Moving day at the National Scholastic Surfing Championships dished up some big results as a further eight finalists were confirmed and the chasing pack of teams edged closer to front runners Auckland.
At the end of day-three proceedings, Auckland retained a slender 200 point lead over Bay of Plenty in second with hosts Waikato making a march up the table to third overall, less than 300 points further back.
The smallest surf to date was on offer at Manu Bay, Raglan with waves below the 1.0m mark but the near glassy conditions and straight swell made it highly contestable for the country’s top young surfers.
Bay of Plenty saw strong performances from Jack Hinton and Jacob Saunders in the Under 16 Boys Division, Hinton top-scoring for the round with 17.35 out of a possible 20 points while Saunders posted 13.10 points.
“Super fun waves today, kinda small but some ‘grindy’ ones across the rocks where you could do a couple of turns, yeah it was fun” said Saunders who knows the importance of another strong showing by his Bay of Plenty Team on Thursday if they are to take the number one ranking.
“It will be a big day tomorrow, the team is psyching for their heats, we are all surfing well and our team captain, William Van Der Beek, is stoked on how we are all going” added Saunders who suggested the pending rise in swell for the final day would be an advantage for his team.
Other surfers in the Under 16 Boys Division that impressed included Jai Oakley and Myka Black of Canterbury and Jayden Willoughby and Josef Jungwirth of Waikato.
Waikato has ten of twelve surfers remaining in the event and they were spurred on by the performances of team members today including Luka Glover that made the final of the Under 14 Girls Division late in the afternoon.
After a flurry of two priority interferences in the final heat of the day, it was Ava Henderson (Chch) and Amelie Brady (Mnt) that joined Anna Brock (BOP) and local surfer Glover (Rag) as the final four surfers.
Henderson stood out again posting a 16.05 point heat total in her semifinal while Brock posted an 11.75 point heat total for the win in the first semifinal.
The interferences came at a cost to Auckland who lost their second surfer in the event while Gisborne lost their seventh surfer to sit seventh overall.
In the Longboard Division, it was Northland’s Billy Whelan and Natt Fitt (Auck) that advanced out of the first semifinal with Ben Counsell (Auck) being the stand out in the second semifinal posting a 15.4 point heat total advancing alongside Sonny Eades (BOP).
The first team to exit the event was the Hawkes Bay on a tough day for the lower seeded teams. Isla Prins placed the highest of the team in eleventh place overall in the Under 14 Girls Division. Coromandel, Wellington and West Coast also suffered several defeats. Coromandel has three surfers remaining, West Coast, two surfers, and Wellington the lone surfer remaining.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate on day four with northwest winds forecasted. However, the swell should build into the afternoon and through to the final day on Friday. Conditions will be assessed at daybreak to confirm a start time for the penultimate day of the event. Follow the live scoring at www.compusurf.com.au.
Please see below for results from day three of the 2019 National Scholastic Surfing Championships held at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Wednesday 9th October).
Team Points
1, Auckland, 10575
2, Bay of Plenty, 10410
3, Waikato, 10138
4, Canterbury, 9490
5, Northland, 9215
6, Taranaki, 8580
7, Gisborne, 8134
8, West Coast, 6195
9, Coromandel, 6149
10, Wellington, 5053
11, Hawkes Bay, 4025
Under 16 Boys Division Round 2
Heat 1
Myka Black (Chch), 15.25, 1, Hue Cowie (Gis), 9.36, 2, Jacob Buckle (Whngrei), 9.05, 3, Koby Cameron (Chch), 5.45, 4
Heat 2
Jacob Saunders (Mnt), 13.1, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 12.95, 2, Jay Gordon (Coro), 3.75, 3, Sam Baxter (WGM), 2.75, 4
Heat 3
Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 13.65, 1, Thomas Charlesworth (Nrthlnd), 9.8, 2, Ben Wharton (Coro), 6.9, 3, Cade O’Dea (W.C), 6.5, 4
Heat 4
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 15.25, 1, James Millar (Chch), 10.2, 2, Ben Storey (Rag), 9.36, 3
Heat 5
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 11.8, 1, Jack Luke (Tara), 8.5, 2, Harper McBride (Mnt), 7, 3
Heat 6
Jai Oakley (Chch), 14.5, 1, Flynn Healy (Wgtn), 8.16, 2, Jacob Fitzgerald (W.C), 6.65, 3, Reuben Lyons (Kaik), 5.2, 4
Heat 7
Finn Vette (Gis), 12.75, 1, Sam Charlesworth (Auck), 11.7, 2, Jackson Peak (Auck), 10, 3, Ethan Wray (Tara), 5.4, 4
Heat 8
Jack Hinton (Mnt), 17.35, 1, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay), 12.5, 2, Luca Rendle (H Bay), 7.4, 3, Keanu Martin (W.C), 5.85, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Requalify Round 1
Heat 1
Israel Thomas (Tara), 10.75, 1, Thomas Boothroyd (Nel), 8.6, 2, Evan Broad (H Bay), 3.5, 3
Heat 2
Otis Baxter (WGM), 7.15, 1, Luke Burns (Wgtn), 5.25, 2, Eden Mainwaring (WGM), 5.05, 3
Heat 3
Riku Gordon (Mah), 12.75, 1, Hunter Cooney (Coro), 8.4, 2, Tyler Clarke (H Bay), 4.25, 3
Under 14 Boys Requalify Round 2
Heat 1
Israel Thomas (Tara), 11.65, 1, Hunter Cooney (Coro), 9, 2, Luke Burns (Wgtn), 5, 3
Heat 2
Thomas Boothroyd (Nel), 9.65, 1, Otis Baxter (WGM), 7.9, 2, Riku Gordon (Mah), 3.9, 3
Under 16 Girls Requalify Round 1
Heat 2
Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 11.25, 1, Lydia Hawes (WC), 6.5, 2, Jessie Roche (W.C), 2.15, 3
Under 16 Girls Requalify Round 2
Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 10.6, 1, Leah Wilson (Chch), 9.15, 2, Malindi Reihana-Ruka (Nrthlnd), 6.05, 3, Lydia Hawes (WC), 2.75, 4
Under 14 Girls Requalify Round 1
Heat 2
Amelie Brady (Mnt), 8.5, 1, Luka Glover (Rag), 7.5, 2, Isla Prins (H Bay), 4.6, 3
Under 14 Girls Requalify Round 2
Amelie Brady (Mnt), 9.5, 1, Luka Glover (Rag), 7.2, 2, Lily Honeycombe (WGM), 4.55, 3, Stella O’Dea (W.C), 3.1, 4
The National Scholastic Surfing Championships began in 1989. The event, which has unearthed two generations of top Kiwi talent, takes place all week at the famed Manu Bay location, home to the perfect left-hand point break.
The 2019 National Scholastic Surfing Championships is sanctioned by Surfing New Zealand, the Secondary School Sport NZ and supported by Pub Charity.
For more information on these events please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution images from the event will be available to media upon request.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ
Ends
