2010 Stand Up World Tour begins - Sunset Beach Pro -5th-14th Feb

[J.Riggs]

Congrats Kai!!
After seeing Kai surf some of the biggest swells on Maui this year I'm not surprised. He rips on anything.

[Blane Chambers]

Congratulations to all the Finalists!!!

[Admin]

Congratulations to all that organized and competed!  Especially Kai Lenny on the win, and the surprisingly large group of young guns who made it happen in these conditions.  Stoked to see the move that landed Kamaki Worthington the top honors for Best move.

Some stuff from Maui News and the Honolulu Advertiser:







Fitting for a sport in its infancy, a manchild prevailed at the Sunset Beach Pro stand-up paddle surfing contest yesterday.

   
Seventeen-year-old Kai Lenny of Maui performed beyond his years to win the contest in difficult conditions at Sunset Beach.

"I was just honored to get in the contest and compete against the best stand-up paddlers in the world," said Lenny, who is a junior in a home-school program. "I can't believe I won."

The contest was the first event on the inaugural Stand Up World Tour, and it drew more than 70 elite wave-riders from around the world.

The final day was completed in wave-face heights of 10 to 20 feet at Sunset Beach. Strong onshore winds made it difficult for the competitors to find quality waves.

Lenny, despite his inexperience at Sunset Beach, said he felt at home in the tricky conditions. The two days of this contest were his first sessions at Sunset Beach.

"Luckily on Maui, I surfed some outer reef breaks that are similar to this wave," he said. "Actually, this would be like the best day on Maui."

In the four-man final, Lenny dominated the 45-minute heat.

His best wave received a score of 8.6 (out of 10), and he backed it up with a second wave of 7.2. His two-wave total of 15.8 was enough to win the $3,000 first-place check.

"We're pretty shocked," said Martin Lenny, Kai's father. "He hasn't proved himself on a world stage like this, so we were happy he got as far as the final. We weren't expecting this."

At the same time, Lenny is considered a rising waterman on Maui.

He is already a full-time member of the Professional Windsurfing Association. He was the No. 19-ranked windsurfer in the world last year, and was named the tour's Rookie of the Year.

He is also a skilled tow-in surfer, and recently rode giant waves at Maui's treacherous "Jaws" spot with expert watermen Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama.

"Windsurfing is still my focus right now," Lenny said. "I'm still trying to do that tour and win events there."

Now he has to consider competing on the inaugural Stand Up World Tour as well. As the winner of the first event, Lenny is the No. 1-ranked stand-up paddle surfer in the world right now.

"I'm all game now," he said. "I want to do this (tour), too, as long as it can fit in my schedule."

The Sunset Beach event was the first of four scheduled contests on the 2010 tour. Subsequent events are scheduled for France in May, Tahiti in June, and Ocean Beach, Calif., in October.

Kekoa Uemura of Honolulu placed second yesterday. He is a professional longboard surfer, but said he will also consider competing at all the events on the Stand Up World Tour.

"Hopefully my sponsors can dig deep and help me out," said Uemura, 27.

He's also going to need a new board. Uemura's board snapped in half after a scary wipeout in the closing minutes of the final heat.

"The big waves were getting the biggest points, so I was just waiting for one," he said. "I saw that one wedge up and so I paddled for it, but I was a hair too late and just got caught."

Uemura, the son of famous longboard surfer China Uemura, described yesterday's conditions as "about as tough as it gets."

"Just the winds alone," he said. "You had to paddle like 100 yards right into it. That was one of the hardest things."

Honolulu firefighter Kamaki Worthington placed third, and France's Peyo Lizarazu was fourth. Worthington received a $1,000 bonus from Da Hui for "The Biggest Move" award.

[diesel]

I hope someone got this "biggest move" by Kamaki Worthington on camera so we can see.  I'm interested.

[Easy Rider]

Thanks for all the updates.

Looks like it was a fantastic event.

Time to see about a trip south in Oct. to spectate.

[Rocker]

Very interested in the video of the last day!!!!

[Admin]

[Rocker]

Does anybody know when we can expect a video of the day of the Finals? Man, just can't wait to see this footage.

[watermanleague]

We will  produce  video highlights of the finals in the coming days.
You can see video highlights of the first two days at http://watermanleague.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=4

We are also putting together a 30 min show for TV which we will announce on when it will be broadcast.

It was great to see the standup paddle community coming together and making this event happen. The support from everyone has been unbelievable!!

Thank you all!

[D.Kirche]

Check this out.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102130346


D.Kirche

[Pureadrenalin]

Great to see a young local up and coming star. Big aloha to Kai and his future in stand up.

[corran]

And I'll tell you this... hes a cool kid!

Corran

[beaglebuddy]

"As the winner of the first event, Lenny is the No. 1-ranked stand-up paddle surfer in the world right now."

I really like seeing young people SUPing, this is such a young sport and none of us have been doing it for more than a few years, imagine how good they will be when they are our age when their muscles develop while paddling.
Years from now I cannot imagine many crawlers.

[Weasels wake]

You all know by now that 17 year old Kai Lenny won, but check this out!

[Strand Leper]

I am NOT one to analyze Sunset... but it looked like the longboard (ish) rocker on most of the boards really inhibited the surfers' ability to attack the bowl...

Thoughts?  (other than shut your pie hole)

Tim