The first elimination rounds of the National Scholastic Surfing Championships have seen three teams emerge unscathed with a full complement of surfers and they now take a points advantage after day two of the event held at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Tuesday 8th October).
Auckland sits atop the table ahead of Northland with Bay of Plenty rounding out the top three teams.
Day two saw clean waves of up to 1.0m with good sets but big lulls in between. The light onshore winds made for great conditions all day.
Auckland’s day was topped off with their two longboarders dominating proceedings at the end of the day, 15-year-old Nat Fitt posting a 12.2 point heat total as the standout.
“It was tough on my backhand, it is something different because I don’t get to surf point breaks on my log that often but it is good to mix it up compared to surfing at home on the East Coast,” said the modest natural foot surfer based out of the North Shore of Auckland.
“Our team are supporting each other well” added Fitt, “We came second last year so it would be cool to top that this year but I guess it is all about having fun mainly”.
Fitt was joined by Ben Counsell who advanced out of his heat with a 12.8 point heat total plus the Haysom sisters Liv and Jess advancing in the girls divisions and Cassidy Mann in the Under 18 Boys Division.
The Bay of Plenty Team saw a number of their top surfers excel throughout the day including Luke Griffin and Jack Lee in the Under 18 Boys Division. The two surfers advanced through to the last 12 surfers in their division posting 13.05 and 14.5 point hat totals respectively, Griffin looking sharp on his forehand while Lee used his backhand skills honed from being part of the Raglan Surf Academy for the past two years.
Canterbury surfer Ava Henderson was the top-performing surfer on day two posting an 18.4 point heat total on her way to a comfortably victory.
“The waves are pretty fun out there, couple of runners if you get the right one” said the young Cantabrian.
It is Henderson’s first year as part of the Canterbury Team and she is fresh back from success in Australia, however, this event, being team-based, is a stark contrast to her individual performances across the Tasman.
“I have enjoyed the event so far, everyone here is in their teams and it is not the usual individual thing that surfers are used to” said Henderson, adding “it’s not just for yourself it is for the team.”
“Our team is solid this year, we are trying to defend the title, we are fifth so we need to make up some ground with good results over the next three days” she added.
Northland is the third team remaining with a full complement of surfers in the event. The team was led by big performances from Billy Gilbert and Max Brunker in the Under 18 Boys Division with Tai Erceg – Gray and Izaak Hayes joining them in the Under 14 Boys Division.
Conditions are expected to be clean on Wednesday but the swell will be at its smallest for the week which may necessitate a venue change. Conditions will be assessed at daybreak to confirm where the event will be held for day three. Follow the live scoring at www.compusurf.com.au.
Please see below for results from day two of the 2019 National Scholastic Surfing Championships held at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Tuesday 8th October).
Under 18 Boys Division Requalify Round 1
Heat 1
Shay Wells (Tara), 10.05, 1, Trae Cooney (Coro), 7.76, 2, Toby Marks (Wgtn), 6.65, 3, Alan Paterson (W.C), 5.36, 4
Heat 2
Lucca Lind (Tara), 13.65, 1, Euan McLaren (Wgtn), 5.55, 2, Luke Kay (H Bay), 4.1, 3
Heat 3
Josh Sheridan (Nel), 7.25, 1, Jack Ryan (H Bay), 6.5, 2,, Oscar Averill (H Bay), 4.9, 3, Dallas Snook (Wgtn), 4.2, 4
Heat 4
Harry Evans (Coro), 8.95, 1, Zinny Halsall (W.C), 7.6, 2, Jack Healy (Wgtn), 6.9, 3, Jonah Christians (Wgtn), 5.45, 4
Under 18 Boys Round 2
Heat 1
Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 15.8, 1, Cassidy Mann (Auck), 13.5, 2, Shay Wells (Tara), 9.15, 3, Euan McLaren (Wgtn), 3.7, 4
Heat 2
William Van der Beek (Mnt), 13.65, 1, Luis Southwood (Whaka), 13.55, 2, Ben Smith (Coro), 9.6, 3, Trae Cooney (Coro), 6.1, 4
Heat 3
Luke Griffin (Mnt), 13.05, 1, Billy Gilbert (Nrthlnd), 10.36, 2, Lucca Lind (Tara), 7.46, 3, Fergus Duncan (Wgtn), 6.56, 4
Heat 4
Tom Butland (Tara), 11.75, 1, Taylor O’Leary (Mur), 10.9, 2, Noah Collier (Gis), 7.15, 3, Jack Ryan (H Bay), 4.6, 4
Heat 5
Neko Tohiariki (Chch), 11, 1, Max Brunker (Nrthlnd), 9.45, 2, Harry Evans (Coro), 5.25, 3, Lachlan Reddish (Wgtn), 3.2, 4
Heat 6
Jack Lee (Whaka), 14.5, 1, Josh Sheridan (Nel), 6.8, 2, Zinny Halsall (W.C), 5, 3, Riley Gibson (Chch), 4.1, 4
Under 16 Boys Requalify Round 1
Heat 1
Jay Gordon (Coro), 11.5, 1, Hue Cowie (Gis), 10.75, 2, Max de Groot (HBay), 9.15, 3, Louis Evans (Gis), 5.1, 4
Heat 2
Flynn Healy (Wgtn), 11.1, 1, Keanu Martin (W.C), 8.25, 2, Cameron Broad (H Bay), 7.7, 3, Darren Thompson (W.C), 5.45, 4
Heat 3
Ethan Wray (Tara), 10.5, 1, Ben Wharton (Coro) , 8.85, 2, Tobias Murfitt (H Bay), 8.3, 3, Alfie Berben (Wgtn), 5.7, 4
Heat 4
Jacob Buckle (Whngrei), 13.85, 1, Jacob Fitzgerald (W.C), 11.15, 2, Kobey Gregory (HBay), 10.75, 3, Max Hahn (Wgtn), 7.3, 4
Heat 5
Luca Rendle (H Bay), 8.85, 1, Cade O’Dea (W.C), 6.9, 2, Kava Matthews (Tara), 5.95, 3, Kalani Smith (Coro), 4.25, 4
Under 18 Girls Requalify Round 1
Heat 1
Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 13.4, 1, Stella Smith (Gis), 12.36, 2, Eve Findlay (WC), 8.7, 3, Sasha Kirkwood (Rag), 5.2, 4
Under 16 Girls Round 1
Heat 1
Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 12.85, 1, Hannah King (Gis), 9, 2, Leah Wilson (Chch), 7.7, 3
Heat 2
Liv Haysom (Piha), 9.75, 1, Daizee Rawles (Gis), 6.2, 2, Lydia Hawes (WC), 2.3, 3, Malindi Reihana-Ruka (Nrthlnd), 2, 4
Heat 3
Ariana Shewry (Tara), 11.05, 1, Brie Bennett (Rag), 9.8, 2, Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 5.25, 3, Jessie Roche (W.C), 0.95, 4
The National Scholastic Surfing Championships began in 1989. The event, which has unearthed two generations of top Kiwi talent, takes place all week at the famed Manu Bay location, home to the perfect left-hand point break.
The 2019 National Scholastic Surfing Championships is sanctioned by Surfing New Zealand, the Secondary School Sport NZ and supported by Pub Charity.
For more information on these events please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution images from the event will be available to media upon request.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ
Ends
