Disappointments only heightened motivation for Tairāwhiti surfer Max Phillips, who has won his first major title.
Phillips (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Porou) won the male under-18 division of the Aotearoa Māori Surfing Titles held at Ahipara, Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) over the weekend.
He has been competing at national surfing competitions since he was 14, and a couple of semifinal berths were the closest he had come to a podium position before the weekend.
Phillips might not have contested the Māori Surfing Titles were it not for the disappointment of being eliminated by a “buzzer-beater” at the quarter-final stage of the National Scholastic Surfing Championships in Dunedin this month.
He was lying second in his heat when, with 10 seconds to go, another surfer caught a wave and earned a score that took him past Phillips into the second qualifying spot.
Damon Gunness, 2002 national open men’s champion, was there as a parent and was helping to coach the Gisborne competitors.
He and another parent, Regan Fairlie, urged Phillips to get over his disappointment by entering the Māori Surfing Titles.
But there, too, Phillips had an early setback. In the open men’s competition, he was eliminated in his first heat. It only served to steel him for the rest of the event.
“I got a bit angry and I focused a bit more,” he said.
“It gave me the motivation to do better in the Under-18 heats.”
He won his first heat and was second in the next, a semifinal.
In the final, he put a score on the board quickly - a 6.5 wave in the first three minutes.
“That gave me the confidence to keep on going, looking for better turns and bigger scores.”
After that first wave, he paddled back out and took off on a wave almost straight away and the judges scored 5.5 points for a 12.0 two-wave total.
Having led the field from the time of his first scoring wave and consolidated his position with his second, Phillips set about protecting his lead.
Former Gisborne surfer Christian Fougere (Ngāti Porou), now based in Auckland, was in second position, so Phillips “chased him down”.
Once he had priority for the next wave, Phillips used it to ensure he would not succumb to another buzzer-beater.
Fougere was also a finalist in the open men’s competition, finishing third.
Phillips, who has just turned 18, spends much of his time in and on water. As well as being a member of Gisborne Boardriders Club, he is a member of Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club and Comet Swimming Club.
An old boy of Wainui Beach and Ilminster Intermediate schools, Phillips is a prefect at Gisborne Boys’ High School.
He is the youngest of four children of Sam and Maria Phillips. They’re an active family. Lana, 31, was a ballet dancer; Eden, 28, surfs; and Keely, 26, was a gymnast.
Max Phillips wanted to thank “the Gizzy crew” who supported him, and his sponsor, New Wave Surfboards.
Next year he begins a three-year course of study for a degree in business and accounting. He will study at the Tauranga campus of Waikato University, a decision influenced by his former coach, former world surf lifesaving ironman champion Cory Hutchings, who now coaches for the Omanu Beach Surf Life Saving Club in Mount Maunganui.
Phillips will be handy to good surfing spots and expects to join whatever swimming club is favoured by his surf lifesaving clubmates.
Max’s father Sam (Ngāti Mutunga), was fifth in the over-45 division of the Māori Surfing Titles.
Other Tairāwhiti competitors to feature in the competition were Geoff Pardoe (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou), third in the open men’s stand-up paddleboard; his son Jaxon Pardoe (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou), fourth in the U14 boys’ division; Archie Alder (Te Rarawa), seventh in the U14 boys’ division; and Corbin Nepe (Ngāti Kahungunu), 13th in the open men’s division.
Competition commentator Steve Ria (Ngāti Ruapani, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou ) was acknowledged for “holding the knowledge and wisdom for the event” and sharing his insights, travelling to support the kaupapa every year.
The first Aotearoa Māori Surfing Titles were held in Taranaki in 1993.
This year, Ngāpuhi surfer Jai Wallis claimed the open rangātira tane (open men’s) division, beating his elder brother Zen in the final. Jai scored 6.13 on his last ride to snatch the lead off Fougere. Zen was also able to edge past Fougere, who finished third, ahead of Sonny Rapira-Martin (Te Atiawa). Ngāti Raukawa surfer Elin Tawharu retained her title in the open rangātira wahine (open women’s) division, Natasha Gouldsbury (Te Atiawa) was second, Indi-Lee Ruddell (Te Rarawa Kaiwhare) was third and Grace Gundry (Te Rarawa), fourth.
Ruddell had earlier won the U18 taitamawahine (young women’s) division, while Gouldsbury won the wahine longboard competition. The Pitkeathly brothers (Ngāpuhi) took home a title each. Peleki had a convincing win in the longboard while Zade won the U16 boys’ division. Jamie Andrews (Te Atiawa) won the stand-up paddleboard and the over-45 men’s division. Te Tai Tokerau surfer Jason Ruddell (Te Atiawa) won the over-35 men’s division. Titles in the U14 divisions went to Whaingaroa surfer Xander Banks (Tainui) in the boys’ and Jade Nias Phillips (Ngāti Kahu) in the girls’.
Te Āti Awa took the Iwi of Origin title back from hosts Ngāpuhi.
