http://instagram.com/p/uE_G8ambTa/

The final event of the 2014 Stand Up World Series is happening this weekend has just wrapped up on the North Shore of Oahu. Based out of Turtle Bay, which sits just down the road from famed breaks such as Waimea, Sunset and Pipeline, the World Series Finals will see a very small but hyper-elite band of young guns battle it out in what could be some very interesting conditions.

One week after the all-time, wave-fueled carnage at Salt Creek, the surf at Turtle Bay looks set to throw up another chaotic weekend of racing. Today Yesterday it was the Distance Race, which should largely avoid the macking surf, however tomorrow sees today saw the in-and-out sprints, which will be held right in the waves at Turtle Bay West.

The Stand Up World Series is often a rollercoaster ride of drama, excitement and controversy (and that’s before we even get onto the water…), however their “Finals @ Turtle Bay” event is usually a pretty good spectacle so I’ll be watching closely this weekend.

I was actually going to be there in person for this one, however after playing (and losing) a game of Russian Roulette with SkyScanner.com, I’m sitting it out. Fortunately, Mike Jucker from StandUpMagazin.com is on the scene sending over updates as they happen.

Follow @standupmagazin on Instagram for behind the scenes pics.

SATURDAY UPDATE: The Long Distance Race has just finished. Results below. There were about 22 guys and 8 girls in the field. Not very big, especially coming off the BOP last week, but plenty of famous names in the list nonetheless.

Crazy conditions, especially on the way out…

http://instagram.com/p/uECVoTGbRI/

Bit of a controversy with the start though – sounds like the course was changed at the last minute and a few paddlers (including Lina Augaitis) weren’t made aware. Also something about a buoy that was supposed to be there that wasn’t. Couple of the paddlers very upset.

Honestly, how frickin’ hard is it to start a SUP race properly? This is twice in two weeks, at two of the most-elite races of the year. Last week the Battle of the Paddle messed it right up and now this week it’s the World Series’ turn…

But still. Cool photos.

SUNDAY UPDATE: We’ve just wrapped up the second and final day of the event, with plenty of surf/chaos/carnage on offer for the sprint racing.

We knew we were in for an interesting ride when the jetski got cleaned up before the first heat of the day had even started.

Some seriously solid waves were rolling through – this pic from @standupmagazin kinda sums it up:

http://instagram.com/p/uE-32xmbTF/

When the action was all done, Kai Lenny had finished second behind Zane Schweitzer, which was enough for Kai to take the overall event win. However Connor Baxter had already wrapped up the overall 2014 World Series title a few weeks back in Huntington, so this was all a formality.

Though on the women’s side the title was up for grabs right until the final few minutes of the year… It all came down to a duel between Australia’s Angie Jackson and Canada’s Lina Augaitis. Basically whoever finished in the highest position this weekend would take the 2014 crown.

After a horror start yesterday – not helped by some dubious officiating – Lina Augaitis (and everyone else) thought she was out of contention. She finished 6th out of just 8 women in the long distance race, with her rival Angie Jackson putting in a strong performance to claim 2nd (after leading for much of the race).

Lina basically needed a miracle in the sprints on day two. And that’s exactly what she got.

In the women’s final Angie got cleaned up by the set of the day, tearing her leash plug straight out of her board, sending her 12’6 towards the shore and giving her a long swim that effectively guaranteed her last place in the race and killed her World Series title hopes.

So after a rollercoaster couple of days for the two favourites, Lina eventually finished the weekend in 4th and Angie 5th, which handed Lina the 2014 Stand Up World Series crown and left Angie wondering what could have been.

http://instagram.com/p/uFBEiMGSK7/

Speaking of rollercoasters, this event finally brings the 2014 Stand Up World Series to a close. As always, the “Finals @ Turtle Bay” event has thrown up some great photos and videos, however it masks what has been a very up and down season for the World Series crew.

The “dramatic” action on the water has been matched by plenty of drama off it: Problems with prize money not being paid, events being canceled and often a complete lack of rules and organisation are only the beginning.

