Mount Maunganui surfer Tao Mouldey snatches victory at Billabong Grom Series. Mouldey is chaired up by his brother Zen and runner-up Macka Hazard. Photo / PhotoCPL.
Mount Maunganui surfer Tao Mouldey snatches victory at Billabong Grom Series. Mouldey is chaired up by his brother Zen and runner-up Macka Hazard. Photo / PhotoCPL.
Mount Maunganui surfer Tao Mouldey snatched victory at a tough outing for the second three events of the Billabong Grom Series at Whangamatā at the weekend.
The event saw the forecasted swell getting pushed out, leaving New Zealand’s top junior talent battling it out in small 0.5m waves.
The conditionsmight not have co-operated but the participants made the best of the waves with Mouldey snatching victory from Australian-based Macka Hazard to claim his second win of the season, while Raglan’s Maya Mateja went back-to-back in the Under 18 Girls Division, showing her class despite the small conditions.
By way of Mateja’s win with Alani Morse and Luca Thompson in the U16s, plus Jimmy Wernham in the U14 Boys, Point Boardriders of Raglan claimed the overall top club for the event.
Mouldey was left needing a big score in the final with Hazard holding on to the lead thanks to his lethal backhand attack.
Mouldey delivered with a 7.07-point ride to equal Hazard on 12.90 points but take the lead on a tiebreak.
Hazard had to settle for second place in the final, his best result of the season, while Tava Santorik (Mnt) finished in third place and Piha’s Sev Tolhurst finished in fourth.
The Billabong Grom Series Under 18 Girls Division Finalists - Sage Fritchley, Maya Mateja, Chloe Groube and Poppy Entwisle. Photo / PhotoCPL.
A split peak by Under-18 Girls Division front-runners Maya Mateja and Sage Fritchley (Mnt) determined the outcome of the final with Mateja surfing to an 8.83 point ride with Fritchley an 8.17.
It was the dying stages of the final and both surfed the wave on their backhand with the smooth Mateja getting the nod at 15.86 to Fritchley’s 13.74.
The two surfers now sit first and second on the NZ Grom Series rankings heading into the next event.
Chloe Groube (Pau) placed third in the final with a welcome return to the podium while Poppy Entwisle (Tara) finished her third consecutive final in fourth place.
In the Under 16 Boys Division it was the Raglan surfers that went at it, Luca Thompson getting the nod over Indica Corcoran thanks to their final exchange with Thompson posting a 7.40 to Corcoran’s 7.0.
Piha surfer Zeke Pragert finished in third with first-time finalist Ollie Tong (Gis) finishing in fourth.
Alani Morse (Rag) went back-to-back after her win at the first event held at Mount Maunganui, claiming the U16 Girls Division over Indi-Lee Ruddell (Whangārei) in second place, Poppy Arkle (Piha) in third and Kyra Wallis (Piha) in fourth.
Raglan’s Jimmy Wernham and Ahipara’s Jade Nias Phillips claimed the U14 Divisions late on Saturday afternoon.
Wernham was a first-time participant at a national level and stormed through the field of surfers to win his division.
Full and final results of the second event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge held at Whangamatā on February 8-9 can be found here – www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.
The 2025 edition of the series draws on a long history of fun with all of New Zealand’s current crop of elite surfers having taken part including Richard Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Mount Maunganui’s own Kehu Butler and Ella Williams (WGM).
