Paerata Reid pips Moretti

Mimiwhangata surfer Paul Moretti led in the final of the Quiksilver King of the Groms held at Gisborne until Piha surfer Elliot Paerata-Reid snatched victory off him.
Despite the tide dropping out during the day, Paerata-Reid used his patience to win the final by surfing the two highest scoring rides late in the piece in clean 1.0m waves at Pines at Wainui Beach.
He opened his account early with a 5.3 point ride for two big backhand turns but found himself trailing eventual runner-up Moretti for most of the under-16 boys final on Sunday.
Moretti sat on a low 9.3 point heat total but looked to blow the final apart with a big air reverse that he could not quite manage to ride out of.
Shortly after that the pack of four finalists split with Paerata-Reid heading south and the other three surfers heading north hassling each other as they went. The Piha surfer had the pick of the waves from then on and a nice peeling set wave came through which he paddled into and smashed to the beach on his backhand scoring 7.17 finishing with an exuberant claim knowing what he had just achieved.
"We were all sitting together and Dad directed me down the beach away from the others and then that wave came through and yeah, I got the score," he said.
Paerata-Reid won a trip for two to France and a chance to represent New Zealand in the International Quiksilver King of the Groms Final which annually hosts the best grommets from around the world. Moretti and Paerata-Reid were both named last week in the New Zealand team to compete at the World Championships in Peru later this year.
Local surfer Jules Craft placed third in the final and was another surfer not without his chances catching some of the best waves during the 25 minutes but falling at critical moments. Whangamata surfer Dune Kennings finished in fourth place.
Gisborne's Dayna Story won the Roxy U16 Girls Division final taking down the more favoured Jayda Martin Fitzharris, also of Gisborne ahead of Jasmine Smith and Hannah Kohn.
Another Gisborne local, Korbin Hutchings, won the U14 Boys Division over young Mount Maunganui surfer Kehu Butler who for the last three minutes was unable to find the 3.28 point ride to move him up into first place. Butler finished the final in second ahead of Sam Deeley (Florida) in third and Christchurch surfer Harrison Whiteside in fourth.
In the Surfers Skin Under-12 Boys Division, 11-year-old Tane Bowden from Whangamata claimed his first ever victory at national level.