5 Team Hawaii members still in World Junior Championship

Five of the 12 Team Hawaii members remain in the main draws at the 2013 International Surfing Association’s World Junior Surfing Championship at Jiquiliste Beach, Nicaragua. Among those five are Kauai surfers Koa Smith and Tatiana Weston-Webb. Smith and Tati

Smith and Tati are each two heats away from their finals, competing in the Under 18 Boys and Girls divisions, respectively.

Tati has two of the three highest-scoring waves in the Girls event, pulling off a 9.17 ride in the opening heat and grabbing an even 9.00 in the third round. Smith’s 16.00 combined score in the second round is the second-best total of the Boys division, behind only teammate Josh Moniz.

Moniz notched a 16.04 in the second round, but he is now among the seven Team Hawaii members on the other side of the bracket in the Repercharge heats.

The Junior Championship is not a single-elimination event. The main draw consists only of the top two surfers from the previous round’s heats, but each third and fourth-place finisher from a main heat moves into the Repercharge bracket. From there, surfers continue competing with the top scorers advancing and the lower scorers out of the competition.

As of Thursday afternoon, all seven Repercharge surfers were still alive and gaining points for Team Hawaii. The final heats where gold, silver, bronze and copper medals are awarded contain the two survivors of the main draw and the two who can make it all the way through the Repercharge, so all 12 Hawaii juniors can each still win gold.

In the Boys Under 18, Kaoli Kahokuloa, Kain Daly and Moniz are into the sixth round of Repercharge heats. Daly and Moniz will paddle out together in the same heat, so they will need a 1-2 finish for both to remain in the hunt.

While Tati is one of only six girls in the Under 18 main draw, teammate Bailey Nagy has moved into the sixth round of the Repercharge, also totaling just six surfers.

Dax McGill and Mahina Maeda have each taken care of business in the Girls Under 16 bracket and are two of the six still in the main draw. Mahina has the best wave of the division, notching a 9.33 in the third round.

Imaikalani DeVault, who head coach Rainos Hayes specifically labeled as a sleeper pick before the competition, is one of only eight surfers still in the Boys Under 16 main draw. Teammates Kaulana Apo, Seth Moniz and Elijah Gates sit in the sixth round of the Repercharge.

Action continues through the weekend, when the individual and team medals will be presented.

BRIEF VEGAS UPDATE: I’ve seen some familiar smiling faces the past few days as Kauai folks have arrived here in Las Vegas this week. The World Series of Poker seniors event, consisting only of players 50 and over, begins today, and a number of our own will be among the thousands hoping to bring home that bracelet.

As for me, I can’t say I’ve come anything close to a Hunter S. Thompson experience this week, but I was pretty delirious in the wee hours of Thursday morning after putting in about 30 straight hours at the poker tables. To some … OK, many … OK, all people, that sounds like insanity.

It is.

It started Tuesday with a nightly tournament that consisted of 146 players. I got on a roll early and put together a really big stack that gave me a chip lead I maintained for much of the tournament.

I made the final table and ended up taking fifth place, which was disappointing, but still a nice result. As I was leaving the poker room, I decided that I was still too awake (at 6 a.m.) to go to sleep, so I sat at a cash game for what I thought would be a few hours. Those few turned into 18.

While I don’t recommend this as a lifestyle, I didn’t come to Vegas for Celine Dion. (No offense, Celiniacs.) This is why I’m here, so as Thompson said: “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”