The Raglan duo of Luca Thompson and Alani Morse have claimed the two major titles at the Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs presented by Skullcandy completed at Gisborne today under grey skies.
Morse defended her Year 7&8 Girls Division title at the event while it was a first win for Thompson in the Year 7&8 Boys Division after having finalled at several events over the past 12 months but never stepped up to the top of the podium.
In the Year 6 and Below Divisions it was Bay of Plenty surfers Ffeon Clifford and Millie Dyck of Mount Maunganui that claimed the titles. The two surfers helped Bay Boardriders to a fourth straight club title at the event.
Almost 100 enthusiastic young surfers took part in the event with participants from Ahipara to Dunedin in attendance, having a blast and for many, enjoying their first experience at a national event.
The event finished in small 0.5m – 1.0m waves at Northern Makorori Beach today with persistent rain and moderate onshore winds. The final day was a stark contrast to the perfect conditions and fine weather on the first day of the event.
Thompson went to his backhand in the final for some explosive turns to narrowly defeat Sol Fritchley (Mnt) 11.67 to 11.57 points. Earlier Thompson had only snuck into the semifinals on a count back after making a slow start to the round robin phase. Local surfers Jaxon Pardoe and Harry McFarlane finished in third and fourth respectively.
Morse clinched her final with a 16.0 point heat total to sweep aside her opponents. She had a tough battle all event with Lola Groube (Pau), winning three of four match ups. In the final Groube simply couldn’t find a second good wave needing a near perfect nine point ride to catch Morse. Despite the two surfers participating in the Primary School Champs, they are indeed part of the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team that heads to Brazil for the World Junior Champs in November. In today’s final, Isla McKay finished third and Ella McConnell finished in fourth.
In the Year 6 and Below, event stand out Ffeon Clifford was too good for his three Gisborne opponents posting 14.33 out of a possible 20 points. Lenny Quinn was the best of his mates coming in runner up while Felix Tong finished third ahead of Waylon Lynch.
For the girls it was Millie Dyck (Mnt) that edged Riley Miskell (Ohope) in the final with Dunedin’s Zara Owen finishing in third and Ahipara’s Jade Phillips finishing in fourth.
Often the first event experience for many, the Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs presented by Skuyllcandy has ignited many careers of the best Kiwi surfers including Olympian Ella Williams (WGM), New Zealand representative’s Ava Henderson (Chch) and Kehu Butler (Mnt).
The draw, live scores and all other information can be found by searching Surfing New Zealand on www.liveheats.com.
Further Information
For further information on the 2023 Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs pres by Skullcandy 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 will be available to media free of charge upon request.
Social Media
Keep up with all the action by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Partners
Generous support from Sticky Johnson and presenting sponsors Skullcandy, has made the Primary School Champs event possible along with Eastern and Central Community Trust. The event is proudly hosted by Gisborne Boardriders.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
Water Safety NZ
Skinnies
Volkswagen
Ends
