Gisborne surfers make finals

THIRD IN THE UNDER-17 AND UNDER-20 WOMEN'S: Kai Woolf made two finals in the Backdoor BayBash surfing competition in Hawke’s Bay. Picture supplied

GISBORNE surfer Kai Woolf made two finals in the Backdoor BayBash surfing competition in Hawke’s Bay at the weekend. She finished third in both the under-17 and under-20 women’s divisions.

Two other Gisborne surfers, Finn Johnson and Saffi Vette, also reached finals. Johnson was third in the u14 boys’ division and Vette was fourth in the u17 women’s final.

Mt Maunganui’s Kehu Butler and Whangamata’s Ella Williams completed doubles for the weekend in the Backdoor BayBash, a NZ Pro Series three-star event and NZ Grom Series four-star event held at Waimarama Beach.

Butler won his first open men’s title, as well as the u20 men’s division, while Williams won the open women’s and u20 women’s competitions.

In the open men’s contest, 15-year-old Butler posted a 13.73-point total in a final where all four surfers were from the junior ranks.

Gisborne’s Maz Quinn did not enter the event but already had an unassailable lead in the open men’s division of the New Zealand Pro Series.

Williams followed a similar path to Butler, taking a while to warm up in the final of the open women’s division before hitting the lead in the latter half of the heat. She finished with a 14-point heat total to defeat runner-up Bianca Sansom (Auck), on 11.93 points.

Despite not making the finals of the event, Auckland surfer Gabriella Sansom did enough to retain her No.1 ranking and claim her first New Zealand Pro Series win.

ResultsOpen men, semifinals, Heat 1: Callum Chuter (Mnt) 15.83, 1; Harrison Whiteside (Chch) 12.33, 2; Tane Wallis (Piha) 11.37, 3; Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt) 5.87, 4.

Heat 2: Kehu Butler (Mnt) 13.03, 1; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 10.3, 2; Daniel Farr (Tara) 9.97, 3; Bronson Primmer (HBay) 6.573, 4.

Final: Kehu Butler (Mnt) 13.73, 1; Callum Chuter (Mnt) 12.87, 2; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 11.7, 3; Harrison Whiteside (Chch), 10.63, 4.

U20 men, semifinals, Heat 1: Callum Chuter (Tau) 14.67, 1; Kehu Butler (Arataki) 10.57, 2; Zac Curle (Waihi Bch) 6.7, 3; Sam Sands (Chch) 5.77, 4.

Heat 2: Harrison Whiteside (Chch) 12.77, 1; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 11.83, 2; Jack Wilson (Chch) 9.73, 3; Lee Ririnui (Mnt) 6.9, 4.

Final: Kehu Butler (Arataki) 15.67, 1; Callum Chuter (Tau), 13.43, 2; Taylor Hutchison (Rag) 11.03, 3; Harrison Whiteside (Chch) 10.73, 4.

U17 men, semifinals, Heat 1: Daniel Farr (Tara) 9.5, 1; Harry Macintosh (Auck) 9.23, 2; Joshua Farr (Tara) 8.67, 3; Jack McLaren (Mnt) 6.6, 4.

Heat 2: Zac Curle (Katikati) 11.13, 1; Jack Wilson (Chch) 10.13, 2; Lee Ririnui (Mnt) 8.1, 3; Dylan Preston (Whmata) 6.2, 4.

Final: Daniel Farr (Tara) 12.67, 1; Jack Wilson (Chch) 11.53, 2; Zac Curle (Katikati) 8.10, 3; Harry Macintosh (Auck) 7.0, 4.

U14 boys, semifinals, Heat 1: Dylan Preston (Whmata) 10.43, 1; Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch) 8.6, 2; Josef Jungwirth (Gis) 8.37, 3; James Ririnui (Mnt) 8.07, 4.

Heat 2: Tom Butland (Tara) 10.43, 1; Finn Johnson (Gis) 8.33, 2; Caleb Cutmore (Ham) 7.03, 3; Luke Griffin (Mnt) 4.5, 4.

Final: Dylan Preston (Whmata) 12.83, 1; Tom Butland (Tara) 11.67, 2; Finn Johnson (Gis) 10.67, 3; Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch) 9.07, 4.

Open women, semifinals, Heat 1: Ella Williams (Whmata) 9.1, 1; Billie Scott (Whangarei) 8.37, 2; Gabriella Sansom (Auck) 8, 3.

Heat 2: Bianca Sansom (Auck) 12.1, 1; Britt Kindred (Mur) 8.77, 2; Raiha Ensor (Mnt) 8.03, 3.

Final: Ella Williams (Whmata) 14.0, 1; Bianca Sansom (Auck), 11.93, 2; Britt Kindred (Mur) 9.47, 3; Billie Scott (Whangarei) 4.67, 4.

U20 women, semifinals, Heat 1: Bianca Sansom (Auck) 13.17, 1; Kai Woolf (Gis) 10.73, 2; Billie Scott (Whangarei) 7, 3; Gabriella Sansom (Auck) 5.93, 4.

Heat 2: Ella Williams (Whmata) 15.07, 1; Claudia Fraser (Auck) 11.83, 2; Raiha Ensor (Mnt) 10.33, 3; Britt Kindred (Muri) 6.43, 4.

Final: Ella Williams (Whmata) 11.03, 1; Bianca Sansom (Auck) 10.47, 2; Kai Woolf (Gis) 8.73, 3; Claudia Fraser (Auck) 5.20, 4.

U17 women, semifinals, Heat 1: Saffi Vette (Gis) 9.97, 1; Britt Kindred (Muri) 9.83, 2; Aimee Brown (Auck) 4.3, 3.

Heat 2: Raiha Ensor (Mnt) 13.1, 1; Kai Woolf (Gis) 9.13, 2; Maaia Reid-Bennett (Mnt) 5.23, 3.

Final: Raiha Ensor (Mnt) 10.17, 1; Britt Kindred (Muri) 9.33, 2; Kai Woolf (Gis) 8.70, 3; Saffi Vette (Gis) 6.83, 4.