Surf conditions forced a short penultimate day of the National Scholastic Surfing Championships at Raglan today (Thursday 10th October) with the small 0.5m waves and moderate northwest winds testing a number of the country’s top surfers.
After twelve heats were contested, it was Auckland that surged back into the lead after falling as low as third throughout the morning. A meagre 300 points separate Auckland from Bay of Plenty with Waikato squashed between the powerhouse regions.
The top six regions which also includes Canterbury, Northland, and Taranaki have a mathematical chance of taking the team’s title on the final day with some big performances and major upsets required.
At the other end of the spectrum, a further two regions exited the event today with Coromandel and Wellington losing their last surfers in the event, the two teams finishing ninth and tenth respectively.
Three of the top four seeds in the Under 16 Boys Division advanced through to the final after contesting two rounds today with the final set to be a big showdown of talent come Friday afternoon.
The Under 16 Boys Division Final features Tom Robinson (Whngrei), Finn Vette (Gis), Kora Cooper (Rag) and Myka Black (Chch) with the four surfers having had numerous battles in the past two years.
Robinson and Cooper got the upper hand winning their semifinals clashes today but a reboot in the swell will create a totally new wave-scape come finals day. Local surfer Cooper would be expected to have the upper hand but Robinson is also a student at the Raglan Surf Academy. Finn Vette and Myka Black are the two biggest surfers and will enjoy the extra size forecasted in the swell.
In the Under 14 Boys Division it will be two Taranaki surfers in Ryder Pennington and Kalani Louis that will take on local surfer Navryn Malone and Izaak Hayes (Whngrei). Hayes has been the underdog all week advancing through to the finals and today he pushed Malone in the semifinals the two scoring 12.9 and 12.8 respectively in their matchup.
The Under 16 Girls Semifinals and Under 18 Boys Quarterfinals were postponed until the morning of the final day.
Conditions are expected to significantly improve for the final day of the event with a 2.0m swell and variable winds which are set to make for a spectacular showcase of surfing. Follow the live scoring at www.compusurf.com.au from 8am and the live webcast via the Surfing New Zealand Facebook Page from 10am.
Please see below for results from day four of the 2019 National Scholastic Surfing Championships held at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Thursday 10th October).
Team Points
1, Auckland, 9315
2, Waikato, 9083
3, Bay of Plenty, 9055
4, Canterbury, 8455
5, Northland, 8375
6, Taranaki, 7905
7, Gisborne, 7584
8, West Coast, 5645
9, Coromandel, 4959
10, Wellington, 4503
11, Hawkes Bay, 4025
Under 16 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Myka Black (Chch), 11.05, 1, James Millar (Chch), 9, 2, Jacob Saunders (Mnt), 7, 3, Thomas Charlesworth (Nrthlnd), 4.9, 4
Heat 2
Kora Cooper (Rag), 11.65, 1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 11.25, 2, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 8.98, 3, Hue Cowie (Gis), 6.5, 4
Heat 3
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 15.1, 1, Sam Charlesworth (Auck), 12.5, 2, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay), 8.9, 3, Jai Oakley (Chch), 8, 4
Heat 4
Jack Hinton (Mnt), 12.3, 1, Finn Vette (Gis), 11.25, 2, Jack Luke (Tara), 6.36, 3, Flynn Healy (Wgtn), 3.75, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Kora Cooper (Rag), 12.9, 1, Myka Black (Chch), 11.85, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 10.05, 3, James Millar (Chch), 5.7, 4
Heat 2
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 14.16, 1, Finn Vette (Gis), 11.85, 2, Sam Charlesworth (Auck), 11.5, 3, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 7.9, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Ryder Pennington (Tara), 9, 1, Tana Clapham (Rag), 7.4, 2, Bill Byers (Piha), 5, 3, Hunter Cooney (Coro), 3.25, 4
Heat 2
Kalani Louis (Tara), 13.4, 1, Israel Thomas (Tara), 11.3, 2, Tyler Perry (Kaik), 10.2, 3, Tai Murphy (BOP), 7.3, 4
Heat 3
Izaak Hayes (Whngrei), 10.1, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 9.36, 2, James Gibson (Coro), 6.3, 3, Otis Baxter (WGM), 3.1, 4
Heat 4
Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 12.5, 1, Luke Dymond (Rag), 9.36, 2, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 6.8, 3, Thomas Boothroyd (Nel), 6.5, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Kalani Louis (Tara), 16.5, 1, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 10.7, 2, Tana Clapham (Rag), 9.06, 3, Israel Thomas (Tara), 7.5, 4
Heat 2
Navryn Malone (Rag), 12.9, 1, Izaak Hayes (Whngrei), 12.75, 2, Tai Erceg-Gray (Whngrei), 5.96, 3, Luke Dymond (Rag), 4.9, 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
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