September 30, 2017
by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

Pacific Paddle Games: The big names looked quick in today’s qualifiers (day one results).


Danny Ching

The former King of Doheny, Danny Ching, was on point in today’s qualifiers (credit: JP Van-Swae/@supthemag)

Day one of the 2017 Pacific Paddle Games presented by Salt Life certainly delivered.

The men’s quarter-finals delivered four back-to-back-to-stacked heats that saw big names rise, top prospects fall and young guns flex their muscles.

But in the end it was the superstars that owned the day, with Danny Ching, Casper Steinfath, Annabel Anderson and Candice Appleby winning their respective heats along with two guys that are looking very serious threats: Trevor Tunnington and Lincoln Dews.

Travis also looked good. Shae has returned from injury in fine form. Georges, Connor, Jade, Olivia, Fiona, Boothy, Mo and the Hasulyo Bros all got things done with minimal fuss, while Titou slipped under the radar with a characteristically understated performance. And those were just some of the other stand out stand up performers.

It’s going to be mighty tough picking a winner on Sunday.

But while finding the winning name is a lottery these days, one of the (slightly) easier themes to settle on is youth vs experience. So can the established world order seal the deal on finals day? Or will the next generation steal the crown?

Watch Sunday’s live stream and be the first to find out. If today’s qualifiers were any indication, it’s going to be a cracking finale out there tomorrow.

What else did we notice today?

For one, the depth of talent in the men’s field is getting intense. There were no easy spots through to the semis, as several well-known names got bundled out in the quarter-finals.

Secondly, there’s a very strong international presence at the PPGs this year. There always is, but the global vibe seems to have gone up a notch in 2017. The Tahitians are everywhere. There are dozens of Aussies roaming the beach. The French crew are rolling seriously deep these days, while the tiny Spanish island of Mallorca brought over a whole stack of juniors that mixed it with the local kids. It was great to see.

Super Groms

Some of the Spanish Super Groms that stole the spotlight today (photo: @wheresbossman)

Speaking of the kids, Saturday also gave centre stage to the ‘Super Groms’ as well as the open paddlers, something organisers went out of their way to emphasise this year. And rightfully so. The weekend warriors are the true foundation of our sport, while the super groms are the future (and in many ways, they’re the now). So it makes sense to give them some of the spotlight alongside the famous faces in the pro races.

Dozens of kids from across the U.S. and around the world put on a show that suggests our sport’s future is bright, while the weekend warriors also hammered it out for pride, glory and some serious bragging rights. And almost every single of them crossed the line with a huge smile. It was the kind of thing that could renew one’s faith in the sport.

The Grom Race champions included Shuri Araki (boys 11 & under) and Rai Taguchi (boys 12-14) from Japan, Malaya Ring (girls 11 & under) from the USA, and girls’ 12-14 winner Sonia Caimari — one of the many kids representing the Spanish island of Mallorca. On Sunday we’ll see the 15-17 year old Pro Junior kids in action.

After a big open field took to the water just before lunch, the top finishers were rewarded with a special ‘Open Beach Race’ grand finale to close out day one where Brian Meyer and Jennie Sandvig saluted.

Catch up on everything else that happened with SUP the Mag’s day one recap.

We’ll be back on air at 8:30am Sunday for the distance race (this will be a more basic broadcast direct from the boat) before the finals start at 12 noon (full broadcast). As always, the webcast will be piping through live on SUP the Mag’s Facebook page.

More coverage on the official site and SUP the Mag’s Facebook page.

And you can click here to see the full results from all races and divisions.

