Kaikoura will play host to a sea of top young surfers from around the country for the first time this weekend after the world-famous tourist and surf destination was added to the National Grom Series.
The Kaikoura Grom Comp has received well over 100 entries with the surfing action expected to take place over two days at Meatworks north of Kaikoura. On Saturday night, surfers will be treated with the chance to go night surfing under floodlights which will be a new experience for many.
The event marks the halfway point of the series for most surfers with events already having been contested in Taranaki, Mount Maunganui, Whangamata, Piha and Christchurch. Events still remain for Raglan, Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawkes Bay.
The new location has attracted the number one ranked surfer from each of the six divisions contested in the series as well as a bunch of keen young groms who will surf in the Under 12 Boys and Girls Divisions.
The wave-rich Kaikoura coastline will see the likes of Caleb Cutmore (Rag) and Georgia Wederell (Mnt) line up in the Under 18 Boys and Girls Divisions. The two surfers lead the rankings and wins this weekend would give both surfers a huge advantage heading into the back half of the series.
Cutmore missed the most recent event in Christchurch but Wederell capitalised on her appearance in the South Island where she secured a runner up finish.
In the under 16 divisions, it is Tom Butland (Tara) and Ava Henderson (Chch) that lead the fiercely competitive rankings. Butland is coming back from injury which has hampered his performance in recent months while Henderson has a strong rankings lead as she looks for her fourth straight win.
Bill Byers (Piha) and Anna Brock (Mnt) round out the front runners in the under 14 divisions, Brock most recently winning the Christchurch event.
Tao Mouldy (Mnt) and Chloe Groube (Pau) won the under 12 divisions at the Ray White Duke Festival of Surfing held in Christchurch three weeks ago and will be returning to the event this weekend looking for more glory.
The recently established Kaikoura Surf Groms will have a swath of local surfers taking part in their home waters. They will be led by the Lyons brothers – Reuben, Blaise and Sonny as well as Tyler Perry. Perry was recently named as one of six Kiwi scholarship winners thanks to Global Surf Industries, with recipients receiving equipment and financial support for their surfing exploits.
The Kaikoura Grom Comp doubles as an Exit Surf South Island Grom Series event with ranking points up for grabs across the regional series. It is the fifth and final event of the series. The boys divisions all remain up for grabs this weekend apart from the Under 16 Boys Division which Reuben Lyons has a stranglehold on. Ava Henderson has a tight grip on the Under 18 and 16 Divisions for the girls but the Under 14 and 12 Divisions are still closely contested.
Please see below for current National Grom Series rankings after five of ten events.
Full rankings can be viewed here – Under 18 Boys, Under 18 Girls, Under 16 Boys, Under 16 Girls, Under 14 Boys, Under 14 Girls.
Under 18 Boys Division
1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham)
2, Taylor O’Leary (Mur)
3, Jack Lee (Whaka)
4, Luke Griffin (Mnt)
5, Luis Southwood (Whaka)
Under 16 Boys Division
1, Tom Butland (Tara)
2, Tom Robinson (Whngrei)
3, Jayden Willoughby (Rag)
4, Kora Cooper (Rag)
5, Jack Hinton (Mnt)
Under 14 Boys Division
1, Bill Byers (Piha)
2, Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei)
3, Navryn Malone (Rag)
4, Ryder Pennington (Tara)
5, Mathias Thompson (Piha)
Under 18 Girls Division
1, Georgia Wederell (Mnt)
2, Tegen Bishop (Chch)
3, Gabrielle Paul (Auck)
4, Estella Hungerford (Chch)
5, Kai Woolf (Rag)
Under 16 Girls Division
1, Ava Henderson (Chch)
2, Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara)
3, Liv Haysom (Piha)
4, Brie Bennett (Rag)
5, Daizee Rawles (Gis)
Under 14 Girls Division
1, Anna Brock (Mnt)
2, Asia Braithwaite (Gis)
3, Sophia Brock (Mnt)
4, Jess Haysom (Piha)
5, Chloe Groube (Pau)
Further Information
For further information on the 2019 Kaikoura Grom Comp please contact Mark O’Malley on 021 2075177.
Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing 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
The 2019 edition of the Kaikoura Grom Comp would not be possible without the support of Kaikoura Surf Groms, Jade Kiwi, the Strawberry Tree, Kaikoura Boardriders, McCrory Plumbing, Kaikoura Bakery, Hirepool and Exit Surf.
Follow the event
Follow the action via social media on @surfingnz across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Use the hashtag #kaikgroms19.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ
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