In the under-20 men's final at the Rip Curl Pro presented by Nature Valley completed at Manu Bay in Raglan at the weekend it was Alex Dive from Mount Maunganui who eeked out the win in a wave starved final.

It wasn't until the dying stages of the final that Alex scored a low 2.63 point ride that was enough to put him into first place with an 8.3 point heat total.

'So stoked to finally get a win, but it was pretty much flat for the whole 25 minutes and it pretty much came down to one wave,” says Alex.

'I pretty much waited for a wave the whole time cos I thought a set was going to come through, but nothing came and in the end it was that tiny back up wave that I got that was enough to push me into the lead.”
Sean Kettle from Taranaki placed second in the final, just missing his second win of summer in the under-20 men's division.

Local surfer Ben Poulter was another to play the waiting game in the final which resulted in him catching just the single wave, 6.23 points, the highest of the final.

It left him only needing a 1.34 point ride but with only a minute to go, time ran out and he placed third ahead of Johnny Hicks from Gisborne in fourth.
In the open men's division, it was Gisborne's Bobby Hansen who took the win and prizes including an invite to the Padang Cup in Indonesia.

In winning the event, Hansen also claimed the overall New Zealand Pro Series for 2012.
The surf remained contestable on day two of the event with clean lines rolling down Manu Bay.

However, it was the northeasterly winds that played havoc with the conditions making the surf almost impossible to surf at some stages of the day.
Hansen put his stamp on the final midway through the 25 minutes when he scored an 8.0 point ride for a series of tight backhand snaps.

He then followed up that wave with a 7.50 point ride to leave his opponents requiring massive scores to catch up – a feat that would prove too difficult in the marginal conditions.
'It is the perfect way to finish the season,” says Bobby.

'It was very average surf in the final, but I just got in sync with the two waves I caught and it was a done deal.
'Stoked to win the whole series too, it has always been a goal of mine, it wasn't something I was thinking about this year but stoked to do it nonetheless.”
Bobby will now compete at the Rip Curl Padang Cup in Indonesia, a specialty invitational event that the world's best barrel riders contest.

The event takes place from the final week of July through to August with the waiting period lasting six weeks in search for the best possible conditions.
'Frothing on Padang, to surf one of the best waves in the world with three other people when it is good will be crazy.

'I am going to chill in Indo during that time so will definitely be at the event. I was planning on heading up to Bali at around that time anyway.”
Placing second today was the second of three Gisborne surfers in the final, Blair Stewart, who was the only surfer in the final not to be combo'ed finishing with a 10.80 point heat total.
Local surfer Mike Banks placed third in the final scoring 9.63 points slightly ahead of Maz Quinn in fourth on 9.60.
Jessica Santorik claimed her first win of the year today in front of a home crowd.

In a difficult final she scored 11.53 points in the final, enough to claim the win.
'It was seriously hard to get going out there,” says Jessica.

'I don't think I have had a more challenging heat in my life.

'I mean usually when it is small you can find something but with that wind today it was so hard.”
Another local surfer in Alexis Poulter placed second in the final after a 6.5 point ride on her last wave pushed her up into second.
Ella Williams from Whangamata placed third in the final unable to claim a ‘threepeat' of wins on the New Zealand Pro Series.

However, her third placing was enough for her to secure the series win.

Placing fourth in the final was Taranaki surfer Thandi Tipene.
Sean Kettle basically surfed a five minute heat in the Grom Search Final for the under-16 boys' division, riding two consecutive high scoring waves totalling 15.43 to win a spot at the international final held in conjunction with the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia in April.
Sean was sitting in fourth, but showed true mental strength to never give up and he caught his best wave with one minute left on the clock to snatch the victory from Adam Grimson.
'It was like five minutes to go and I was still combo'd and then I got my seven then that huge sneaker set came through and I got it and got an eight or something,” Sean explained of how the final minutes unfolded.
'I didn't know if I was going to get on it on time and I thought Adam might sit on me, but luckily Adam got the wave before mine.”
Sean described his pending trip to Bells Beach as the 'best opportunity I have ever been given”.
Placing second in the final was Adam, who was pipped in the final seconds of the final scoring 13.43 while Dune Kennings from Whangamata placed third and Elliot Paerata-Reid from Piha placed fourth.
Ella Williams from Whangamata held on to the win in the Girls Grom Search Final fending off a strong comeback from Jayda Martin-Fitzharris from Gisborne.

Ella got off to a quick start in the final ultimately scoring a 10.67 point heat total to secure the trip to Australia.

'This is the first time I have ever won the trip. It is so cool, I can't wait to go over and check out the Rip Curl Pro.