 


WHEN TO WATCH SUNDAY

SUNDAY LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE
Men’s + women’s distance race @ 8:30am
Men’s beach race semi-final #1 @ 12:00pm
Men’s beach race semi-final #2 @ 12:30pm
Women’s pro junior beach race @ 1:00pm
Men’s pro junior beach race @ 1:30pm
Women’s beach race final @ 2:00pm
Men’s beach race final @ 2:30pm

Team Relay @ 3:30pm
Awards ceremony @ 4:30pm

2pm Sunday California
= 11am Hawaii
= 5pm Florida
= 10pm UK
= 11pm Central Europe
= 4am Monday Thailand
= 8am Monday Australia (AEDT)
= 10am Monday New Zealand

 


https://www.instagram.com/p/BZsYR4QFux7/


 

Pro Men: Qtr-Finals

NationBrandTimeQualified?
HEAT 1
1Lincoln DewsAustraliaDEEP/QB19:26.72Semi-final #1
2Titouan PuyoNew CaledoniaNSP/QB19:27.79Semi-final #1
3Connor BaxterHawaiiStarboard19:28.52Semi-final #1
4Bruno HasulyoHungaryStarboard19:28.62Semi-final #1
5Daniel HasulyoHungaryStarboard19:29.83Semi-final #1
6Michael BoothAutraliaStarboard19:35.54Semi-final #1
7Josh RiccioUSAF-ONE19:40.32Semi-final #1
8Martin LetourneurFranceHobie19:46.80Semi-final #1
9Claudio NikaItalyStarboard19:56.31Semi-final #1
10Itzel DelgadoPeruInfinity20:06.50Semi-final #1
11Alexandre BicrelFranceNSP/QB21:02.92eliminated
12Jeremy TeuladeFranceOXBOW21:10.31eliminated
13Didier LeneilFranceFanatic21:31.20eliminated
14Lois ChardebasFranceFanatic21:31.22eliminated
15Jeisson TovarPanama?21:48.73eliminated
16Zach RounsavilleUSA?22:30.06eliminated
HEAT 2
1Danny ChingUSA40418:59.62Semi-final #1
2Georges CronsteadtTahiti42519:28.95Semi-final #1
3Mo FreitasHawaiiFocus/QB19:40.03Semi-final #1
4Kody KerboxHawaiiSIC19:40.41Semi-final #1
5Matt NottageAustraliaStarboard19:50.68Semi-final #1
6Paolo MarconiItalyRRD/QB19:52.79Semi-final #1
7Harry MaskellAustralaiaSIC/QB20:01.42Semi-final #1
8Jayden JensenAustraliaONE/QB20:02.03Semi-final #1
9Eri TenorioBrazil?20:02.45Semi-final #1
10Ludovic TeuladeFranceOXBOW20:02.94Semi-final #1
11Tamarua CowanTahiti?20:03.41eliminated
12Vinnicius MartinsBrazilJP20:05.97eliminated
13Martino RogaiItalyStarboard20:52.91eliminated
14Fernando StallaMexicoRogue20:52.96eliminated
15Zane SchweitzerHawaiiStarboard20:53.79eliminated
HEAT 3
1Casper SteinfathDenmarkNaish/QB18:51.05Semi-final #2
2Martin VitryFranceOXBOW18:51.90Semi-final #2
3Guilherme dos ReisBrazil?19:42.61Semi-final #2
4Ollie HoughtonNew ZealandStarboard19:52.07Semi-final #2
5Jake JensenAustraliaONE19:54.98Semi-final #2
6James CaseyAustraliaSunova19:55.89Semi-final #2
7Leo NikaItalyStarboard20:00.84Semi-final #2
8Kenny KanekoJapanJP20:03.27Semi-final #2
9Manatea Bopp du PontTahiti?20:11.20Semi-final #2
10Arthur ArutkinFranceFanatic20:15.15Semi-final #2
11Jackson MaynardAustraliaDEEP20:28.09eliminated
12Ty JudsonAustraliaBlue Planet20:32.95eliminated
13Dave BoehneUSAInfinity21:09.96eliminated
14Noic GarioudNew CaledoniaSunova21:41.15eliminated
15Manuel SimoncelliSpainStarboard22:48.00eliminated
16Belar DiazSpainF-ONE22:57.21eliminated
17Jose CiriloPanama?23:02.01eliminated
18Daniel MillerNew Zealand?23:08.92eliminated
HEAT 4
1Trevor TunningtonNew ZealandStarboard19:25.10Semi-final #2
2Slater TroutUSAInfinity19:26.45Semi-final #2
3Noa HopperUSA40419:27.66Semi-final #2
4Bullet ObraHawaiiHobie19:28.86Semi-final #2
5Tom AuberFranceFanatic19:28.93Semi-final #2
6Travis GrantAustraliaNSP/QB19:30.43Semi-final #2
7Enzo BennettTahiti42519:42.92Semi-final #2
8Niuhiti BuillardTahitiSIC19:43.17Semi-final #2
9Giorgio GomezUSAInfinity19:43.75Semi-final #2
10Kelly MargettsAustraliaSunova/QB19:47.16Semi-final #2
11Gabriel BacheletFranceNSP20:03.96eliminated
12Paul JacksonNew ZealandONE20:43.89eliminated
13Tommy Buday JrCanadaSIC/QB20:49.38eliminated
14Greg ClosierFranceSIC20:54.91eliminated
15Kieran GrantUSA?21:34.79eliminated
16Rodney EllisUSA?21:36.96eliminated
17Ekolu KalamaHawaii?21:50.39eliminated

