Taranaki surfer Spencer Rowson continued his exceptional form on the first day of the Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro held at Makorori Beach today (Saturday 6th May).
Rowson surfed to the day’s highest heat score of 16.34 points out of a possible 20 with explosive surfing in the average conditions that were on offer.
The surf was small all day with swell under the 1.0m mark and moderate northerly cross shore winds. Conditions improved slightly for the Under 18 Boys Division that was contested at the end of the day as the sun dipped behind the hills to the west.
“I was just trying to have fun. It actually looked terrible from the beach but when you are out there, there are actually a couple of good ones with right hand bowls” explained Rowson of the conditions.
“I know there is the prize for best turn but I didn’t really think about it out there, I was just trying to have fun and I had two good scores already and took off on that last right and got a good air rev” he added of his 8.67 point ride.
Rowson has led the rankings for the past two months and has spent considerable time in the South Island competing in Dunedin, Christchurch and Kaikoura.
“I am looking forward to the end of this event, I have been enjoying it but also I am looking forward to being at home and getting a few winter tubes after this event” he added.
Rowson was joined by several of the top seeds in the Under 18 Boys Division including Kalani Louis (Tara) who finished the day with a win to advance through to the quarterfinals. Other winners in the first round included Beau Woods (Mnt), Nate Florence (Tara), Tyler Perry (Kaik) and Will Hardie (Piha).
The cream of the Under 16 Girls Division are set for two huge semifinals on Sunday. Current rankings leader Leia Millar (Piha) goes up against the Groube sisters Chloe and Lola, alongside Sage Fritchley (Mnt). The second semifinal sees Raglan surfers Maya Mateja, Lani Frazerhurst and Alani Morse battle it out with Christchurch surfer Poppy Entwisle.
Tao Mouldey shone above his opponents in the Under 16 Boys Division with a 14.40 point heat total to advance through to the quarterfinals. The small conditions were no hinderance for Mouldey as he took to the air on his backhand to post a 7.40 on his best scoring ride. Mouldey will be joined by Tava Santorik (Mnt) in his quarterfinal along with Hawkes Bay surfers Patrick Burbury and Beck Allen.
Theo Morse (Rag) and Ezekiel Wyper (Tairua) will be another good match up in the quarters after both surfers won their heats today. Other heat winners on day one include Taj Millar – Dal Bosco (WGM), Manu Roberts (Tairua), Soren Bucka – Christensen (Tara) and Sam Frazerhurst (Auck).
The Under 14 Boys had to battle through two rounds on the opening day with the final eight surfers confirmed. Current rankings leader Sol Fritchley (Mnt) impressed with his smooth surfing yet again as he advanced through two rounds, his highest scoring heat totalling 13.60 points. Fritchley has a big semifinal match up ahead with fellow Mount surfers Remy Sale and Vitor Bauermann and Ahipara’s Kentaro Mitchell.
The second semifinal sees another three Bay of Plenty surfers in action with Lennox Holdaway, Zen Mouldey and Eli Beer going up against Raglan’s Luca Thompson.
The groms were going all out today chasing the biggest manoeuvre award, supplied by Sequence Surf Shop. $100 is on offer in each division for the surfer that impresses the judges with the most explosive manoeuvre. The Volkswagen Highest Heat Score Award went to Spencer Rowson on day one with a 16.34 point heat total in the first round of the Under 16 Boys Division.
The Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro is part of the wider New Zealand Grom Series which includes the Billabong Grom Series, the Connect Group South Island Grom Series and a number of other individual junior events that concludes with the O’Neill Taranaki Grom Comp in October.
Surfers from Ahipara down to Christchurch are taking part on the weekend in Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 divisions with finals day action taking place from 8am – 3pm.
This year’s event would not be possible without the support of Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne, Gisborne Boardriders, Creatures of Leisure and Sex Wax.
For full results from the first day of the Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro, including the day two schedule, please visit https://liveheats.com/events/115156.
Further Information
For further information on the 2023 Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro, please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
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Event Details
The draw and results can be viewed at www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.
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