Harrison Whiteside

Competitors were welcomed to the first event of the South Island Grom Series 2012-2013 with perfect conditions, sunny weather and 1-1.5 metre clean waves.

The groms couldn’t wait to get into the water and enjoy the consistent Westport conditions.

A good field of competitors in the under 17 Boys Division was present and ensured the top seeds would be pushed to progress through the competition.

Solid first round performances from Harrison Whiteside and Nick Tuhikarama put them in clear contention for a finals berth.

In the first Under 17 Boys Semifinal Harrison Whiteside set the standard finding some long left handers working the wave all the way through with some solid combinations leaving Jack Wilson and Liam Wright battling for 2^nd place. Jack Wilson picked up a couple of good short right-handers to cement the other finals spot.

In the second Under 17 Boys Semifinal Nick Tuhikarama showed his class with two solid scores by taking advantage of the more vertical sections that were on offer during the heat and like semifinal one leaving Sam Sands and Brodie Jayes fighting it out with Sam Sands getting one over North Wai Club mate Brodie Jayes.

No sooner had the starting hooter gone in the final of the under 17 boys Harrison Whiteside got a solid set wave and showed his intentions weren’t to let anyone else get a look in this final. Nick Tuhikarama Kept in touch with Harrison which would ensure a good final was in store for all the spectators and locals on the beach. This was not a two man final with Jack Wilson and Sam Sands keeping the two top seeds on their toes only needing another good backup wave to take top spot but, Harrison Whiteside showed everyone his repertoire with multiple vertical turns on the outside leaving his finishing punt on the inside to take the honours leaving Nick Tuhikarama in second, Jack Wilson in third and Sam Sands fourth.

The Girls final had everyone on the edge of their beach towels with all the girls committing to some solid set waves not always going their way but, the girls all pushed each other as they all wanted that top spot but it was Siobhan Jayes who got the best out of the waves with Georgia Wederell and Tegen Bishop nipping at her heels and Greta Hawke a late entry who is showing a lot of commitment and won’t be long before she will be knocking on the door of the top spot.

With only a point between first and third place the fight was to the end with Siobhan Jayes coming out on top with Georgia Wederell second, Tegen Bishop third and Greta Hawke fourth.

In the Under 14 Boys final it was Sam Sands who got the jump on the other competitors with some nice on rail critical turns to set the standard. Under 12 finalist Zac Van Ekelen in back-to-back finals showed a lot of future promise with some very mature surfing to show his intent to take this one to the wire. Liam Wright got two good waves early in the final taking the early led but, could not improve on these during the final.  Conor McLennan and Jake Jayes also got within striking distance of the top spot but couldn’t reel the top three in.  Sam Sands has clearly put one hand on the under 14 South Island title by letting his progressive surfing shine out with Liam Wright taking second, Zac Van Ekelen third, Conor McLennan fourth and Jake Jayes fifth.

It was a man on man final and clash of the titans in the Under 12 Boys final with Jake Jayes and

Zac Van Ekelen going head-to-head

Both surfers enjoyed the luxury of being the only ones out in near perfect conditions being able to pick off the best of the set waves, both surfers showed form above their age group and fearless in the overhead conditions.  It was Zac Van Ekelen who showed the cool head in the conditions with some excellent wave selection show casing his surfing skills and putting the older surfers in the Under 14 Boys on notice.  Jake Jayes committed well to his waves and also demonstrated he was not to be taken for granted and pushed Zac to the end.  It was Zac Van Ekelen taking first place honours leaving Jake Jayes second place this time.

A big thanks to the local Westport community for their support, Anthony Hema from Buller Boardriders and Exit Surf for their support.

Zac Van Ekelen	The groms at Tauranga Bay

South Island 2012-2013 Grom Series Ratings

Under 12 Boys Final:

1st Zac Van Ekelen (9.2)
2 Jake Jayes (2.9)

 

Under 14 Boys Final:
1^st Samuel Sands (9.5)
2^nd Liam Wright (7.1)
3^rd Zac Van Ekelen (6.8)
4^th Conor McLennan (4.4)
5^th Jake Jayes (4.1)

Under 12 Girls Final:
1^st Siobhan Jayes (5.8)
2^nd Georgia Wederell (4.9)
3^rd Tegen Bishop (4.2)
4^th Greta Hawke (2.6)

Under 17 Boys:
1^st Harrison Whiteside (12.8)
2^nd Nick Tuhikarama (10.5)
3^rd Jack Wilson (8.4)
4^th Samuel Sands (7.2)
5^th Liam Wright
5^th Brodie Jayes
7^th Henry Hawke
7^th Harvey Tricker
7^th Moss Thompson
7^th Conor McLennan