the competition went to Michael Burling.
The Tonga Surfriders Association National Surf Team to the OSC 2005. was sponsored by Tonga Communications Commission, Ha...atafu Beach Resort, Polynesian Airlines and Look Sharp Tonga.
Venue for the Oceania Surfing Cup 2006 will be Samoa.