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Groms Battle Away in Small Conditions at the Duke Festival Before Comp Shutdown

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The Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing got underway with local Christchurch surfers dominating the small conditions on offer today (Friday 15 March) at New Brighton Beach, Christchurch.

The event was cut short this afternoon with the unprecedented acts of violence taking place in Christchurch.  Event officials acted swiftly finishing up the heat that was running before all the youth were ushered into the New Brighton Library which was also on lockdown.  Many others returned to their accommodation.

We anticipate that the event will resume on Saturday morning but will require the all clear by city officials first.  Other festivities around the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing including the open air cinema scheduled for tonight have been cancelled.

Before the afternoon disruption, the local duo of Myka Black and Jai Oakley used their knowledge of the break to their advantage to shine above the sizeable field of junior surfers. Both surfers advanced through their heats with Oakley advancing to the quarterfinals of the Exit Surf Under 16 Boys Division.

Black and Oakley were also in action in the Joyce and Co Under 18 Boys Division where Black surfed to the highest heat score of the day – 17.7 points out of a possible 20.  Ruben Peyroux (Dun) and James Millar (Chch) joined the two surfers as heat winners.

It was the Christchurch surfers that again dominated the girls divisions.  In the Joyce and Co Under 18 Girls Division it was Tegen Bishop and Ava Henderson that took solid heat wins along with young Taranaki surfer Natasha Gouldsbury.

In the Hellers Under 14 Girls Division, Eden Hungerford and Ana Tau took heat wins for the local surfers but the top seeds fought back with the likes of Anna Brock (Mnt), Jess Haysom (Piha) and Chloe Groube (Pau) all taking heat wins to advance through to the semifinals.

The surf is expected to remain in the 0.5m – 1.0m range on Saturday.  The longboard divisions will commence their competition with dual arenas being contested on both sides of the New Brighton Pier.

The three day event celebrates the sport of surfing under the name of legendary Hawaiian waterman and Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku with surfers from the length of the country heading to New Brighton to take part. While many enter the event for the festivities and the great cause behind the festival which brings to life New Brighton, there will be some fierce rivalries for positions within the New Zealand Team.

Please see below for results from day one of the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing held at New Brighton Beach, Christchurch today (Friday 15 March).

Joyce & Co Under 18 Boys Division Round of 18
Heat 1
Myka Black (Chch), 12.1, 1, Josh McCaffery (Chch), 5.17, 2, Finn Brokenshire (Chch), 2.97, 3

Joyce & Co Under 18 Boys Division Round of 16
Heat 1
James Millar (chch), 10.8, 1, Jacob Fitzgerald (WC), 7.7, 2, Neko Tohiariki (Chch), 7.5, 3, Dara O’Malley (Chch), 7.1, 4
Heat 2
Jai Oakley (Chch), 10.8, 1, Taylor O’Leary (Mur), 9.27, 2, Koby Cameron (Chch), 7.83, 3, Josh McCaffery (Chch), 5.7, 4
Heat 3
Myka Black (Chch), 17.7, 1, Luke Rogers (Chch), 7.87, 2, Liam Heasley (Chch), 7.1, 3, Jack Rosewarne (Ham), 6.07, 4
Heat 4
Ruben Peyroux (Dun), 8.7, 1, Reuben Lyons (Kaik), 8.2, 2, Riley Gibson (Chch), 6.8, 3, Jai Wallis (Piha), 4.03, 4

Joyce and Co Under 18 Girls Round 1
Heat 1

Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 10.7, 1, Estella Hungerford (Chch), 10.7, 2, Eve Findlay (WC), 8.2, 3, Eloise Addison, 1.07, 4
Heat 2
Ava Henderson (Chch), 11.8, 1, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 8.5, 2, Jaya Reardon (Dun), 3.1, 3
Heat 3
Tegen Bishop (Chch), 12.5, 1, Liv Haysom (Piha), 9, 2, Anika Ayson (Dun), 6.8, 3

Exit Surf Under 16 Boys Round of 26
Heat 1

Myka Black (Chch), 14.2, 1, Tom Boothroyd (Chch), 5.6, 2, Kahu Kaan (Dun), 5.2, 3, Rakiatea Tau (ChCh), 4.2, 4

