Gizzy surfers taking international stage

AND so the spring conditions continue.

I cannot remember the last onshore wind, with gentle, warm, north-west breezes becoming normal.

I have even taken the booties off and am feeling pretty good in just a three-millimetre wetty.

Fortunately some fun waves have been hanging around, with swells from the north and the east hovering off the coast, and the odd long-period pulse from the south over the hill.

This weekend looks much the same.

It has been a great week for Gisborne’s young surfing talent competing in the National Secondary Schools Surfing Championships in Raglan.

Saffi Vette in the under-18 girls, Reuben Mottart in the u18 boys and Manawa Ruru in the u14 boys all made the finals in their divisions.

The future of Gizzy surfing is in good hands, although if you have seen any of them out locally you should already know that.

Saffi will be stepping it up to the international level in September when she heads to Japan as part of the New Zealand team competing in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

It will be a busy period for Gizzy surfers internationally, with a contingent heading to Denmark at the end of this month for the International Surfing Association World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship.

Stella Smith and her Gold Coast-based sister Jasmine, Sean Hovell and Cory Taylor (also Gold Coast-based) are all in the New Zealand team for their categories.

Around the same time, Gisborne/Mahia surfer Ricardo Christie will be having a crack at securing his spot in the top 10 on the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) at the QS6000 Galicia Pro in Spain.

Sitting at the halfway stage in the QS, Christie is in ninth place, after coming fifth at the QS 10,000 US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, California, this month.

At the end of the year, the top 10 QS surfers qualify for the 2018 WSL Championship Tour.

Christie made the CT in 2015 but, despite a few solid results, he was not able to requalify, and returned to the QS to work his way back. He failed to requalify last year but has had a much stronger 2017.

Christie sits on 10,500 points, mostly made up of 5200 from his US Open result and 3000 for his win at the Martinique Pro.

He will need three more solid results to make the cut.

Following the Galicia Pro in Spain are the QS6000 Azores Pro in Azores and QS10,000 Cascais Pro in Portugal in September.

After that is another 6000-point-rated event in Brazil at the end of October and then two 10,000-point-rated events in Hawaii in November to finish the QS.

See you out the back.