Kaikoura surfer Tyler Perry has fought out a major win on the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge this afternoon at Mount Maunganui as New Zealand’s top young surfers head into the final event of the series this weekend.
Perry claimed the Under 18 Boys Division this afternoon, the division having been held over from event two originally held at Whangamata but postponed due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle two weeks ago.
Todays action started out in fun 1.0m waves at Tay Street before the winds swung to the south east and strengthened. The four finalists had to battle their way through four heats by the time the final was completed late this afternoon.
Perry finished with a 12.0 point heat total to take a well-deserved win thanks to a powerful backhand performance late in the match up that scored a 6.5 to leap frog eventual runner-up Spencer Rowson (Tara).
“I am super happy, this morning it was pumping, sick waves and then it went onshore for the rest of the day but was still decent for us” commented winner Perry.
“It was about fitness today with four heats, my legs were even cooked during the semifinals trying to make it through to the inside sections. I’m tired now and hungry but time to refuel for tomorrow, rest up and reset for tomorrow” added Perry.
Runner up Spencer Rowson was a stand-out all day but fell just short in the final despite now leading the overall rankings courtesy of his second place today.
“It was a grind but it was good to make it through to the final and get another good result in the series” said Rowson.
“It was a solid final and Tyler got me in the end but I was happy with my surfing all day, we had a stack of heats back-to-back and I have added to my overall series points” he added.
Perry and Rowson were joined by first time finalists Kalani Watts (Tara) and Luke Dymond (Rag). Watts got the edge today finishing in third with Dymond in fourth. Dymond fought his way through five heats today to make his first final.
In the semifinals, it was Taranaki’s Spencer Rowson and Kalani Watts who defeated Jack Tyro (Chch) in the first heat while Tyler Perry (Kaik) and Luke Dymond (Rag) defeated Kalani Louis (Tara) in the second.
Saturday will see the third event of the series commence with conditions expected to improve despite the smaller swell forecast. Over 120 young surfers from around the country will converge on Mount Maunganui after the evet was relocated from Piha due the cyclone damage.
Full results and updated rankings after today can be viewed at www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.
Each of the three events in the series attracts upward of 130 surfers. It is the eighteenth edition of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge.
The series 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. Participants also team up for their boardrider clubs with the top five surfer’s results from each club going toward overall club rankings.
The 2023 edition of the series draws on a long history of fun with all of New Zealand’s current crop of elite surfers having taken part including Richard Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Mount Maunganui’s own Kehu Butler and Ella Williams (WGM).
Further Information
For further information on the 2023 Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing at all events on the Billabong Grom Series will be available to media free of charge. Please contact Ben Kennings for further details.
Partners
Generous support from Billabong and presenting sponsors Oceanbridge has made this series possible.
Follow the event
Follow the action via social media @billabong on Instagram and @surfingnz across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
Follow the series hashtag – #BillabongGromSeries.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
Skinnies Sun Gel
Volkswagen
Arepa
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