Jack Virtue was unlucky not to progress, Vette said.
“I do not think the judges saw the first turn on one of his higher-scoring waves.
“They gave him a five when they were giving others sixes and sevens consistently for the same three turns to the beach.
“We went down and contested it and showed the video footage but by then it was too late.”
Wave selection and composure let the other boys down, he said.
The girls improved the team’s chances with some dominant performances in Round 1 at Makorori Beach yesterday.
Dayna Story and Abby Falwasser-Logan are both through to the u18 semifinals after placing first and second in their heat.
Story posted the highest score of the division with a 14.37 two-wave total.
The u14 girls competed during the peak of the swell yesterday and were not fazed by the double-overhead-surf.
Kai Woolf and Saffi Vette won their heats and Stella Smith came second in hers. Those placings earned them semifinal berths this afternoon.
Woolf was the top scorer in her division with 11.83 out of 20.
The u16 boys were in action this morning and the conditions were excellent, with clean three-foot sets and offshore winds.
“Blue skies today and the forecast is looking ideal for the next few days,” Vette said.
“We are having a dream run for the competition.”
Visiting competitors had been blown away by the high quality of surf here.
“We have all of the country’s top school surfers here and they are all raving about how good the surf is, right on our city’s doorstep.
“Even though it was not so good here over the weekend for the primary schools competition, I heard a table of surfers say they could not believe how good the surf was in Gisborne, with Tolaga Bay just up the coast — and that was not to mention Mahia the other way.
“They are all pinching themselves . . . surfing is such a drawcard for Gisborne.”
