FITTED HAWAII

EDITORIAL COMMENTARY BY HAWAIIAN CORRESPONDENT
ANDY MELAMED

Piha does have sunshine!.. Piha does have offshore winds!.. Piha does have
barrels and winding open faces that provide a platform for high performance
surfing.  Put it all together and that’s what day 6 of the  ISA QUIKSILVER
JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS was all about..  In these conditions the cream of
the crop seems to rise to the top, and remain afloat.

It became a numbers game by mid morning for the Verizon Wireless Junior Surf
Team.  Seven of the 12 team members managed to squeak thru barrels, float
around sections, carve crests, pump sections and gouge bottom turns.  Some
of Hawaii’s team riders were eliminated falling short by tenths of a point
or getting edged out within the closing seconds of a heat.

The good news remains that Koa Smith and Malia Manuel wake to another
morning in the undefeated qualifying rounds.   Keanu Asing, Tanner
Hendrickson, Ian Gentil  Isaiah Moniz and Alessa Quizon find themselves
alive in the sudden death repercharge rounds.

Thus these rebuilding Hawaiians find themselves with 7 surfers still in the
mix. They are  in second place and are more than capable of surfing into the
finals in each division.   However  the finest young amateurs from around
the world,will also be laying it on the line with top tier performances.
Australia, Tahiti, Brazil ,New Zealand, South Africa, France and the United
States are all providing more than enough talent to make things extremely
interesting.