Mount Maunganui surfer Georgia Wederell's Billabong Grom Series' win a good start to 2020

Mount Maunganui's Tao Mouldey won the Billabong Grom Series' Under 14 Boys title followed a three-peat of wins at all three events. Photo / File

Georgia Wederell is in the process of playing out her surfing dream

The 17-year-old surfer, who moved to Mount Maunganui from Christchurch at 12 to pursue her surfing career, just last weekend added the Billabong Grom Series' Under 18 overall champion title to her already impressive list of achievements.

The series consisted of three events - the first at Mount Maunganui on February 1-2, where Georgia took out the Under 18 Girls division. At the second event, at Whangamata on February 8-9, Georgia finished runner up and at the third and final event at Piha last weekend, she placed third.

"It was a bit of a rocky road," Georgia says of her results over the three events.

While she would have liked to have finished with a top place at all three events, she was happy to take the overall series title - the first big competition of the year for the juniors.

Georgia's was one of three series' titles that went to Bay of Plenty's young surfing stars. Whakatāne's Luis Southerwood was the series' Under 18 Boys champ, with a third place in Piha, and first places at Whangamata and Mount Maunganui, while Mount Maunganui's Tao Mouldey's Under 14 Boys series' title followed a three-peat of wins at all three events.

The other series' titles went to Raglan's Jayden Willoughby (Under 16 Boys), Taranaki's Natasha Gouldsbury (Under 16 Girls) and Pauanui's Chloe Groube and Piha's Leia Millar taking out the Under 14 Girls title, with all six champs crowned by Australian surfing legends Mark Occhilupo and Ryan Callinan.

Georgia has had a busy few months - a taste of what's to come for the rising surfing talent.

In November she won her first international title, winning the Under 18 Girls Division at the Oceania Surfing Cup in Samoa, while her boyfriend, Hawaiian-based surfer Liam Wilson, won the Under 18 Boys' Division, representing American Samoa.

Next week, she heads to the Sydney Surf Pro Junior competition - her last year she is eligible for the junior pros. Following that, she'll be back in New Zealand to compete in the junior division of the Piha Pro, held between March 16-22. The day before it starts however, Georgia gets the chance to trial for a spot in the main event.

Georgia says moving from Christchurch to Mount Maunganui has been "fundamental" in her progression in the sport.

She says her parents - Darren and Amy Wederell - were thankfully in a position to relocate her to help her pursue her surfing dreams. The Western Bay was chosen as their new home due to the strong presence of female surfers in the area including Raiha Ensor, Tiana-Breeze de Mooij and Elin Tawharu to name a few.

Having that network of fellow female surfers around her was vital, she says.

"We really kind of just pushed each other. It was really fundamental."

Georgia, who turns 18 in April, secondary school education is carried out online through Te Kura, which has allowed her the flexibility to study around her training schedules, which can rely on mother nature.

Surfing is a part of Georgia. She has plenty of goals for this year - self improvement, focusing on technique and doing well at the pro juniors next month. If she does that, she is confident "the results will follow".

"I've kind of always just had surfing. I'm super lost without it."

Overall Series Champions:
Under 18 Boys: Luis Southerwood (Whakatāne).
Under 18 Girls: Georgia Wederell (Mount Maunganui).
Under 16 Boys: Jayden Willoughby (Raglan).
Under 16 Girls: Natasha Gouldsbury (Taranaki).
Under 14 Boys: Tao Mouldey (Mount Maunganui)
Under 14 Girls: Leia Millar (Piha) and Chloe Groube (Pau).