Alice Westerkamp, 16, was the star on the day at Sandy Bay in Tutukaka, winning the junior girls' and open women divisions at the Polar Bear surf contest on the weekend. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Alice Westerkamp, 16, was the star on the day at Sandy Bay in Tutukaka, winning the junior girls' and open women divisions at the Polar Bear surf contest on the weekend. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The 39th Polar Bear Surf Classic sponsored by Mammoth Modern Insulation was finally held at the weekend after a two-month wait.
Poor swell, Covid-19 and a run of other surf competitions put an unusually long halt to the Polar Bear this year which typically runs in August at Sandy Bay on the Tutukaka Coast.
Mark Hoyle earned a second and a fourth in the masters and longboard divisions respectively. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Despite the long wait and the fairly small surf, the Polar Bear was a great success with 70 entrants and two days of quality surfing, from the under-10 "micro-grom" division all the way through to the masters division.
The second-oldest competitor, John Gisby, took out the masters division yet again and adding to his impressive record at the Polar Bear.
Saturday's competitors battled through strong onshore winds with 60cm waves to compete in, but entrants still managed some impressive surfing. Eli Jacobs, the 2018 open men's winner, posted a heat score of 15 out of a possible 20 points and made the conditions look a lot better than they were.
John Gisby from Gisborne competes in the masters heat. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Alice Westerkamp from Māori Bay Boardriders was also a stand-out performer. At only 16 years old, she will be one to watch in the future, taking out the open women's division as well as the under-16 girls and winning a custom surfboard shaped by Lou Aitken of 'Louweazal Surfboards'.
Sunday morning was far more pleasant with the open women and longboard divisions making the most of the glassy conditions before the wind picked up slightly. In the longboard division there was a great mix of young and old, as well as some seasoned and novice competitors.
Billy Whelan from Mangawhai was too good for the rest of the competition in the longboard division, taking out first place. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Hawk Edwards was the youngest longboard entrant at 12 in what was just his second surf competition. He made an impression on the judges, advancing through the first round, but just missed out on making it into the semifinals.
Eli Jacobs was happy to come back to the bay and to take out the open men's division again this year. In keeping with his kaupapa of 2018, Eli donated his winning prize cheque - $1000 sponsored by Mammoth Modern Insulation - straight back to North Coast Boardriders for the youth development fund.
Jim Ward from Mangawhai competes in the masters heat. Photo / Michael Cunningham
North Coast Boardriders (NCB) club president Conor Pullman was stoked with the outcome.
"Although conditions were small, NCB was really happy to have been able to run the event after so many postponements due to Covid-19 and clashes with other events," he said.
"Having Eli, a hugely respected surfer who's been staying in Sandy Bay for the last couple months, gift his winnings to our youth development programme again is unbelievable and will go a long way to helping our young surfers achieve their dreams of becoming competitive surfers."
Thank you to all involved - officials, entrants, spectators, whānau and all of this year's sponsors; Mammoth Modern Insulation, Louweazal Custom Surfboards, Tutukaka Surf, Spooked Kooks, Mega Surf, Sexwax, Insight Tattoo, Carve Sunglasses, Coastal Construction, Dawny Adventure Club and Tawapou Coastal Natives
Denise Piper from Whangārei competes in the open women's division heat. Photo / Michael Cunningham