Exit Surf Under 16 Boys Round of 24
Heat 1
Jai Wallis (Piha), 7.5, 1, Tom Boothroyd, 7.03, 2, Jesse Ford (Chch), 3, 3, Karne Gabbott (Dun), 2.8, 4
Heat 2
Koby Cameron (Chch), 8.9, 1, Jacob Fitzgerald (WC), 8.8, 2, Bill Byers (Piha), 8.2, 3, Brookley Ward (Chch), 6.1, 4
Heat 3
Jai Oakley (Chch), 11.1, 1, Campbell Heasley (Chch), 10.3, 2, Jack McKenzie (Chch), 9.07, 3, Jake Owen (Dun), 8.13, 4
Heat 4
Dara O’Malley (Chch), 8.1, 1, Tyler Perry (Chch), 6.9, 2, James Millar (Chch), 6.2, 3, Bailey Pearce (Chch), 3.3, 4
Heat 5
Liam Heasley (Chch), 9.8, 1, Jack Tyro (Chch), 7.2, 2, Nixon Reardon (Dun), 6.4, 3, Thomas Robertson (Chch), 6.1, 4

Hellers Under 14 Boys Round of 32
Heat 1

Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 11.1, 1, Tyler Perry (Chch), 7.6, 2, Rakiatea Tau (Chch), 6.4, 3, Alexis Owen (Dun), 3.3, 4
Heat 2
Jack Tyro (Chch), 9.13, 1, Thomas Robertson (Chch), 8.53, 2, Thomas Boothroyd (Chch), 6.7, 3
Heat 3
Campbell Heasley (Chch), 7.3, 1, Tyce Schumacher (Mnt), 4.1, 2, Darcy Dougherty (Chch), 2.7, 3, Jack Canavan (Chch), 2.5, 4
Heat 4
Bill Byers (Piha), 12, 1, Jake Owen (Dun), 6.27, 2, Sonny Lyons (Kaik), 5.3, 3
Heat 5
Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 9.73, 1, Brookley Ward (Chch), 5.83, 2, Bailey Pearce (Chch), 4.5, 3
Heat 6
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 13.77, 1, Billy Cameron (Chch), 4.73, 2, Kyle Jenner (Chch), 2.2, 3, Noah Nicholson (Chch), 0, 4
Heat 7
Mathias Thompson (Piha), 11.5, 1, Nixon Reardon (Dun), 10.2, 2, Benji Lowen (Chch), 4.9, 3
Heat 8
Jack Mckenzie (Waikuku), 9.43, 1, Karne Gabbot (Dun), 4.1, 2, Kahu Kaan (Dun), 3.93, 3, Luke Norton (Chch), 2.97, 4

Hellers Under 14 Girls Division Round of 18
Heat 1

Ana Tau (Chch), 7.17, 1, Franky Tohiariki (Chch), 7.03, 2, Eloise Addison (Chch), 2, 3, Poppy Entwhistle (Chch), 1.17, 4

Hellers Under 14 Girls Division Round 1
Heat 1

Chloe Groube (Pau), 8.5, 1, Misha Peyroux (Dun), 7.7, 2, Georgia Bradley (Chch), 3.87, 3, Isabel English (Chch), 2, 4
Heat 2
Anna Brock (Mnt), 9.6, 1, Amelie Wink (Chch), 6.8, 2, Ruby Armstrong (Chch), 3.5, 3, Franky Tohiariki (Chch), 0, 4
Heat 3
Eden Hungerford (Chch), 5.37, 1, Ana Tau (Chch), 4.73, 2, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 4.03, 3, Taya Morrison (Dun), 2.5, 4
Heat 4
Jess Haysom (Piha), 7.4, 1, Holly Campbell (Chch), 7.4, 2, Amelia Kirkpatrick (Chch), 5.2, 3, Tessa Gabbot (Dun), 4.6, 4

The surfing events conclude a week-long celebration of surfing related art, movies, workshops and music.

The Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing features over $15,000 in prizes making it one of the richest events on the New Zealand and South Island Surfing Circuits in 2019.

About the Duke Festival of Surfing
In 2015 Ross Tyson made the amazing replica of the Duke’s surfboard as part of the centenary celebrations of Duke Kahanamoku’s surfing and swimming displays in the area. Ross designed the support framework; the pattern for the board was kindly drawn out in full size by Mark Calcutt; Dave Poyner finished the board surface with a beautiful high spec coating.

These celebrations spurned the inaugural “Duke Festival” the following year and the festival is now one of New Zealand’s largest surfing events.

The Duke Festival is about more than just the sport of surfing; it’s about the culture of the beach and those who love the sand between their toes and salt in their hair.

The Duke Festival uses the sport and culture of surfing to raise pride in, and the perception of, the wider New Brighton area.

Information
For more information on the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing please contact Warren Hawke on 021 293 5735 or wajhawke@yahoo.com or Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.

Follow Surfing New Zealand
Keep in touch with all the surfing info from around the country by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.  Follow the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing on Instagram – @dukefestivalofsurfing, Facebook – @Dukesfestival and @dukefestivalof2 on Twitter.

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