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Cutmore and Bishop Take Wins with Titles Spread Across Country

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Raglan’s Caleb Cutmore and Christchurch surfer Tegen Bishop claimed titles in the first of three events in the Billabong Grom Series Presented by Oceanbrdige completed at Mount Maunganui today (Sunday 27th January).

Titles were shared around the country with two going to Whangarei and one each to Raglan, Gisborne, Christchurch and Taranaki.

As forecasted, the swell faded overnight leaving 0.5m waves and offshore winds which were just enough for the grommets to contest the finals of the event.

Despite being the biggest competitor in the final, Cutmore generated extraordinary speed in the small waves, something he put down to his epoxy Channel Island surfboard.

“I am just enjoying riding this epoxy, it is going really well and getting a lot of speed which helps in these conditions” he said.

Cutmore had a good battle with friend Jack Lee who he attends the Raglan Surf Academy with but he finished with a 13.17 point heat total to Lee’s 12.3.

“I was worried about Jack the whole time, I knew he didn’t need too much and I surf with him a lot so know what he is capable of, I didn’t want to give him too many opportunities” he added.

Waihi Beach surfer Thomas Carter finished third in the final ahead of the top local surfer Luke Griffin in fourth.

Tegen Bishop (Chch) finally found the form she is capable of surfing to a win in the Under 18 Girls Division.  In the small conditions, it was a 6.5 point ride for a two-turn forehand combo that differentiated her from her opponents.

“It was good to get a win today and get my confidence back up again” said a relieved Bishop.

“It was kinda like Christchurch out there so I am used to those conditions and it was just about finding those shoulders” she added.

Bishop topped Gabrielle Paul (Piha) in the final with Paul finishing ahead of Georgia Wederell (Mnt) in third and Baylin Klein Ovink (Auck) in fourth.

The roles were reversed in the Under 16 Boys Division with the two Tom’s, Butland and Robinson, going head-to-head, this time around, Robinson coming out on top.  Robinson left it until the last minute of the final, when, with priority, he paddled into the biggest wave of the final and scored a 9.0 point ride.  It was enough to push Butland back into second place after having led for much of the final.  Jayden Willoughby (Rag) finished in third place ahead of Josef Jungwirth (Rag) in fourth.

Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara) claimed her second win of the year in the Under 16 Girls Division surfing to an 11.7 point heat total, highlighted by a 5.87 on her last wave.  It was enough to push her past Ava Henderson (Chch) who finished in second, Hannah King (Gis) in third and Brie Bennett (Rag) in fourth.

Tai Erceg-Gray (Whangarei) surfed to his first win in the Under 14 Boys Division.  The young Northland surfer has shown a huge improvement at the start of the season to the point where he is now vying for, and winning, titles.

A cleanly surfed right-hander all the way to the beach netting a six point ride was enough for Erceg – Gray to secure the win in the final.  Mount Maunganui youngster Tao Mouldey made a late charge for the win but finished in second place ahead of Navryn Malone (Rag) in third and Kalani Louis (Tara) in fourth.

Gisborne’s Asia Braithwaite claimed the title in the Under 14 Girls Division, her first win at national level, besting her fourth place finish at the National Championships.  Braithwaite surfed to a 9.66 point heat total to edge out local surfer Anna Brock (9.17) with Amelie Brady (Mnt) in third and Jess Haysom (Piha) in fourth.

Please see below for final results from the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge Event 1 completed at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui today (Sunday 27th January 2019).

Under 18 Boys Division Final
Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 13.17, 1, Jack Lee (Whaka), 12.3, 2, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 9.3, 3, Luke Griffin (Mnt), 8.9, 4


Under 16 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1

Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 12, 1, Tom Butland (Tara), 11.8, 2, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 11.74, 3, Luke Rogers (Dun), 9.2, 4
Heat 2
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 10.53, 1, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 10.14, 2, Jacob Saunders (TGA), 9.67, 3, Finn Vette (Gis), 9.1, 4

Under 14 Boys Division Final
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 16.17, 1, Tom Butland (Tara), 13.96, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 9.87, 3, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 7.13, 4

