China surf champs crowned at the Hainan Open
The Source Hainan Open competition kicked off with a beautiful sunny day on Riyuewan beach in Hainan. The beach was decked out with blue marquees and tents selling surf gear and beer, while the judges' podium pumped out reggae, rock and mellow beats for the second Source Hainan Open.
People from across the world and China showed up to watch the November 6-8 event's 40 riders as they made what they could of the two- to three-foot glassy swells.
“The waves are small, but for a longboard it’s totally manageable,” said rider Jonah Greenberg from Los Angeles. “There’s such a friendly group of people involved who are pretty competent at the same time, it’s a rare thing.”
Day One
The first heat started bright and early in the shortboard division, while ocean swell was at max height.
“There’s some guys out here who definitely know what they’re doing and other guys who are just out here to have fun, so it’s a real good mix,” said competitor Tyler Cannon. “Everyone’s having a great time and really getting off on each others vibes.”
Even with the small waves, the crowed cheered as Chinese shortboarder Dahai Zhang carved up the mid-bay beach bar. Defending champ Nathan Mettler made the tricky conditions on the left-handed point break look effortless.
In the longboard division, Endless Summer star Wingnut had a blast. “It was actually way more fun than it looked," he said. "It kept cleaning up in front of us, I was trying to ring the last drop of energy out of [the waves].”
Day Two
The second and final day of the competition was a scorcher. Wave conditions dipped to a clean one to two feet, but spectators still saw some first-class surfing.
As expected, pro surfer Wingnut claimed first prize in the Icon X Longboard Division, pulling off some crazy headstands on one-foot waves. He did, however, meet stiff competition from Craig Colbran, who came in a close second.
The multi-talented Colbran also finished second in the Quicksilver Shortboard Division, while Jason Guy, from Hong Kong, clinched first prize.
“I have no idea how I won,” said Guy. “Everyone surfed really well out there.”
This was the first time Guy had ever been to Hainan.
“I had no idea there could be such good surf down here," said Guy. "It’s heaps better than Hong Kong. I’ll look forward to coming back again next year.”
First place in the Ocean Pacific Body Board Division went to Hong Kong resident Daniel Jeffery for the second time, while other awards were given to Hawaii's Daniel Lau for Wave of the Day, and Best Wipeout went to Japan's Keiko Tsukamoto.
“I’m always the only girl in the competition,” said Tsukamoto, who’s been surfing for only four years, “but it was cool out there and a lot of fun.”
Surfing’s future in China
Local resident Li Yu watched the whole competition and has high hopes for the event's future.
“Chinese people are curious about everything, we are always looking to find something new," he said. "In 10 years it’s possible the whole competition will be full of Chinese people.”
Even in its second year, the Source Hainan Open has doubled in size, attracting local participants and spectators who had never even heard of surfing.
Zoe Ziwei, from Chongqing province, came with friends.
“I didn’t even know what surfing was until yesterday," said Ziwei. "I’m a country girl. I’ve always lived in a small town. Actually this is the first time I’ve seen the ocean.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” said organizer Brendan Sheridan from Surfing Hainan. “It was a beautiful weekend. The waves could have been bigger, but there’s not much you can do about that. All you can do is organize a good competition and get a lot of friends together and hope for the best. Everybody’s had a really good time.”
read most
commented