Kiwi groms from around the country are lining up the final event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge this weekend with six series titles on the line come Sunday.
Participants will be spurred on by guest appearances from 1999 World Champion Mark Occhilupo and current World Tour surfer Ryan Callinan both of Australia who are here on a Billabong promotional tour. The two surfers will be at the beach on Sunday to witness action in the finals.
Piha Beach provides the setting for the final event after stops at Munt Maunganui and Whangamata. The swell is expected to offer vastly different conditions compared with the first two events. A 1.5m swell and onshore winds is forecasted with conditions expected to challenge participants.
Whakatane surfer Luis Southerwood sealed back-to-back wins in the first two events of the series and barring a disaster in the first round of the Under 18 Boys Division, will claim the series title.
The Under 18 Girls Division is a head-to-head battle with current leader Georgia Wederell (Mnt) and Christchurch surfer Estella Hungerford. A runner-up finish will be enough for Wederell to claim the title but a third place finish and a win by Hungerford would see the two surfers finish in an unbreakable tie.
The Under 16 Boys Division is the most hotly contested with the top five surfers all in with a chance of taking out the series. Raglan’s Jayden Willoughby and Kora Cooper are the front runners but Finn Vette (Gis) has been the form surfer this summer and could sneak up and grab the series win with a big performance this weekend.
Taranaki surfer Natasha Gouldsbury can seal a series win by finishing runner-up or higher in the Under 16 Girls Division. Gouldsbury and local Piha surfer Liv Haysom will battle it out for the title with Haysom needing a win and Gouldsbury to place third or lower.
Mount Maunganui’s Tao Mouldey is being chased by a big pack of surfers in the Under 14 Boys Division. The young goofyfoot surfer won the first two events of the series and he will be impossible to beat should he advance to the semifinals or further.
Pauanui’s Chloe Groube holds the upper-hand in the Under 14 Girls Division but local surfer Leia Millar can seal her own fate with a win which would be enough to leap frog Groube and take the series.
Action will take place from 8:00am each day with surfing running through to late afternoon.
Please see below for current Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge standings after two of three events.
Under 18 Boys Top 5
1, Luis Southerwood (Whaka)
2, Tom Butland (Tara)
3, Jack Lee (Whaka)
4, Jack Hinton (Mnt)
5, Taylor O’Leary (Mur)
Under 16 Boys Top 5
1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag)
2, Kora Cooper (Rag)
3, Finn Vette (Gis)
4, Navryn Malone (Rag)
5, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay)
Under 14 Boys Top 5
1, Tao Mouldey (Mnt)
2, Dale Cromhout (Hbay)
3, Tyler Stenzel (Mnt)
4, Jack Tyro (Chch)
5, Mathias Thompson (Piha)
Under 18 Girls Top 4
1, Georgia Wederell (Mnt)
2, Estella Hungerford (Chch)
3, Brie Bennett (Rag)
4, Ariana Shewry (Tara)
Under 16 Girls Top 5
1, Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara)
2, Liv Haysom (Piha)
3, Anna Brock (Mnt)
3, Asia Braithwaite (Gis)
5, Alice Westerkamp (Auck)
Under 14 Girls Top 5
1, Chloe Groube (Pau)
2, Leia Millar (Piha)
3, Amanda Gouldsbury (Tara)
4, Maya Mateja (Rag)
5, Pia Rogers (WGM)
Further Information
For further information on the 2020 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 and Dakine 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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