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Junior Surfers Relish Improved Dunedin Conditions

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New Zealand’s elite surfers were afforded a day off at the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships today (Wednesday 8th January) while the youngest participants in the event got stuck into the action at St Clair Beach, Dunedin.

Smaller surf around the 1.0m mark and clean surface conditions made for a great platform for the New Zealand’s next generation of talent to take to the water.

The Raglan quartet in the Under 16 Boys Division dominated the day pushing through to the final eight surfers.  Navryn Malone, Kora Cooper, Jayden Willoughby and Tana Clapham all advanced to the semifinals, Malone looking the most impressive on the way to a 14.84 point heat total.

14-year-old Malone won a title in 2019 but is surfing in a new age category this year which appears to have had no impact on his performances.

Malone, Willoughby and Clapham will face off against each other in one semifinal while Cooper will take on the in-form Finn Vette (Gis) who was another standout.  Vette cruised his way to a big 12.93 point heat total thanks to an excellent first wave on his backhand that netted him 7.1 points out of a possible 10.

In the Under 16 Girls Division, Auckland’s Liv Haysom (Piha) surfed to a 10.5 point heat total as the standout surfer alongside Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara) who posted a 10.4 point heat total to advance to the semifinals.  The two surfers meet each other in their next heat alongside Christchurch surfer Leah Wilson.  In the other semifinal, New Zealand representative Ava Henderson (Chch) will face off against Anna Brock (Mnt) and Amelie Wink (Chch).

As well as the two titles on offer for the boys and girls, surfers in the Under 16 Divisions will be surfing for national selection later in the year.  The Health 2000 National Championships is the first event of New Zealand Grom Series with several events scheduled over the summer months in the build up to the World Junior Championships.

Surfers as young as nine years of age took to the water in the Under 14 Divisions including now-finalist Poppy Pennington (Tara).  The youngest surfer in the event made her way through two rounds today to make the final.  Late last year, the diminutive surfer won the junior division at the Aotearoa Maori Titles and she has continued her courageous form at this event.  She will be joined by local surfer Misha Peyroux, Jess Haysom (Piha) and defending champion Amarnie Barber (Aus) in the final.

Some of the most exciting surfing of the day came in the Under 14 Boys Division from the likes of Alexis Owen (Dun), Ryder Pennington (Tara), Karne Gabbott (Dun) and Tao Mouldey (Mnt) who all advanced through to the final.  Pennington matched his younger sister’s performances surfing to a 15.0 point heat total in the early rounds.  Meanwhile, local hopes were kept alive by Owen and Gabbott who will surf off in the final.

The surf is expected to build throughout Thursday with light winds forecasted.  It is highly likely that the Open Men’s Division will be back in the water contesting the quarterfinals along with a number of the senior men’s divisions.

Defending Champion Billy Stairmand will continue his campaign for an eighth national title while the likes of Elliot Paerata – Reid (Piha), Daniel Farr (Tara) and local hope Elliott Brown (Dun) will go for their first title in the division.

Surfers in the Open Men and Women’s Divisions will also be vying for the final two places in the Piha Pro Trials scheduled for March this year.

The final day of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships being held on Saturday will also be streamed live via the Sky Sport Next YouTube channel.

Action will take place from 800am on Thursday morning with confirmation of venue and order of events to be confirmed at 7:00am.  The likely venue will be St Clair Beach.

Please see below for results from day three of the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships held at St Clair Beach, Dunedin today (Wednesday 8th January).

Under 16 Boys Quarterfinals
Heat 1

Ryder Pennington (Tara), 10.7, 1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 9.67, 2, James Millar (Chch), 9.63, 3, Tai Erceg – Gray (Whngrei), 8, 4
Heat 2
Navryn Malone (Rag), 14.84, 1, Tana Clapham (Rag), 8.9, 2, Jack McKenzie (Chch), 8.84, 3, Luke Rogers (Dun), 7.27, 4
Heat 3
Finn Vette (Gis), 12.93, 1, Bill Byers (Piha), 8.23, 2, Jack Tyro (Chch), 7.13, 3, Reuben Lyons (Kaik), 6.87, 4
Heat 4
Kora Cooper (Rag), 14.34, 1, Kalani Louis (Tara), 9.63, 2, Ari D’Anvers (Whngrei), 6.5, 3, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay), 5.17, 4

Under 14 Boys Round 1
Heat 1

Ben Milne (WGM), 9.07, 1, Daniel Cox (WGM), 6.53, 2, Ashton Rogers (WGM), 6, 3, Remy Sale (Auck), 2.43, 4
Heat 2
Lewis Murphy (Dun), 9, 1, Otis Baxter (WGM), 8.4, 2, Kauai Rahui (Whgrei), 4.3, 3, Hugo Sale (Auck), 1.33, 4

