Gisborne grom Charlotte McDiarmid on her way to victory in the under-14 girls' final of the Gisborne Junior Pro. Photo / Cory / NZ Surfing Magazine
Gisborne grom Charlotte McDiarmid on her way to victory in the under-14 girls' final of the Gisborne Junior Pro. Photo / Cory / NZ Surfing Magazine
Gisborne surfer Charlotte McDiarmid won the under-14 girls’ division of the final event of the New Zealand Grom Series at the weekend.
McDiarmid beat a trio of Mt Maunganui surfers in her first grom series final of the year. Millie Dyck was second, Nami Marsden third and Jayda Bramley fourth.McDiarmid also took out one of the two best-manoeuvre awards for the u14 division.
Other Gisborne surfers to make finals were Te Waiotu Fairlie (a career-best second in the u18 girls), William Matthews (third in the u18 boys, his best result of the season), Jaxon Pardoe (fourth in the u14 boys, his best result of the season) and Brooke Matthews (fourth in the u16 girls).
With a massive southerly swell rampaging up the east coast of New Zealand, the first day of competition in the Sequence Surf Gisborne Junior Pro was held at Tolaga Bay on Saturday.
The u14 boys’ and girls’ divisions were completed in the clean 1m waves fanned by offshore winds, and early heats of the u16 boys’ division were held late in the afternoon.
On Sunday the competition moved to Gisborne’s Midway Beach, where perfect 1.5m to 2m waves pushed surfers to the limit as a large southerly swell pulsed directly towards the shore.
It was a game of power surfing in solid waves, and Soren Bucka-Christensen (Taranaki) and Leia Millar (Piha) won the u18 boys’ and girls’ divisions respectively.
Bucka-Christensen was built for the conditions and powered his way through the competition to make his first final of the season and take a well-deserved win.
He saved his best surfing for the final, posting a 16-point total and leaving his opponents needing massive scores to challenge.
Christian Fougere (Auckland) was second, equalling his best result of the season.
Gisborne’s Matthews was third and Tava Santorik fourth.
William Matthews was among the local surfers to make finals at the Gisborne Junior Pro over the weekend. He placed third in the under-18 boys' final. Photo / Cory / NZ Surfing Magazine
Santorik was the form surfer through the preliminary rounds, with performances that earned him the Creatures Highest Heat Score Award and the Volkswagen Highest Single Wave Score.
Millar surfed to her fifth win of the year in the u18 girls’ division, with a 14.50-point heat total. She travels to Indonesia in the next two weeks to enter her first WSL qualifying series event.
Gisborne’s Fairlie made the most of home waters, edging past Pia Rogers (Whangamata) in the final for her career-best result. Rogers was third and Ayla Gee (Raglan) fourth.
Vitor Bauermann (Mt Maunganui) surfed up a division with the u16 boys and won the final with a 14.10-point heat total. He had already done enough to earn the Sequence Surf Shop Manoeuvre of the Division award for a huge backhand close-out turn.
Zade Pitkeathly (Mt Maunganui) was second, Beck Allen (Hawke’s Bay) third and Tyler Stenzel (Mt Maunganui) fourth.
Kyra Wallis (Piha) claimed her third win of the season in the u16 girls’ division with a clutch performance. She surfed her final wave with two seconds on the clock to move from third to first. The 4.35 points for her last wave gave her a heat total of 11.85.
That deprived Sage Fritchley (Mt Maunganui) of her first series win. She had to settle for second, ahead of third-placed Poppy Entwisle (Oakura) and Gisborne’s Brooke Matthews, fourth.
Auckland’s Jesse Frazerhurst held his No.1 ranking in the u14 boys’ division with his third successive win of the season. He looked sharp from his first heat on Saturday morning and carried that form through to the final, where he posted a heat total of 9.60. Frazerhurst was in second place for much of the final. His last wave, on the hooter, scored 5.25, which bumped Kentaro Mitchell (Ahipara) down to second place. Ōhope surfer Beau Broadhurst finished third and Gisborne’s Pardoe was fourth.
The two best-manoeuvre awards for the u14 division went to Logan Vester (Taranaki) and Gisborne’s McDiarmid.
Pitkeathly took out the award for highest wave score of the first day with a 7.75-point ride for a clean two-turn combo.
