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SURFING by Ben Kennings
TWO of the champions crowned at this weekend’s Rip Curl GromSearch in Taranaki will get an enormous boost to their careers.
The winners of the under-17 boys’ and girls’ divisions qualify to represent New Zealand at the International GromSearch Final in May at a location yet to be confirmed.
Well over a hundred surfers will take part in this weekend’s Taranaki event, with u14 and u12 age groups also being contested.
Past winners of the u17 division include two-time winners from Mt Maunganui, Kehu Butler and Raiha Ensor (2015/16), Taranaki’s Daniel Farr (2014) and the Mount’s Elin Tawharu (2017). They have all gone on to compete in the World Surf League Qualifying Series.
The Rip Curl GromSearch International Final caters for a select 16 surfers in the boys’ division and eight in the girls’ division. It was last held at Brazil’s Medina Centre, which was developed by 2014 world champion Gabriel Medina.
Last year’s New Zealand boys’ winner, Caleb Cutmore (Hamilton), returns to the event this year hoping for a repeat performance. Cutmore, 16, has won two events on the New Zealand Grom Series in the u18 division and tested the waters in the Australasian Pro Junior events in Australia.
Gisborne's Finn Vette is among a host of promising challengersGisborne’s Finn Vette is among a host of promising challengers who also include Tom Butland (Oakura), Kora Cooper (Raglan), Jack Lee (Whakatane) and Luke Griffin (Mt Maunganui).
In the girls’ division, 2017 runner-up Saffi Vette, of Gisborne, will try to win the event for the first time.
Vette has spent most of summer competing in Australia and only last weekend surfed to her best result of the season — a seventh-place finish at the Sun Zinke Pro Junior at Manly.
Among the contenders she will be up against are Christchurch surfers Estella Hungerford and Tegen Bishop, Raglan’s Brie Bennett, Mt Maunganui’s Georgia Wederell and Oakura’s Ariana Shewry.
New Plymouth’s Natasha Gouldsbury is the No.1-ranked surfer in the u14 girls’ division and after a win last weekend at Piha will want to make it two in a row.
Boys’ No.1 seed Jayden Willoughby, of Raglan, will want a return to the top of the podium. He had three straight wins to start the year but last weekend finished second to Raglan’s Navryn Malone (son of former Gisborne-based national open champion Chris).
The Rip Curl GromSearch is the only national event that stages u12 boys’ and girls’ divisions. This age group gives younger surfers the chance to compete at a national level in a division against surfers their own age. This year entry levels in this division for both girls and boys are higher than for any other age group.
The Billabong Grom Series wound up last weekend, when the third and final event of the summer was staged at Piha.
Series winners were —Under 20, boys: Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay). Girls: Billie Scott (Whangarei).
U18, boys: Jared Gebert (Ohope). Girls: Kea Smith (Mt Maunganui).
U16, boys: Kora Cooper (Raglan). Girls: Brie Bennett (Raglan).
U14, boys: Jayden Willoughby (Raglan). Girls: Natasha Gouldsbury (Taranaki).
Age-group winners at the Piha event were —
U20, boys: Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay). Girls: Indica Ratima (Raglan).
U18, boys: Caleb Cutmore (Hamilton). Girls: Kea Smith (Mt Maunganui).
U16, boys: Jack Lee (Whakatane). Girls: Brie Bennett (Raglan).
U14, boys: Navryn Malone (Raglan). Girls: Natasha Gouldsbury (Taranaki).