They finished fourth equal on 68 points.
Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae finished 10th on 24 points.
After Saturday’s events, Wainui were third and Midway fourth — ahead of the Mount at that stage.
Surf conditions were described as “perfect”, with just enough in them to test the youngsters, and overhead conditions were ideal.
“It was an awesome carnival, a really good event that showcased Gisborne well,” Midway junior surf co-ordinator Jared Phelps said.
“I thought it was an impressive effort by both ourselves and Wainui to be so competitive against the Bay of Plenty clubs, who had greater numbers than us.
“They had a lot more older youngsters than we had. They had a very-high-calibre, strong group of athletes.”
Phelps said he was pleased with how the Midway contingent went.
“The last race of the under-14 division, the Cameron Relay summed up our weekend really. To come down the face of the same wave as the Mount, Papamoa and Omanu was pretty special.
“Another highlight for me was seeing the Midway kids who were new to it outperform themselves by making finals they did not expect to.”
Phelps said Ella Sutton was consistently in the top three in all her events, and she had a good win in the u13 board race final.
“Lilla Hain’s victory in the u11 beach sprint and second placing in the flags shows she’s one to watch in the future.
“I would also say that as a club we were stoked to see Wainui right up there with us in the top four.”
Wainui head coach Dion Williams said his “little grommets” did really well.
“We had a stack of youngsters and the points they won added up. The best part was all 30 of our kids had smiles on their faces, which was awesome.”
Williams said the outcome had to be right up there with Wainui’s best result in the Eastern Region junior champs.
He would not be drawn on singling out any particular individuals.
“They all performed above and beyond,” he said.
“We had so many young ones new to competition, and to see them race like they did, the gutsy way they competed, was heartwarming.
“We were also stoked to see Midway do as well as they did, and Waikanae too, with only a small team like we usually have, fronted up awesomely as well.’
“It made me very proud of the whole Gisborne crew.”
Waikanae manager Clara Wilson said her club had a “fantastic” weekend.
“There was heaps of good racing for our competitors alongside some really talented kids, with testing surf providing plenty of learning opportunities,” she said.
“Our little guys did great on Day 1 (Saturday), with Jacob and Mason Rennie, and Jacob Swann-Finau winning medals,” Wilson said.
“Our under-8, under-9 and under-10 teams raced tenaciously and enjoyed the experience, and on Day 2 our older kids pushed their boundaries and used their skills well in the surf.
‘We were stoked that Keeleyrose Smiler made her board finals, Lydia Baxendale overcame her nerves in the Diamond, and Sierra Blumfield smashed her swims and flags.”
Chloe Kapene raced really well to get a gold in the board and silvers in the sprints and diamond races, she said
“Our two beach flags ‘ninjas’, Jerome Tamatea and Rubi Hart, both won gold in their age groups.
“Our team vibe was awesome and we look forward to the Gisborne junior championships now.”
