The Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials

It’s that time of year again, when the pros of the world, local contestants and free surfers all gather together at the end of the road, in the little village of Teahupo’o. The name Teahupo’o coming from a long history of bloody battles that took place in this part of the island during the pre-European era (meaning wall of skulls). For the 10th consecutive year, the entire surfing industry comes together and turns towards Tahiti and it’s infamous wave for the Billabong Pro, Tahiti (August 23rd-September 3rd).

If the Billabong Pro Tahiti is the reason behind all this hype, there’s another surfing battle that most people wait for every year: the Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials, offering the winner and the best Tahitian surfer the opportunity to enter the main event. If most local riders wait and train hard for it to see their dream of surfing in a WCT event come true, a larger part of the local population is also eager to watch those 2 days of fierce competition. Why? Because they want to see one more guy from Tahiti entering the Billabong Pro, with hopes of seeing him winning the finals. Crazy dream maybe, but that’s what we’re secretly hoping for every year! Don’t get me wrong, we love this competition for what it is, a WCT event, and we’re always excited to watch the different heats no matter who the guys surfing are

Back to the trials: Tahiti’s best riders usually train for months in order to get this wild card, and this year was no different: Teahupo’o and the Hava’e pass became their daily training ground, whatever the conditions: wave after wave, barrel after barrel, they perfected their riding skills, sitting deeper and deeper and trying to make their way out of every wave they could catch.

The Trials which last 2 days, were launched this past Monday, on glassy waves ranging from 6 to 9 ft. Needless to say, the crowd was there to see some of the most talented riders surf against each other in those epic conditions. The first day was a tough one for the locals who had trouble winning against guys like Wade Goodall, Anthony Walsh and Kamalei Alexander, to name a few. But just like every other competition, the most focused and determined managed to find their way to the finals, thanks to their unbelievable commitment and incredible tube riding style.

The winner, Taumata Puhetini, a 23-year-old surfer who grew up surfing Tahiti’s beachbreaks, won every single heat he surfed and even scored a perfect 10 in the quarter finals: “I had been watching this contest for years, from my boat in the channel, and this year was definitely the year I wanted to give it a try. I trained a lot, more than 4 hours everyday, and it paid off. I’m so stoked!”

And so am I, it’s always a great pride to see a local winning those prestigious trials, especially a surfer that nobody was expecting at this point of the competition (even if he already has a lot of experience on the local contest scene).

Along with the other finalist, his long-time friend Tamaroa McComb,  Taumata enters the main event starting this week (watch live at >>BillabongPro.com), thus joining 2 other Tahitian surfers, Teahupo’o charger Manoa Drollet (who got a wild card) and WCT pro surfer Michel Bourez.

If you have any questions about the event, or Tahiti leave em as a comment here and I’ll answer them in next weeks blog!

Good luck guys!!

-Vainui