Surfing: Barnes and Poulter star, taking two crowns

Mount surfer Owen Barnes won two titles at Papamoa at the weekend. Photo / Col / Surf2Surf

Mount Maunganui surfer Owen Barnes and Alexis Poulter from Waihi Beach claimed double titles at the Coast Papamoa Beach NZ Longboard and SUP Open completed at Papamoa Beach on Saturday.

Barnes won the Body Glove Men's Longboard Division and the On The Way RV Over 40 Men's Longboard Division. Poulter claimed the Wine2U Women's Longboard and the Starboard Women's Stand Up Paddleboard.

Despite dire swell forecasts, the surf remained around 1m all day with light onshore winds.

Barnes was on fire throughout the day surfing with aggression and finesse to claim his two victories. In the final of the men's division his 14.60-point heat total left his opponents requiring massive scores to challenge for the title.

Glen Johnson (Auckland) finished runner-up in the final requiring an eight-point ride to challenge Barnes but never found the right waves. Zen Wallis (Piha) finished third in the final ahead of fellow New Zealand representative Matt Cockayne (Auckland) in fourth.

On the longboard Poulter edged out Ann Snyder (Mount) for the win, posting 8.50 to Snyder's 6.77 points. Auckland's Sascha Brownlie placed third in the final ahead of Piha surfer Maria Kingi in fourth.

The senior divisions were combined to ensure the event would be completed within daylight hours. Three of the four finalists in the division were from the over-50s bracket. However, they could not keep up with runaway winner Barnes, who finished with a 12.60-point heat total.

Another Mount Maunganui surfer Jeremy Williams finished runner-up on 9.77 points.

In the Starboard King of the Waves Armie Armstrong proved too good, the Raglan paddler beating two young paddlers Ollie Houghton and Jack Evans (both Auckland).

The Amazon Logger Division was contested as an expression session with yet another local surfer, Jordan Griffin, claiming the win with his slick traditional longboarding skills. Orewa's Branko Vela placed third in the final ahead of Jeremy Williams (Mount) in third.