 


https://www.instagram.com/p/BZryAw3gpgO/


 

Pro Women: Semi-Finals

#HEAT 1NationBrandTimeQualified?
1Candice ApplebyUSAInfinity22:10.07Final
2Fiona WyldeUSAStarboard22:12.40Final
3Jade HowsonUSASIC22:21.73Final
4Olivia PianaFranceStarboard22:25.77Final
5April ZilgUSAHobie22:37.72Final
6Seychelle HattinghUSASIC22:40.99Final
7Susak MolineroSpainRRD/QB22:59.23Final
8Shannon BellCanadaStarboard23:20.64Final
9Vaimiti MaoniTahiti?23:58.92Final
10Morgan HoestereyUSASurftech/QB24:03.70Final
11Susanne LierGermanyNSP24:06.99eliminated
12Chloe WalkerdeneAustraliaInfinity24:33.77eliminated
13Alejandra BritoMexico40424:52.71eliminated
14Stephanie BoddenPanama?25:28.86eliminated
15Kiyomi SheppardJapanJM25:51.32eliminated
16Alison DavenportUSA?26:11.17eliminated
HEAT 2
1Annabel AndersonNew ZealandSzymanski21:33.55Final
2Shae FoudyUSAInfinity22:08.06Final
3Sonni HonscheidGermanyStarboard22:41.45Final
4Laura QuetglasSpainStarboard22:45.07Final
5Terrene BlackAustraliaECS/QB23:03.78Final
6Angie JacksonAustraliaONE23:07.66Final
7Lexi AlstonUSAHobie23:10.99Final
8Stephanie ShidelerUSA?23:36.31Final
9Hannah HillUSANaish23:49.38Final
10Genna FlinkmanCanadaInfinity23:58.63Final
11Sylvan OzboltTahiti?24:18.88eliminated
12Kristy MorrisUSA?24:21.54eliminated
13Jenn LeeHawaiiBlue Planet24:29.46eliminated
14Mary HowserUSA?24:54.53eliminated
15Izzi GomezUSAStarboard26:01.21eliminated
16Puatea EllisTahiti?26:01.49eliminated

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZrl7hNgu_v/

 

Open and Junior Champs

Men’s Open Beach Race Champion: Brian Meyer (USA)

Women’s Open Beach Race Champion: Jennie Sandvig (USA)

Boys 11 & under champion: Shuri Araki (Japan)

Girls 11 & under champion: Malaya Ring (USA)

Boys 12-14 champion: Rai Taguchi (Japan)

Boys 12-14 champion: Sonia Caimari (Mallorca)

See the full results from the kids races, and click click here to get the full results from all races and divisions.