SPORT in brief

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

First open title to WoolfFormer Gisborne surfer Kai Woolf yesterday won her first event in the open women’s division of the New Zealand Surf Series.

Woolf, 17, had a two-wave score of 11.0 in the final to win the Manu Bay Pro open women’s division. The Raglan-based goofy-footer, originally from South Africa, is a student at the Raglan Surf Academy.

Also in the final was Gisborne surfer Saffi Vette, who finished fourth, behind runner-up Raiha Ensor (Mount Maunganui) and Aimee Brown (Great Barrier Island).

Vette also reached the final of the under-20 women’s division, where she finished third behind winner Ensor and Brie Bennett (Raglan).

Raglan’s Luke Cedarman, 36, beat surfers half his age to retain the open men’s title he won last year.

Narrow loss for CentralCentral had a promising start to the national under-21 hockey tournament at North Harbour yesterday. They lost 2-1 to Auckland but dominated the first and fourth quarters and were pressing hard for an equaliser at the end.

Former Gisborne players Lachlan Vause and James Torrie are in the Central squad, while former Gisborne Boys’ High School player Liam Melville was in the Auckland team.

Auckland scored both their goals in a three-minute burst in the second quarter of the 60-minute game, and Central got one back through skipper Thomas Walshe after 52 minutes.