'I want to perform well in the comp too,” says Ella, who will juggle the trip to Australia with the long journey to Panama for the World Junior Champs immediately after Australia.
Placing second in the final was Jayda Martin-Fitzharris, who scored a 6.0 point ride, 0.84 points short of what was required for the win. Sharing the minor placings were the Sansom twins of Albany with Gabriela getting the nod over her sister for third with Bianca in fourth.
The Kiwi Surf/Hughes Surfboards ‘Boost For Cash' was taken out by Johnny Hicks from Gisborne for a no-hands forehand air reverse.

Open Men's Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 10.77, 1, Mike Banks (Rag), 10.67, 2, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 8.6, 3, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 7.97, 4
Heat 2
Bobby Hansen (Gis), 14, 1, Luke Hughes (Rag), 12.67, 2, Jarred Hancox (Tara), 10.9, 3, Zen Wallis (Piha), 8.8, 4
Heat 3
Chris Malone (Gis), 11.6, 1, Matt Scorringe (Whmata), 10.6, 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 8.37, 3, Larry Fisher (Rag), 8.27, 4
Heat 4
Maz Quinn (Gis), 13.73, 1, Blair Stewart (Gis), 12.8, 2, Luke Cederman (Rag), 12.2, 3, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 10.33, 4

Open Men's Semifinals
Heat 1
Bobby Hansen (Gis), 14.17, 1, Mike Banks (Rag), 11.17, 2, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 10.1, 3, Luke Hughes (Rag), 9.93, 4
Heat 2
Maz Quinn (Gis), 14.33, 1, Blair Stewart (Gis), 12.5, 2, Matt Scorringe (Whmata), 11.77, 3, Chris Malone (Gis), 9.07, 4

Open Men's Final
Bobby Hansen (Gis), 15.5, 1, Blair Stewart (Gis), 10.8, 2, Mike Banks (Rag), 9.63, 3, Maz Quinn (Gis), 9.60, 4

Under 20 Men's Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Alex Dive (Mnt), 14.07, 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 10.6, 2, Adam Grimson (Gis), 7.93, 3, Ella Williams (Whmata), 7.83, 4
Heat 2
JC Susan (Mnt), 8.57, 1, Jackson Lynch (Aust), 8.1, 2, Kehu Butler (Arataki), 7.8, 3, Sid West (Gt Barrier), 7.3, 4
Heat 3
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 14.9, 1, Nat Hughes (Rag), 13.2, 2, Elliot Paerata Reid (Piha), 12.6, 3, Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 12.4, 4
Heat 4
Ben Poulter (Rag), 11.4, 1, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 11.03, 2, Josh Taylor (Tau), 6.9, 3, Tane Wallis (Piha), 5.5, 4

Under-20 Men's Semifinals
Heat 1
Sean Kettle (Tara), 12.17, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 11.83, 2, JC Susan (Mnt), 9.03, 3, Jackson Lynch (Aust), 8.13, 4
Heat 2
Johnny Hicks (Gis), 15.83, 1, Ben Poulter (Rag), 13.33, 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 10.83, 3, Nat Hughes (Rag), 9.37, 4

Under-20 Men's Final
Alex Dive (Mnt), 8.3, 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 7.6, 2, Ben Poulter (Rag), 6.27, 3, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 5.33, 4

Open Women's Semifinals
Heat 1
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 12.03, 1, Jasmine Debeer (Gis), 2.17, 4, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 9.9, 3, Gabriella Sansom (Auck), 10.9, 2
Heat 2
Ella Williams (Whmata), 11.83, 1, Mischa Davis (Auck), 9.33, 2, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 6.33, 3
Heat 3
Alexis Poulter (Rag), 10, 1, Thandi Tipene (Tara), 7.93, 2, Marguerite Vujich (Napier), 1, 3
Heat 4
Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 12.67, 1, Nicola Colson-Koster (Auck), 10.1, 2, Robyn Turnbull (Mangawhai), 2.67, 3

Open Women's Semifinal
Heat 1
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 8.77, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 5.8, 2, Mischa Davis (Auck), 3.33, 3, Nicola Colson-Koster (Auck), 1.9, 4
Heat 2
Ella Williams (Whmata), 12.5, 1, Thandi Tipene (Tara), 8.17, 2, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 7.43, 3, Gabriella Sansom (Auck), 7.17, 4

Open Women's Final
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 11.53, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 9.83, 2, Ella Williams (Whmata), 6.6, 3, Thandi Tipene (Tara), 5.2, 4

GromSearch Girls Final
Ella Williams (Whmata), 10.67, 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 9.83, 2, Gabriela Sansom (Muri), 8.43, 3, Bianca Sansom (Muri), 6.1, 4

GromSearch Boys Final
Sean Kettle (Tara), 15.43, 1, Adam Grimson (Gis), 14, 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 13.43, 3, Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha), 7.3, 4