For immediate release
The Auckland Surfing Team surfed to an emphatic victory today at the 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Championships presented by Pub Charity which were completed at St Clair Beach, Dunedin.
The team were led by captain Leia Millar (Piha) who won the Under 18 Girls Division and they also secured wins in the Under 18 Boys Longboard Division through Taj Robinson (Mangawhai) and Jesse Fazerhurst (Takapuna) in the Under 14 Boys Division. However, it was the strength of their entire team that secured the win after they were matched in titles by Northland at three a piece and in finalists by Coromandel at six a piece.
Auckland bested Coromandel who finished runner up when they narrowly pipped third placed Northland by 5 points. It is the first podium finish for Coromandel in 20 years and the first ever podium finish for Northland.
The final day of the event was played out in clean 1.0m waves with St Clair Beach delivering sunny skies and light winds all day allowing New Zealand’s top school aged surfers the opportunity to showcase their talents.
“We knew it was close between us and the other teams and then I just heard now that we won, we are so stoked,” said team captain Leia Millar who was part of the Auckland Team’s first ever win in 2022.
“It’s just cool to see everyone perform to their potential in our team, in general the whole team did well and contributed and the three wins we got us across the line,” she added.
Coromandel couldn’t convert their finals berths to titles but their best result in two decades was led by Lola Groube winning the Under 14 Girls Division and enough for them to claim a runner up finish.
Coromandel team captain Will Lockhart was quick to highlight the team’s intentions going into the event.
“We were obviously looking for a good finish, but we wanted to make sure we had fun down here too and not put too many expectations on ourselves,” said Lockhart who himself finished third in the Under 18 Boys Division Final.
“Now that we have finished runner up, everyone is super happy with the result, it has been a great team to be part of,” he added after his third place in the Under 18 Boys Division jumped his team up the rankings.
Northland’s team captain Cooper Ashill won the Under 18 Boys Division but praised his team overall and the support of his team coach and managers for their best ever result.
“Super stoked, this is best result since I have been on the team, it is sick to be on the podium as a team,” said Ashill.
“We got three titles overall, that’s massive for us. Everyone was going well, we all made heats through to the quarters and semis, everyone was happy with their performance”.
“It was super good having Ruddzy (Jason Ruddell) helping as coach. We got real close to Coromandel for second but we are still stoked on the third place finish”.
Defending champions Bay of Plenty finished in fourth at the event securing three runner up finishes today thanks to Sophia Brock in the Under 18 Girls, Tava Santorik in the Under 18 Boys, Caelan Pitkeathly in the Under 18 Boys Longboard.
Hosts Otago went into the final day with high hopes of a podium finish with their powerful line up of young surfers. It was Alexis Owen that got the job done for them, winning the Under 16 Boys Division.
Taranaki finished in sixth with their top results being third place finishes for Poppy Entwisle and Cade Carr.
Gisborne finished in seventh with three finalists all placing fourth today – William Matthews in the Under 18 Boys Division, Te Waiotu Farlie in the Under 18 Girls Division and Charlotte McDiarmid in the Under 14 Girls Division.
Wellington has the sole finalist with Ella Strang placing third in the Under 18 Girls Longboard.
The Adam Clegg Award for most improved surfers went to Cade Carr (Tara) and Pipiata Ritchie (Ota)
Just under 100 secondary school students made their way to St Clair Beach in Dunedin for the 2024 National Scholastic Secondary School Surfing Championships which took place from 7-11 October.
The 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Championships presented by Pub Charity is sanctioned by Surfing New Zealand, and Secondary School Sport NZ.
The National Scholastic Champs are supported by the New Zealand Sports Collective, the Club House, Whakaata Maori, Caltex, Bayleys, Apollo Projects and NZ Carbon Farming.
A replay of the final day of the event can be viewed on the Whakaata Maori YouTube. channel.
Full individual results and team points can be found on www.liveheats.com.
Team Points
1, Auckland, 8,455
2, Coromandel, 8,030
3, Northland, 8025
4, Bay of Plenty, 7,683
5, Otago, 7,265
6, Taranaki, 6,590
7, Gisborne, 5,975
8, Wellington, 3,070
9, Canterbury, 1,928
Division Winners
Under 18 Boys Division – Cooper Ashill (Nrth)
Under 18 Girls Division – Leia Millar (Auck)
Under 16 Boys Division – Alexis Owen (Ota)
Under 16 Girls Division – Indi-Lee Ruddell (Nrth)
Under 14 Boys Division – Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck)
Under 14 Girls Division – Lola Groube (Coro)
Under 18 Boys Longboard Division – Taj Robinson (Auck)
Under 18 Girls Longboard Division – Emma Lay (Auck)
Caltex Good Sport Award – Zeke Pragert (Auck)
Bayleys All Together Better – Kaitaia College
NZ Carbon Farming Sustainability Award – Keo Morrison
Further Information
For further information on the 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Championships please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Dan Westerkamp on 021 02672292 or email dan.westerkamp@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing will be available to media free of charge upon request.
Social Media
Keep up with all the action by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
Sun Bum
OSM
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