Round one of the 2012 Hyundai National Surfing Championships at Piha is underway with Mount Maunganui longboarder Ant McColl finishing second in the first heat.

The event began on Sunday and was affected by bad weather with a large westerly swell holding throughout the day.

Mount Maunganui longboarder Ant McColl. Photo: PhotoCPL. See video below of the Stand Up Paddleboard Race.

The conditions restricted action to only four hours of surfing in the solid 2m swells.

The open longboard and stand up paddleboard divisions hit the water as well as the ever entertaining stand up paddleboard race that brought the beach to their feet as they navigated the beach break conditions.

The open longboard threw up several upsets with 2010 national champion from Ohope, Dylan Barnfield, being eliminated in the first round courtesy of Gisborne's Daniel Procter and Auckland's Matt Cockayne.

Procter missed the first event of the Hyundai tour last weekend, but stormed back into competitive mode today scoring 11.40 out of a possible 20 points to win his heat in the less than favourable conditions.

'You just had to read the ocean real well, the waves all looked the same but not every wave hit the bank. It is the same for everybody out there though,” says Daniel, who admitted to still trying to find his feet after a month out of the water while on holiday with his family in Australia.

He won his first national title at Piha in 2009.

A repeat performance would get his year off to a belated start and the prestige of another national title is what brought him back to the event this week.

Defending longboard champion and current Hyundai Tour ratings leader Thomas Kibblewhite top scored for the day posting 13.33 points; he progressed through to the semifinals alongside Auckland's Sam Bradford.

The two additional heat wins on day one unexpectedly came from young 17-year-old Ben Poulter from Raglan, who made a successful transition to the longboard, winning his first heat.

At the other end of the spectrum was 45-year-old ex-champion Michael Fitzharris from Gisborne, who charged home late in his heat to win with a 12.33 point ride.

The aging seven-time national champion was unrivalled in the water putting his superior wave knowledge to the test surfing wider on the Piha Bar than his opponents.

He finished with a 12.33 point heat total to progress alongside Mount Maunganui's Ant McColl.

The two surfers eliminated the more fancied Trent Dickey from Australia and the youngest competitor in the division, Sam Poulter.

The stand up paddleboarders found it hard dealing with the unruly surface conditions during their time in the water.

However, despite the challenges the top seeds stood out with defending champion Daniel Kereopa from Raglan and 2009 national champion Shayne Baxter from Christchurch both produced excellent surfing and big scores to win their heats.

Daniel finished with a 13.23 point heat total, but it was Shayne that topped the round posting 13.50 out of 20.

The two surfers then took to the water for the 3km King of the Waves Stand Up Paddleboard Race.

The two laps through the cove of South Piha and out through the break, took its toll on competitors with Armie Armstrong from Raglan eventually coming out on top narrowly ahead of Jeremy Stephenson from Auckland.

Daniel managed third place with Shayne in fourth.
The surf is expected to remain a similar size for day two with surf potentially with an increase in size in the afternoon.

However Auckland Surf's Paul Greenland says that the swell could come a little earlier than expected today meaning another day of solid swell on tap.

2012 Hyundai National Surfing Championships Day One Results

Open Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Ben Poulter (Rag), 12.67, 1, Zen Wallis (Piha), 8.4, 2, Andrew Robinson (Auck), 8.03, 3, Jamie Andrews (Waitara), 5.17, 4
Heat 2
Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 13.33, 1, Sam Bradford (Pakiri), 5, 2, Sam Bound (Tara), 2.87, 3
Heat 3
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 11.4, 1, Matt Cockayne (Mngwhai), 10.6, 2, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 9.73, 3, Geoff Calvert (Piha), 4.23, 4
Heat 4
Michael Fitzharris (Gis), 12.33, 1, Ant McColl (Mnt), 9.2, 2, Sam Poulter (Rag), 7.4, 3, Trent Dickey (Auck), 6.33, 4


Stand Up Paddleboard Round 1
Heat 1
Gavin Broadbent (Auck), 6.67, 1, Annabel Anderson (Auck), 5.3, 2, Georgia Schofield (Auck), 3, 3, Sasha Brownlie (Auck), 2.1, 4

Stand Up Paddleboard Round Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 13.23, 1, Warwick Gray (Hawaii), 8.27, 2, Gavin Broadbent (Auck), 7.97, 3, Shane Murrell (Auck), 5.77, 4
Heat 2
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 13.5, 1, Annabel Anderson (Auck), 3.93, 2, Scott Eliott (Auck), 0, 3, Maria Kingi (Piha), NS, 4
Heat 3
Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 9.83, 1, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 9.6, 2, Sean Hovell (Gis), 8.33, 3, Robert Hawkins (Rag), 4.6, 4
Heat 4
Armie Armstrong (Rag), 9.87, 1, Lynden Kennings (Whgmata), 9.77, 2, Charlie Crews (Ham), 6.33, 3, Mike Cann (Auck), 3.9, 4


Stand Up Paddleboard Race
1^st Armie Armstrong (Rag), 2^nd Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 3^rd Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 4^th Shayne Baxter (Chch)

2012 Hyundai National Surfing Championships Schedule

Day 2 (Mon 16^th Jan) - All longboard, SUP Surf, U14 Boys, U16 Boys
Day 3 (Tues 17^th Jan) - Open Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf
Day 4 (Wed 18^th Jan) - Open Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women's, All Seniors
Day 5 (Thurs 19^th Jan) - Open Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women's, All Seniors, Kneeboard"
Day 6 (Fri 20^th Jan) - Open Men, Under 18, 16, 14 Boys, All longboard, SUP Surf, All Women's, All Seniors, Potentially some finals
Day 7 (Sat 21^st Jan) - Finals, All Bodyboard