Veteran Valentin returns to familiar waters for crown
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Waves came up big yesterday, and so did Joey Valentin.
Making full use of his former training waters, Valentin won the professional division of the Hawaiian South Shore Open yesterday at Queen's, Waikiki.
The contest was the first of five in this year's Hawaiian Longboard Federation Steinlager Series.
"This is special for me because this is the first time I won a pro contest at Waikiki," said Valentin. "And Waikiki is the place where I grew up surfing."
It helped that the normally tranquil waves off Waikiki were churning at 4 to 8 feet yesterday.
"When I saw the conditions this morning, I was so happy," Valentin said. "Most of the events held at Waikiki are in small waves and it tends to turn into a paddle battle just to get a wave. But when it's like this, you can just surf and not have to worry about tactics."
On a day of unpredictable results, Valentin was the lone constant — and the lone veteran to make it to the final heat. The contest featured most of the state's top longboard surfers, and most of them were upset in the early rounds, including Bonga Perkins, Kekoa Uemura and Keegan Edwards.
"I knew a lot of the top dogs were out, so that made me feel a little bit at ease," Valentin said. "But at the same time, I knew how good the young guys were, so I still felt the pressure."
He was joined in the final by two rookie professionals (Kekoa Auwae of Nanakuli and Scotty Fong Jr. of Kapahulu) and a high school junior (Ned Snow of Academy of the Pacific).
The south swell provided more than enough waves for each finalist, and they each responded with long rides that resulted in high scores.
"The conditions were unreal," Auwae said. "You could pretty much sit and wait for the bombs — the big sets."
Auwae and Snow battled for the lead throughout most of the heat before Valentin took control in the closing minutes.
With less than five minutes remaining, Valentin found a rare barreling wave and successfully rode through it. The judges rewarded him with a score of 8.9 (out of 10).
"I knew the other guys were doing good, so I was hoping to pull off some kind of big maneuver," he said. "It so happened that wave opened up and I just went for it."
Valentin finished with a two-wave total of 17.2. In his semifinal victory, he scored a perfect 10 and had a two-wave total of 19.0.
"My knowledge of this spot really helped," he said. "I kind of knew which waves to take."
Auwae, a freshman at Leeward Community College, placed second followed by Snow and Fong.
"Joey was ripping the whole contest, so I cannot complain with second," Auwae said.
Snow said: "I was just happy to make it out of my first heat. Making the final was unbelievable."
Valentin received $600 for the victory. Hawai'i Pacific University is sponsoring the professional division this year.
The contest will continue today with competition in the age-group amateur divisions. All competitors, pro and amateur, must ride surfboards at least 9 feet long.
The next event in the series, the Kewalos Kup, is scheduled for June 21 and 22 at Kewalo Basin.
Final results
1, Joey Valentin, $600. 2, Kekoa Auwae, $350. 3, Ned Snow, $300. 4, Scotty Fong Jr., $250. 5 (tie), Rob Farrow and Venton Siliado, $150. 7 (tie), Kanoa Dahlin and Rusty Keaulana, $100.
