In quest of surf ski title

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32542, 27 February 1971, Page 14

In quest of surf ski title

(COMPETITION for the New Zealand surf ski title, to be decided during the national surf life-saving championships at Waimairi Beach next week - end, promises to be exceptionally tough. But it will be surprising if the experienced North Beach representative, Rex Dalton, does not play a prominent part in the final.

Last week-end, Dalton showed that he had lost none of his skill with the passing of the years by winning the Canterbury title for the eighth time. Now 31, he beat another former title-holder, R. G. Ealam (Waimairi), by inches.

Now he has set his sights on the national title, and on his present form he must have every Chance of winning. Extremely modest

by nature, Dalton is quick to belittle his own achievements and praise the performances of others. But he concedes that in the New Zealand championship, “I will be out there trying.” For Dalton, a win would give him his fifth national surf ski title. And he must have a great chance of achieving this. But in surf events, luck plays no small part and Dalton is fully aware of the calibre of the opposition he faces.

“It is the sort of thing anybody can win,” he said shortly after his success in the Canterbury championship. “You never know what is going to happen in surfing—that is probably one of its greatest attractions. You just get out there and do your best.” He regards Ealam as a real threat. “He reached the top before me. He won the New Zealand title for the first time in 1958 at New Plymouth,” Dalton said. “I was always coming second to him.” However, there are many others who will be very much in the running. Not the least of these is his younger brother, Don, who recently won the South Island title at Dunedin. Rex, on this occasion was second. Don had a tough path out through the breakers in the Canterbury event and after his earlier exertions in other events found this too much to overcome. Later he showed his great powers of recovery by winning the hollow board title.

Another Canterbury surfer who must be a threat is P. Davies (Waimairi). He won the provincial surf skirescue championship and is a former national titleholder in this event. In the individual event last Saturday he missed the final, but this was out of character. D. Neate (Taylor’s Mistake) cannot be overlooked, either. From Auckland, a strong challenge is expected from D. Jackman and G. Butt. But the home favourite must be Rex Dalton, who won his first national event in 1960. His. preparation this season has been slightly handicapped by the distance he is from the beach. He lives at Green-

dale, near Darfield, and this has restricted the amount of training he has been able to do in the sea.

“I used to be in every day, but I cannot manage that now,” he said.

Nevertheless, in the days remaining before the championship he hopes to get out for a paddle more often. In a race, he considers it important to be first round the buoys. “Then you have got to get on the first wave that comes along. Otherwise, you lose your advantage.” In the years that Dalton has been a leading surf ski exponent, the sport has changed considerably. “It is far more specialised now. To stand a chance in top competition, you really need to have at least two different skis, each one suited to different conditions,” he said. This can prove quite expensive. A good ski costs about $l2O and Dalton has three, two conventional plywood craft and one of the new fibre-glass models which are proving so popular. At the moment he prefers the wooden ski. “It seems to sit better in the water. It is more stable.”