Cyclone Gabrielle curtails Billabong Grom Series at Whangamatā

Maya Mateja finished as a runner-up in the Under-16 Girls' Division. Image / PhotoCPL

In a race against Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, the second event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge forged through five of the six divisions contested on Saturday, February 11 at Whangamatā, with the Under-18 Girls’ Division finishing the program in fading daylight before the prize-giving was held under car headlights.

The day dawned with moderate easterly winds and a small swell under the one-metre mark, but both the swell and wind built all day until the surf approached 2m, and strong winds made conditions less than favourable for Aotearoa’s best young surfers.

Local Whangamatā surfer Pia Rogers got her first junior win of the season after placing in the finals in her previous two events. Rogers posted an 8.33-point heat total and only snatched the victory in the last minute of the final thanks to a two-turn combo on her backhand that got her a 4.50-point ride and the win, pushing Anna Brock into second.

Taranaki surfer Skylar McFetridge placed third in the final ahead of the youngest Brock sister, and winner of the first event, Sophia, in fourth. The Under-16 Boys’ Division saw another buzzer-beater finish, with Tao Mouldey following suit alongside Rogers, repeating his heroics from the first event at Mount Maunganui.

Languishing in third place with less than a minute to spare, Mouldey surfed to a 7.17-point ride for a long-running left-hander. Given the windy conditions, unbeknownst to him, the wave catapulted him into the lead with no time for his opponents to make another move. It was the second consecutive win for Mouldey, and the second time he has pipped National Champion Alexis Owen (Dunedin) in the dying stages of a final.

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Owen had to settle for second place, with a clean performance all day that saw him edge out Theo Morse (Raglan), who finished in third, and Tyler Stenzel (Mount) in fourth, surfing in his first final of the year. Leia Millar (Piha) dominated the Under-16 Girls’ Division all day, surfing to a 9.44-point heat total in a low-scoring final in challenging conditions. Millar used her vast experience in the messy waves to score 4.17 and 5.27 on her two rides for the win.

Pauanui surfer Lola Groube managed to find a 4.07 on her last ride to jump into second place ahead of Maya Mateja (Raglan) in third and Chloe Groube (Pauanui) in fourth. In the Under-14 divisions, Vitor Bauermann (Mount) got his second win of the season and the Volkswagen Highest Heat Score of the Day award for his 15.33 out of a possible 20 points in the final.

Bauermann used his powerful forehand to amass his scoreline and back up his national title, won in January. Sol Fritchley (Mount) finished runner-up in the final ahead of Remy Sale (Mount) in third, and first-time finalist Jack Higgins (Dunedin) in fourth.

The Under-18 Boys’ Division was anticipated for Sunday, but the deteriorating weather forecast forced the postponement of the division, which organisers will look to reschedule in the coming days.

Each of the three events in the series attracts upward of 130 surfers. It is the eighteenth edition of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge. The series offers up many surfers’ first taste of events, pitting themselves against their mates and taking in two fun days of surfing and developing their skills in the ocean. Participants also team up for their boardrider clubs, with the top five surfers’ results from each club going toward overall club rankings.

The 2023 edition of the series draws on a long history of fun, with all of New Zealand’s current crop of elite surfers having taken part, including Richard Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Mount Maunganui’s own Kehu Butler and Ella Williams (WGM).

Full results and updated rankings can be viewed at www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.