Perkins, Whitegon best on longboards
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
If there's a longboard surfing championship out there, Bonga Perkins will chase it.
Bernie Baker photo
Refusing to back down in less-than-stellar conditions, Perkins turned in a stellar performance to win the men's division of the inaugural Converse Hawaiian Open yesterday at the Ala Moana Bowl.
Hawai'i's Bonga Perkins won the Converse Hawaiian Open and is now ranked No. 1 on the United States tour.
The contest is the second of three in the United States Professional Longboard Surfing Championships. Perkins, who resides in Hale'iwa, is now ranked No. 1 in the series that determines the national longboard champion. He is also ranked No. 5 on the World Longboard Tour (WLT), which determines the world champion.
"I treat every contest like a WLT," Perkins said. "If you don't come here to win, then you shouldn't be in it. I'm not trying to sound cocky, but that's just the way it is. Everybody wants to win."
The three-day contest offered a $26,000 prize purse — large by longboard surfing standards — and so competitors from all over the world entered.
"Coming into this event, I was pumped up just because the field is a lot broader," said Perkins, 31."You have East Coast (United States), West Coast, Hawai'i, Tahiti, Australia."
The diverse field made for diverse styles, and the scores were close in virtually every heat. In the four-man final, less than one point separated first through fourth place.
"I treat every contest like a WLT," Bonga Perkins said.
Julie Whitegon of San Diego won the women's open division.
"I figured it was close," Perkins said. "Luckily, I came out on top."
What's more, waves were only 1 to 2 feet at "Bowls" yesterday, so competitors had to scramble for any and every swell that rolled in.
"I was trying not to be picky because waves are limited," Perkins said. "You have to catch what you can catch."
Even in the small waves, Perkins came up with big moves. His top two waves in the 30-minute final received scores of 8.72 and 5.74 for a total of 14.43. He earned $4,000 for the victory.
California's Joel Tudor was second with scores of 8.26 and 5.90 for a total of 14.16.
"For how terrible the waves were, there were still some really nice rides," Tudor said.
Joey Valentin of Honolulu had the best single wave of the final with a 9.34, but could never get a solid second wave and finished with a total of 14.06.
Another Hawai'i surfer, Kai Sallas, placed fourth with a two-wave total of 13.70.
Tudor won the noseriding division, solidifying his reputation as the world's best balancing act on a longboard. In the noseriding division, competitors had to balance on the front tip — or nose — of the board for as long as possible.
"That's kind of my thing, what I like to do," said Tudor, 27.
In the noseriding final, Tudor accumulated 30.23 seconds of "nose time." Rusty Keaulana of Makaha was second with 16.43 seconds.
Tudor received $1,000 for the noseriding victory and $2,000 for the second place finish in the men's open division.
Like Tudor, Valentin competed in both the open and noseriding finals. He placed third in both finals.
All surfers had to ride surfboards at least nine feet long.
Whitegon wins
Disproving the home-wave advantage, Julie Whitegon of San Diego won the women's open division.
"I had never surfed Bowls until this week," she said. "But I was really glad to see that my style of surfing was what the judges were looking for."
Whitegon said she relied on more "modern" maneuvers rather than traditional noserides.
"I was trying to go hard off the lip (of the wave), duck under the tubes when I could, and get some big round-house turns," she said.
Ultimately, her consistency with those maneuvers resulted in the best scores of the day. Her two top waves in the final resulted in scores of 8.76 and 8.10 for a total of 16.86.
Whitegon, 38, also disproved an age-old theory.
"It was incredible to see all these young girls out there," she said. "They're all great surfers. I feel really fortunate to be able to still compete at this level."
Hawai'i teenagers Joy Magelssen and Amy Lawson placed second and third, respectively.
"Just being able to surf with the best girls in the world really helped to push me," said Magelssen, 17. "This is by far my best placing, even though I didn't win."
Daize Shayne of Los Angeles placed fourth in the women's open final, and won the women's noseriding final.
The women's prize purse was equal to the men's.
"This contest is as good as it gets for the girls," Magelssen said. "I hope it's just a start because a lot of us want to keep surfing."
The final contest in the series is scheduled for Sept. 20-21 at Malibu, Calif.
• • •
Final results
Men's Open
1, Bonga Perkins (Hawai'i), $4,000. 2, Joel Tudor (California), $2,000. 3, Joey Valentin (Hawai'i), $1,500. 4, Kai Sallas (Hawai'i), $1,000. 5 (tie), Dino Miranda (Hawai'i) and Rusty Keaulana (Hawai'i), $500. 7 (tie), Kapono Nahina (Hawai'i) and Duane DeSoto (Hawai'i), $250.
Women's Open
1, Julie Whitegon (California), $4,000. 2, Joy Magelssen (Hawai'i), $2,000. 3, Amy Lawson (Hawai'i), $1,500. 4, Daize Shayne (Hawai'i), $1,000. 5 (tie), Tiare Thomas (Hawai'i) and Jayme Gee (California), $500. 7 (tie), Kristen Magelssen (Hawai'i) and Desire DeSoto (Hawai'i), $250.
Men's Noseriding
1, Joel Tudor (California), $1,000. 2, Rusty Keaulana (Hawai'i), $750. 3, Joey Valentin (Hawai'i), $500. 4, Keegan Edwards (Hawai'i), $250. 5, Noah Shimabukuro (Hawai'i). 6, Kekoa Uemura (Hawai'i). 7, Duane DeSoto (Hawai'i). 8, Kanoa Dahlin (Hawai'i).
Women's Noseriding
1, Daize Shayne (California), $1,000. 2, Desire DeSoto (Hawai'i), $750. 3, Keliana Woolsey (Hawai'i), $500. 4, Maka Puaa (Hawai'i), $250. 5, Summer Romero (California). 6, Helen Vilena (Hawai'i). 7, Tiare Thomas (Hawai'i). 8, Jayme Gee (California).