Under 14 Boys Round 2
Heat 1

Alexis Owen (Dun), 9, 1, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 8.4, 2, Ben Milne (WGM), 4.3, 3, Will Hardie (Piha), 1.33, 4
Heat 2
Jack Tyro (Chch), 9.73, 1, Thomas Robertson (Chch), 7.2, 2, Daniel Cox (WGM), 6.16, 3, Maceo Thompson (Piha), 5.77, 4
Heat 3
Ryder Pennington (Tara), 15, 1, Rakiatea Tau (Chch), 9, 2, Otis Baxter (WGM), 8.5, 3, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 6.97, 4
Heat 4
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 11.5, 1, Karne Gabbot (Dun), 8.33, 2, Lewis Murphy (Dun), 6.44, 3, Sonny Lyons (Kaik), 6, 4

Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1
Alexis Owen (Dun), 10, 1, Karne Gabbot (Dun), 9.63, 2, Rakiatea Tau (Chch), 7.5, 3, Jack Tyro (Chch), 6.8, 4
Heat 2
Ryder Pennington (Tara), 9.77, 1, Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 8.8, 2, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 7.3, 3, Thomas Robertson (Chch), 5.54, 4

Under 16 Girls Division Round 1
Heat 1

Liv Haysom (Piha), 10.5, 1, Anna Brock (Mnt), 6.73, 2, Amarnie Barber (Aus), 6.5, 3, Sophia Brock (Mnt), n/s,
Heat 2
Ava Henderson (Chch), 6.94, 1, Amelie Wink (Chch), 4.16, 2, Jess Haysom (Piha), 3.5, 3, Taya Morrison (Dun), 2.63, 4
Heat 3
Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 10.4, 1, Leah Wilson (Chch), 7.73, 2, Misha Peyroux (Dun), 7.13, 3, Eloise Addison (Chch), 2.37, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Round 1
Heat 1

Skylar McFetridge (Tara), 9.83, 1, Rewa Morrison (Dun), 4.6, 2, Bella Burns (Dun), 2.17, 3

Under 14 Girls Division Round 2
Heat 1

Amanda Gouldsbury (Tara), 8, 1, Jess Haysom (Piha), 3.96, 2, Rawinia Andrews (Tara), 2.26, 3, Kyra Wallis (Piha), n/s,
Heat 2
Amarnie Barber (Aus), 12.07, 1, Misha Peyroux (Dun), 7.3, 2, Rewa Morrison (Dun), 2.43, 3, Ana Tau (Chch), 2.33, 4
Heat 3
Pia Rogers (WGM), 9.8, 1, Skylar McFetridge (Tara), 5.76, 2, Izzy Milne (WGM), 4.43, 3, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 0, n/s
Heat 4
Tessa Gabbott (Dun), 6.13, 1, Poppy Pennington (Tara), 4.77, 2, Chloe Groube (Pau), 4.33, 3, Ruby Milne (WGM), 2.7, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Amarnie Barber (Aus), 11.1, 1, Poppy Pennington (Tara), 4.97, 2, Skylar McFetridge (Tara), 3.9, 3, Amanda Gouldsbury (Tara), 3.74, 4
Heat 2
Jess Haysom (Piha), 6, 1, Misha Peyroux (Dun), 4.9, 2, Pia Rogers (WGM), 4.46, 3, Tessa Gabbott (Dun), 3.3, 4

2020 marks surfing’s debut as an Olympic sport and come July, New Zealand will have at least two athletes competing at the inaugural surfing event in Tokyo.

The Health 2000 National Surfing Championships is the first of several domestic events where Kiwi surfers will get the opportunity to push for selection into the New Zealand Team that will attend the World Surfing Games in May.  Under International Surfing Association (ISA) guidelines, Stairmand and Williams along with Paige Hareb (Tara) and Ricardo Christie (Gis) are automatic selections for the New Zealand Team leaving only one spot each for the men and women.

It is the eighth time the National Championships has been held at Dunedin.  The longest running surfing event in New Zealand takes place over six days from January 6-11.  In the 56 year history of the event the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships has grown to encompass 29 divisions spread across all disciplines and age groups making for a largely inclusive event, filled with high level surfing as well as good times in and out of the water.  Over 280 entries have been received for the event.

Further Information
For further information on the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships 2020 please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.

Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing will be available to media free of charge upon request.

Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506.  This will be updated daily at approximately 7am with venue, divisions contested and conditions.

Social Media
Keep up with all the action by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Use the hashtag #H2KNats2020 to follow the story.

Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:

Sport NZ
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ

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