Aliotti and Cowan off to a perfect start at the Tahiti Nui Pro
France’s William Aliotti and Tahiti’s Tukea Cowan started-off with a win in their Round of 52 heats at the Tahiti Nui Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Australasian Pro Junior Series event, which kicked-off at the main event site of Papara
in Tahiti on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.
French Polynesia’s William Peckett finished behind Aliotti in second place in the first heat to accompany the winner into the next round of the competition, removing Australia’s Timi Kahiha from the contention for the event title in the process.
The second heat saw French Polynesia’s Eliott Napias accompany Cowan into the next round after claiming second place. French Polynesia’s Noho Tuhei and his compatriot rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively, which resulted in their early
elimination from the competition.
The two-to-three foot waves on offer at the main event site offered an opportunity for the young surfing talent from around the globe to put their exquisite skills on display.
The proceedings of the day kicked-off with Aliotti taking on Peckett in a man-on-man battle for victory. Kahiha was also supposed to participate in the heat, but it ended up being a one-on-one bout between the French and local surfer.
As the battle got underway, both the surfers got off to a slow start, struggling a little to get their hands on a decent scoring opportunity.
In the later stages of the heat, the French surfer locked his first business-wave to post a 6.00 on the score-board and then soon backed it up with a 6.65-point ride to eventually finish with a heat-total of 12.65 points.
Peckett was unable to offer a significant challenge to his rival, finishing with a heat-total of 10.25 points, which comprised of a 5.55 and 4.70-point ride. As a result, he was forced to concede victory to his rival.
In the next heat, Cowan took down Napis, Tuhei and Braye in a low-scoring affair after scoring a 4.35 and 3.65 off his top-two waves for a heat-total of 8.00 points.
Napias survived the round as well after registering a heat-total of 5.75 points, which comprised of a 2.50 and 3.25-point ride.
Tuhei and Braye did not even get themselves noticed during the course of the heat.
Tags: