It was a game of power surfing in solid waves to round out the NZ Grom Series at Gisborne over the weekend with the Sequence Surf Gisborne Junior Pro being claimed by Soren Bucka – Christensen (Tara) and Leia Millar (Piha).
The final junior event of the season was held in perfect 1.5m – 2.0m waves at Midway Beach, conditions pushing Aotearoa’s top surfers to the limit with the large southerly swell pulsing directly into the town beach at Gisborne.
Taranaki’s Bucka – Christensen was built for the conditions and powered his way through the field of surfers to surf in his first final of the season and take a well-deserved win.
Bucka – Christensen posted a 16.0 point total in the final of the event Under 18 Boys Division, saving his best surfing for the final and leaving his opponents needing massive scores to challenge for the win. Christian Fougere (Auck) was the closest of his opponents finishing in second place, equalling his best result of the season.
Local surfer William Matthews surfed his way to third place and his best result of the season while Papamoa surfer Tava Santorik placed fourth after being the form surfer through the preliminary rounds which earned him the Creatures Highest Heat Score Award and the Volkswagen Highest Single Wave Score.
The unstoppable Leia Millar (Piha) surfed to a remarkable fifth win of the year in the Under 18 Girls Division combo’ing the field in the final with a 14.50 point heat total. The result capped off a stellar run of form for the young surfer who is Indonesia bound in the next two weeks to enter her first WSL qualifying series event.
Gisborne’s Te Waiotu Farlie placed second in the final for a career best result, making the most of having an event in home waters. Farlie edged past Pia Rogers (WGM) in the final, Rogers finishing in third place ahead of Ayla Gee (Rag) in fourth.
The fearless surfing of Vitor Bauermann (Mnt) proved no match for the Under 16 Boys finalists as he marched away with the win whilst surfing up a division from the Under 14 Boys. Bauermann finished with a 14.10 point heat total in the final and had earlier surfed to the Sequence Surf Shop manoeuvre of the division award for a huge backhand close out turn.
In the final, Bauermann eclipsed Zade Pitkeathly (Mnt) who finished second and Beck Allen (HBay) in third. Allen started off strongly with a 7.50 point ride but was unable to find the 6.6 point ride to match Bauermann. Tyler Stenzel (Mnt) finished in fourth place in his second finals appearance this season.
Kyra Wallis (Piha) claimed her third win of the season with a clutch performance surfing her final wave with two seconds on the clock to move from third to first with a 4.35 on her last wave to amass an 11.85 point heat total. Wallis starved Sage Fritchley (Mnt) of her first series win which was at her finger tips but she had to settle for second ahead of Poppy Entwisle (Oakura) in third and hometown girl Brooke Matthews (Gis) in fourth.
Final results from the Sequence Surf Gisborne Junior Pro can be viewed here – https://liveheats.com/events/219596.
The New Zealand Grom Series is a chance for junior surfers to test themselves against their companions from all around the country. There are thirteen events throughout the country that junior surfers can participate in. The Sequence Surf Gisborne Junior Pro is in to its third season as part of the series.
This year’s event would not be possible without the support of Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne, Creatures of Leisure, Sex Wax, Gisborne Boardriders and Grassroots Central Trust.
Further Information
For further information on the 2024 Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro, please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High-resolution images will be available to media upon request.
Images will be distributed free of charge courtesy of New Zealand Surfing Magazine.
Please contact Ben Kennings for further details.
Event Details
The draw and results can be viewed at www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.
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