Ahipara teenager Toni Mekkelholt was one of several Far North students who stood out in their divisions when the first leg of the 2013 Northland Scholastic Surfing Series was held in mostly clean 0.5-1m waves at Ocean Beach on April 12.
The 15-year-old Kaitaia College student put her best foot forward to take first place in the under-16 girls division, albeit against only one other competitor, while 13-year-old brother Callum - also representing Kaitaia College - finished 3rd in the under-14 boys grade. Both goofy-footers were expected to apply local knowledge to bolster their standings when the second event is held at their homebreaks next month.
They were among a band of Kaitaia College students who piled into the school van and left at 4am on the day of competition without even being sure if the event would go ahead (with organisers still to make a call). However, the unanimous cry from the troupe was something along the lines of, a bad day even just searching for surf is better than a good day at school!
Other locals standing up to be counted at the Friday event were all from Kerikeri High School. The best performer was Joe Palmer who finished 2nd in the highly competitive U18 boys division behind Fraser Seymour of Whangarei Boys High, while schoolmates Julia Moyle, and Alice Autet took 2nd and 3rd placings in the U14 girls' division respectively, and Murphy Heller finished as runner up in the U14 boys.
Overall, the event was dominated by Whangarei school students, noted organiser Tony Baker. While the province's most successful surfer of recent times, national U14 champion Manu Scott Arietta, was conspicuous by his absence from the U16 boys division, Baker said the quality of surfing remained strong among the 50 entries which came from across the province, particularly in the morning session which saw relatively contestable high-tide banks on offer.
"It was obvious that many surfers have been hard in training during this summer of swell that never seems to end," said Baker, admitting the quality of the waves deteriorated seriously as the tide went out and the afternoon seabreeze kicked in. He also noted the event enjoyed the most entries in the girls' divisions, 11, since the series began in 2010, while the under-16 boys was the most highly contested division on the day with 30 entries.
Event 2 of the three/ four-leg series will likely be held on Friday, May 17, probably in Ahipara, depending on conditions. The top qualifiers will gain qualification into the Northland team contesting the 2013 national scholastic surfing champs.