Thompson & Thompson tee-ed up for challenge

By PETER THORLEY HOPES are high in the Thompson family of some good results as Northland surfers gear up for this weekend's "home" leg of the Hyundai Pro Longboard competition at Sandy Bay.
Two of the four family members, father Warren and daughter Kirstie, are entered in the over-50 and open women divisions respectively, and both surfers can afford to be optimistic after finishing last year's series with top-10 rankings.
Warren's lifetime passion for surfing has led him back into competitive surfing in the easy-to-watch over-50s competition.
When some of Warren's Ocean Beach surfer mates decided to get involved in the over-50s national circuit last year, he decided to join them as they travelled around the country competing - but he was a little surprised when his daughter decided to take him up on his suggestion and join them.
"I did it last year because a couple of the `oldies' from out at the (Whangarei) Heads were in it, so dad was keen to give it a go, so I thought I'd jump in and try it too," Kirstie said.
She joined Viv Treacy and Rupert Newbold on some trips around the country and eventually finished fourth overall in last year's standings.
Kirstie has spent some great times travelling around the longboard circuit with the "old boys" but isn't too sure how much she's learned from the experience.
"I'm not sure I picked up too many surfing tips in the end, and the tips they gave me I probably shouldn't be talking about in the paper," she laughed.
Warren said that, although his home break is Ocean Beach, he was no stranger to Sandy Bay and was looking forward to this weekend's competition.
"How you do often depends on the seedings and who else is entered really," he said.
"I'd say this weekend will be better than at the Mount anyway because there should be more than a few local guys in the water." Warren is also looking forward to the competition heading further south in the coming rounds.
"It's a lot of fun and we love it, the people are nice what more could you want?
"We're doing the circuit again this year, we'll go to Kaikoura, Christchurch and Wellington, which is a great excuse for a surfing vacation."
Unlike Warren, the 22-year-old Kirstie may struggle to get time off to complete the rest of this year's circuit. She has just begun teaching physical education and health at Kamo High School. She hopes to get some surfing into the curriculum - but realises it's not an ideal place to carry that out.
"It's a bit hard when you're not based by the beach, but if there's a possibility I'll try and get some of them out there," she said.
She said competitive surfing isn't much different from normal surfing except that it is a bit more social.
"It's more of a fun thing really ... you get to meet new people - the people I've met on the long board circuit have been really cool and I've also had the chance to hang out with my Dad and his mates too," she said.
Kirstie is hoping to use her local knowledge this weekend to get the upper hand on the visiting surfers, come the start of the competition.
The first surfers are scheduled to be in the water by 8.30am tomorrow morning with the finals to be held on Sunday.