The World Series has promised a lot the past three years but has yet to deliver. I both love and hate everything about this enigmatic tour at the same time. The Waterman League, the for-profit corporation behind the World Series, do some truly amazing things for the sport. However they also do some truly terrible things for the sport. It really is a bizarre enterprise.

While in some areas it outperforms most other events – the Waterman League’s media is fantastic and puts bigger events such as the Battle of the Paddle to shame (hey BOP, apparently it’s not so hard to put on a webcast after all) – the World Series has yet to deliver on several of their big ideas. The Series has been an excellent platform for the dozen or so young guns that utilise it, however I would still describe the commercial tour as “fledgling” at best, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes out in the wash the next couple of weeks as we build towards season 2015.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, check out the full results from this weekend below.

Congratulations to Lina Augaitis for backing up her very impressive Battle of the Paddle campaign with a World Series title. Congratulations to Connor Baxter for dominating the entire year and wrapping up the Series last month. Congratulations to Angie Jackson for working like a machine all year, even if she did fall painfully short of her goal. Congratulations to Halie Harrison for surviving the carnage and taking the Turtle Bay event win. And congratulations to Kai for being Kai…

Recap and photos (here’s the dodgy Google English translation of the recap) are available over on StandUpMagazin.com thanks to Mike Jucker, who was on the scene at Turtle Bay watching the carnage go down.

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#### 2014 STAND UP WORLD SERIES – OVERALL SEASON RESULTS ####

Men’s World Series
1st: Connor Baxter
2nd: Kai Lenny
3rd: Mo Freitas
4th: Jake Jensen
5th: Zane Schweitzer
6th: Casper Steinfath
7th: Eric Terrien
8th: Leonard Nika
9th: Kody Kerbox
10th: Dylan Frick
11th: Arthur Arutkin

Women’s World Series
1st: Lina Augaitis
2nd: Angie Jackson
3rd: Olivia Piana

RESULTS: 2014 Stand Up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay

## OVERALL EVENT RESULTS – MEN ##
1 Kai Lenny
2 Mo Freitas
3 Jake Jensen
4 Casper Steinfath
5 Riggs Napoleon
6 Zane Schweitzer
7 Eric Terrien
8 Arthur Daniel
9 Titouan Puyo
10 Dylan Frick
11 Paul Jackson
12 Arthur Arutkin
13 Connor Baxter
14 Robert Territehau
14 Noa Ginella
16 Peter Dorries
16 Kawika Kinimaka
18 Kody Kerbox
19 Kaeo Abbey
20 Fritchoff Sach
21 Cody Huff

## OVERALL EVENT RESULTS – WOMEN ##
1 Halie Harrison
2 Fiona Wylde
3 Sonni Honscheid
4 Lina Augaitis
5 Angela Jackson
6 Lara Claydon
7 Keale Dorries
8 Talia Decoite
9 Rachel Bruntsch
10 Noelani Sach
11 Kelsa Gabehart

MEN’S DISTANCE RACE (SATURDAY)
1st: Kai Lenny
2nd: Riggs Napoleon
3rd: Mo Freitas
4th: Jake Jensen
5th: Titouan Puyo
6th: Casper Steinfath
7th: Eric Terrien
8th: Arthur Arutkin
9th: Robert Territehau
10th: Kaeo Abbey
11th: Paul Jackson
12th: Noa Ginella
13th: Dylan Frick
14th: Zane Schweitzer

WOMEN’S DISTANCE RACE (SATURDAY)
1st: Fiona Wylde
2nd: Angie Jackson
3rd: Sonni Honscheid
4th: Halie Harrison
5th: Talia Decoite
6th: Lina Augaitis
7th: Lara Claydon
8th: Noelani Sach

MEN’S SPRINTS (SUNDAY)
1. Zane Schweitzer
2. Kai Lenny
3. Mo Freitas

WOMEN’S SPRINTS (SUNDAY)
1st: Halie Harrison
2nd: Lina Augaitis
3rd: Ke’ale Dorries