World Surfski Series Rankings Updated
Hank McGregor
Credits: Rob Mousley
The World Surfski Series rankings have (finally) been updated. With just one (title) race to go, it seems certain that Hank McGregor will have successfully defended his title, while Rachel Clarke, if she competes in the Palm to Pines will win her first Women’s title.
Men’s Rankings
(Click here for the full rankings)
| Points | |||||
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Title | Non-Title | Total |
| 1 | Hank | Mcgregor | 2996 | 499 | 3495 |
| 2 | Jasper | Mocke | 2992 | 499 | 3491 |
| 3 | Dawid | Mocke | 2986 | 496 | 3482 |
| 4 | Mackenzie | Hynard | 2982 | 495 | 3477 |
| 5 | Oscar | Chalupsky | 2964 | 497 | 3461 |
| 6 | Mark | Anderson | 2928 | 498 | 3426 |
| 7 | Nicolas | Lambert | 2918 | 495 | 3413 |
| 8 | Lee | Furby | 2768 | 488 | 3256 |
| 9 | Maurizio | Tognacci | 2614 | 469 | 3083 |
| 10 | Michael | Mckeogh | 2588 | 466 | 3054 |
| 11 | Patrick | Langley | 2408 | 472 | 2880 |
| 12 | Shaun | Rice | 2850 | 0 | 2850 |
| 13 | Colin | Simpkins | 2714 | 0 | 2714 |
| 14 | Sean | Rice | 1998 | 500 | 2498 |
| 15 | Kenneth | Rice | 1994 | 500 | 2494 |
| 16 | Austin | Kieffer | 1990 | 497 | 2487 |
| 17 | Kyle | Friedenstein | 1982 | 498 | 2480 |
| 18 | Joshua | Fenn | 1952 | 498 | 2450 |
| 19 | Ian | Black | 1954 | 494 | 2448 |
| 20 | Bevan | Manson | 1954 | 491 | 2445 |
Women’s Rankings
(Click here for the full rankings)
| Points | |||||
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Title | Non-Title | Total |
| 1 | Kyeta | Purchase | 2984 | 498 | 3482 |
| 2 | Hayley | Nixon | 2994 | 0 | 2994 |
| 3 | Rachel | Clarke | 2000 | 500 | 2500 |
| 4 | Michelle | Burn | 2000 | 500 | 2500 |
| 5 | Teneale | Hatton | 1996 | 500 | 2496 |
| 6 | Nikki | Russell | 1990 | 499 | 2489 |
| 7 | Angie | Le Roux | 1988 | 500 | 2488 |
| 8 | Tricia | Gilbert | 1974 | 499 | 2473 |
| 9 | Wendy | Reyntjes | 1990 | 0 | 1990 |
| 10 | Jenna | Ward | 1984 | 0 | 1984 |
| 11 | Tegan | Fraser | 990 | 500 | 1490 |
| 12 | Chloe | Bunnett | 990 | 499 | 1489 |
| 13 | Amaia | Osaba Olaberri | 992 | 495 | 1487 |
| 14 | Sara | Rafael | 988 | 499 | 1487 |
| 15 | Sally | Wallick | 992 | 495 | 1487 |
| 16 | Tamlyn | Bohm | 988 | 498 | 1486 |
| 17 | Kirsten | Flanagan | 988 | 497 | 1485 |
| 18 | Ana | Swetish | 990 | 494 | 1484 |
| 19 | Sharon | Armstrong | 988 | 493 | 1481 |
| 20 | Heather | Nelson | 984 | 497 | 1481 |
Race Statistics
| Race | Men | Women | Total |
| King of the Harbour | 104 | 9 | 113 |
| EuroChallenge | 73 | 12 | 85 |
| Molokai Challenge | 44 | 4 | 48 |
| Durban Downwind | 60 | 7 | 67 |
| Mauritius Ocean Classic | 75 | 15 | 90 |
| Nelo Summer Challenge | 170 | 23 | 193 |
| Canadian Surfski Champs | 91 | 15 | 106 |
| Gorge Downwind Champs | 157 | 23 | 180 |
| Maraamu Surfski Race | 44 | 2 | 46 |
| Dutch Coast Race | 86 | 9 | 95 |
| Breizh Ocean Race | 91 | 7 | 98 |
| Pete Marlin | 117 | 11 | 128 |
| Perth Doctor | 260 | 20 | 280 |
| Palm to Pines |
Growth of International Excellence
The sport is still dominated by Australians and South Africans:
- 7 out of the top 10 men’s positions in current World Series rankings
- 7 of the 9 men’s podium positions at the ICF Ocean Racing World Champs
- 7 out of the top 10 women’s positions in current World Series rankings. (NZ takes two of the remainder leaving just one European, Angie Le Roux in the top 10.
- 6 out of 9 women’s positions at the ICF Ocean Racing World Champs.
But this dominance may well be challenged in the near future. Up and coming US paddler Austin Keiffer achieved the first podium placing by a non-southern hemisphere paddler in a major southern hemisphere race when he came third in Perth behind Cory Hill and Hank McGregor in the 2017 Perth Doctor and the following week went on to win the Sunset Surfski Series in Perth against some of Australia’s top paddlers.
In Europe too, competition has become fiercer with the likes of Walter Sanchez (SPA), Gordan Harbrecht (GER), Nicolas Lamber (FRA), Noé Pelizza (FRA), Valentin Hernot (FRA) and Esteban Medina (SPA), all appearing on the podium in various races.
Exciting times ahead!
Where to from here?
The World Surfski Series is an independent organisation that was started back 2007. It has been run by a set of volunteers including Rob Mousley (who started it), Dean Gardiner and Dawid Mocke.
Currently the rankings have been kept going by me, but the updates and associated media coverage have been almost non-existent aside from some posts on the Facebook page. Part of the problem has been the lack of a team to take on the effort, which includes correlating and correcting the seemingly infinite variations of spellings of paddlers’ names in results that are provided in every format from excel (few and far between) to HTML to pdf. Mundane – but hugely time-consuming.
Add to that the challenge of finding meaningful sponsorship and the occasional (but probably well-deserved) savage complaints and it’s not surprising that the turnover of world series convenors has been high.
But there may be some light on the horizon with a major change for the World Surfski Series; stay tuned.
For more info on the World Surfski Series, click here
ICF in 2018
According to Mario Santos, in 2018 the ICF World Cup series will comprise the same races as in 2017: the Mauritius Ocean Classic; the Nelo Summer Challenge in Porugal; a race in Tahiti (which was cancelled in 2017) and the Breizh Ocean Race in France.
There will not be an ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in 2018.