| Ricardo Christie (NZL) took out his Seeding Round matchup against Wade Carmichael (AUS) and rookie Seth Moniz (HAW) with an epic mixture of power and progression. Today’s heat win was special for Christie because he now represents his Māori heritage on his competition jersey sleeve along with the New Zealand flag on the other.
 “I saw that Soli (Bailey) was representing his Indigenous Australian flag and realized that it would be an option for me to do as well,” Christie said. “I contacted WSL and they were really helpful in getting it organized, but we didn’t think it would all be ready to go until the middle of the season, so it was a really special moment when I got here and saw it on my sleeve. My Māori heritage comes on my mother’s side and I was brought up in a small, vastly Māori community, so I have so much respect for our culture and I’m really proud to represent my Māori heritage. I have been working hard this year to do my best but having the flag on my sleeve today definitely gave me a little bit of extra motivation.”
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