Tai Erceg-Gray, 14, flies high at the second round of the secondary school surf championships on Thursday at Sandy Bay, Tutukaka. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Tai Erceg-Gray, 14, flies high at the second round of the secondary school surf championships on Thursday at Sandy Bay, Tutukaka. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The second scholastics surfing event was held at Sandy Bay in Tutukaka on Thursday with 66 entrants in a full day of surfing, running two podiums for the whole day.
On podium one in the centre of the beach, the under-16 boys, under-18 boys and the longboarders battled out intough but contestable conditions. A sustained onshore blew all day which created some choppy waves whose peaks had to be hunted for, but the swell stayed a consistent two to three foot solid with a few lulls and a few monster sets coming through at times.
Kauai Rahui, 10, from Ngunguru School enjoying a day out in the surf. Photo / Michael Cunningham
On podium two at the south end of the beach, the under-14 boys and under-14, under-16 and under-18 girls had some slightly smaller waves but not by much, with some solid sets and a few closeouts to contend with.
The wildcards in the under-14 boys were standouts again, showing us that the next generation of scholastic surfers in Northland will be tough and seasoned competitors. (Kauai Rahui, Oska Robinson and Isaiah Backhouse, all under 12 years old).
Springbank School's Malindi Reihana-Ruka, 14, was the winner of the under-16 girls division. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Charlotte Taylor in the under-14 girls was charging as usual and in the under-16 girls Malindi Reihana-Ruka came from behind to first place with her no fear attitude when selecting the biggest waves of the heat.
Our top of the under-14 boys competitors, Tai Erceg-Gray and Izaak Hayes met up for a showdown in the final with the results flipping from last scholastics to put Izaak just out in front this time around. The third and final round will be a nail biter for sure to see who wins the best of three between these two talented young surfers.
Thomas Charlesworth, 15, from Pompallier Catholic College clings to a wave on Thursday. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Results:
Under-14 Girls: 1. Charlotte Taylor (Kamo High School/KHS) 2. Saorise O'Brien (Whangārei Girls' High School/WGHS) 3. Jordyn Tana (WGHS) 4. Laurel Suetter (WGHS)