Under 14 Boys Quarterfinals
Heat 1

Kalani Louis (Tara), 11.13, 1, Jack Tyro (Chch), 10.07, 2, Tiger West-Hill (Gis), 9.67, 3, Milo Livingston (Gis), 4.23, 4
Heat 2
Jack Mckenzie (Waikuku), 14.2, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 10, 2, Bill Byers (Piha), 8.93, 3, Ben Milne (WGM), 5.03, 4
Heat 3
Ryder Pennington (Tara), 9.23, 1, Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 9, 2, Eli Livingston (Gis), 5.64, 3, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 5.17, 4
Heat 4
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 13.16, 1, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 8.2, 2, Tava Santorik (Mnt), 7.3, 3, Cooper Roberts (Mnt), 6.76, 4

Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1

Navryn Malone (Rag), 8.47, 1, Kalani Louis (Tara), 7.43, 2, Jack Tyro (Chch), 7.20, 3, Jack Mckenzie (Waikuku), 6.66, 4
Heat 2
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 9.83, 1, Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 9.60, 2, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 9.14, 3, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 7.43, 4

Under 14 Boys Division Final
Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 10.8, 1, Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 9.4, 2, Navryn Malone (Rag), 8.87, 3, Kalani Louis (Tara), 8.2, 4

Under 18 Girls Division Final
Tegen Bishop (Chch), 11.2, 1, Gabrielle Paul (Auck), 8.43, 2, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 6.83, 3, Baylin Klein Ovink (Auck), 4.77, 4

Under 16 Girls Division Final
Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 11.7, 1, Ava Henderson (Chch), 9.93, 2, Hannah King (Gis), 4.97, 3, Brie Bennett (Rag), 3.16, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Round 1
Heat 1

Mahia Braithwaite (Gis), 9.33, 1, Jess Haysom (Piha), 6.6, 2, Ariana Walker (Mnt), 5.27, 3, Amanda Gouldsbury (Tara), 4.07, 4
Heat 2
Anna Brock (Mnt), 13.67, 1, Chloe Groube (Pau), 8.9, 2, Alani Morse (Orewa), 6.23, 3
Heat 3
Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 10.34, 1, Amelie Brady (Mnt), 6.7, 2, Pia Rogers (WGM), 6.53, 3, Lola Groube (Pau), 3, 4
Heat 4
Sophia Brock (Mnt), 10.66, 1, India Kennings (WGM), 6.7, 2, Naiobi Nishida (Tara), 3.67, 3, Coral Woods (Gis), 3, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1

Anna Brock (Mnt), 10.93, 1, Amelie Brady (Mnt), 7.33, 2, India Kennings (WGM), 3.9, 3, Mahia Braithwaite (Gis), 2.93, 4
Heat 2
Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 10.07, 1, Jess Haysom (Piha), 6.67, 2, Chloe Groube (Pau), 6.3, 3, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 5.47, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Final
Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 9.66, 1, Anna Brock (Mnt), 9.17, 2, Amelie Brady (Mnt), 3.56, 3, Jess Haysom (Piha), 3.3, 4

The 2019 edition of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge is split into three divisions for boys and girls ranging from Under 14 through to Under 18 in two year increments.

It is the fourteenth year that Billabong has sponsored the series in partnership with Oceanbridge who have been a proud long-time supporter of surfing in New Zealand.

Entry into the two remaining Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge events can be completed here:

Event 2 – 9 – 10 February, Whangamata
Event 3 – 23 – 24 February, Piha Beach, Auckland

Further Information
For further information on the 2019 Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.

Imagery
Web clips will be distributed free of charge from each event.  Please contact Ben Kennings for further details.

High resolution action images of the surfing at all events on the Billabong Grom Series will be available to media free of charge.

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

Partners
Generous support from Billabong, presenting sponsors Oceanbridge, Kustom, Da Kine, Von Zipper and Amazon Surf has made this series possible.

Thanks to Bay Boardriders for hosting the event.

Follow the event
Follow the action via social media @billabong on Instagram and @surfingnz across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.  Follow the series hashtag – #BillabongGromSeries.

Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:

Sport NZ
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ

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