Billabong Grom Series Confirmed Mount Maunganui 
Grommets from around the country will flock to Mount Maunganui this coming weekend as the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge gets into action with the first of three events.
Hot on the heels of the National Championships completed at Westport just two weeks ago, the sold-out first event of the Billabong Grom Series will see freshly crowned National Champions, eager groms and local hopefuls amongst the many young surfers displaying their early-season form in the waves of Tay Street, Mount Maunganui this weekend. Under 16 Boys and Girls National Champions Jack Tyro (Chch) and Pia Rogers (WGM) will be in action this weekend looking to continue their winning ways. Local surfer Tao Mouldey went through 2021 with five wins in the Under 16 Boys Division and will lead a large cohort of local surfers in the event including the Brock sisters Anna and Sophia, Beau Woods, Remy Sale and the McBride twins Harper and Lennox. The Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge offers up many surfers first taste of events, pitting themselves against their mates and taking in a fun two days of surfing and developing their skills in the ocean. The first of the three events takes place at Mount Maunganui with the series carrying on to Whangamata (12-13 February) and Piha at the end of February (26-27 February).
Jack Tyro Photo Courtesy of NZ Surf Journal
The 2022 edition of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge will be split into three divisions ranging from Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18. Heats will be 15 minutes long with 20-minute finals. The surf is expected to build late this week and hold into Saturday with a metre of north easterly swell and light northerly winds forecasted to pick up throughout the weekend. It is the seventeenth year that Billabong has sponsored the series in partnership with Oceanbridge who has been a proud supporter of junior surfing in New Zealand. The majority of New Zealand’s current crop of elite surfers have taken part in the Grom Series over the seventeen years that it has run, including Richard Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Mount Maunganui’s own Kehu Butler and Ella Williams (WGM).The action takes place at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui from 8am until late afternoon on both Saturday and Sunday. Live scoring can be viewed at www.compusurf.com.au. Entry into the remaining two Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge events can be completed here:Event 2 – 12 – 13 February, Whangamata Event 3 – 26 – 27 February, Piha Beach, Auckland COVID 19 Protocols The event will be held using strict COVID 19 protocols. All participants will be required to sign in with their My Vaccine Pass and scan QR codes. The divisions will be split into two separate days and run through to completion to limit the number of participants at the event site.
Pia Rogers: Photo Courtesy of NZ Surf Journal
Further Information For further information on the 2021 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, Von Zipper and Dakine has made this series possible. The event is proudly hosted by Bay Boardriders. Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by: Sport New Zealand Water Safety NZ Skinnies Volkswagen
