Gisborne’s Finn Vette finished the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge with a win at Pauanui yesterday (Friday 9th April). Vette started the series with a third place, finished runner up at Whangamata then claimed a win at the final event, in the process winning the overall series for the Under 18 Boys Division.
Alice Westerkamp (Auck) finished off her campaign with a win in the Under 18 Girls Division, her first at a national level in several years. However, it was Taranaki surfer Ariana Shewry with a third place finish in the final yesterday that did enough to take the overall series.
The final event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge was completed at Pauanui after being halted at the half way point in February due to a COVID lockdown. Pauanui delivered 1.0m – 1.5m waves and onshore winds all day Friday making conditions tough for participants.
Vette produced dominant performances all day and in the final he was no different, finishing with a 14.3 point heat total. However, it was a close two-way battle in the final with Jack Hinton (Mnt) falling 0.10 points short on his last ride as the hooter sounded, leaving him in an agonising second place. Tom Robinson (Whngrei) finished in third with Josef Jungwirth (Rag) in fourth.
Westerkamp had a little more breathing space than Vette in her final with a 9.44 point heat total enough to beat out Liv Haysom (Auck), Ariana Shewry (Tara) and Natasha Gouldsbury who finished second through fourth.
Navryn Malone (Rag) claimed the tightest of finals beating Tao Mouldey (Mnt) in the Under 16 Boys Division by 0.04. By way of the result going Malone’s way, he also claimed the series. Bill Byers finished less than a point behind both surfers with Kaden Littlejohn (Katikati) surfing his first final of the series to finish fourth.
Christchurch surfer Ava Henderson won her second straight event in the series in a dominant display posting a 12.3 point heat total. However, after missing the first event of the three events, it was the consistent performances of Anna Brock (Mnt) with back to back to back runner up finishes that saw her take the overall series. Leia Millar (Piha) rounded out the series with a third ahead of Pia Rogers (WGM) in fourth.
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt) and Maya Mateja (Rag) took wins in the Under 14 Divisions with both surfers also taking out the series. Stenzel finished with two wins during the series while Mateja was the only surfer to win all three events.
The three-event Billabong Grom Series is part of a wider New Zealand Grom Series with events held at Piha, Mount Maunganui, Christchurch, Dunedin, Kaikoura, Taranaki and Pauanui.
Please see below for final results from the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge completed at Pauanui Beach yesterday, Friday 9th April.
The full draw and results for the event can be viewed here.
Overall Series Champions
Under 18 Boys Division – Finn Vette (Gis)
Under 18 Girls Division – Ariana Shewry (Tara)
Under 16 Boys Division – Navryn Malone (Gis)
Under 16 Girls Division – Anna Brock (Mnt)
Under 14 Boys Division – Tyler Stenzel (Mnt)
Under 14 Girls Division – Maya Mateja (Rag)
Under 14 Boys Division Round 2
Heat 1
Dale Cromhout (Hbay), 1, Zeke Pregert (Piha), 2, Cohen Graham (Whngrei), 3, Daniel Cox (WGM), 4
Heat 2
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 9.50, 1, Ezekiel Wyper (Tai), 6.96, 2, Harley Waller (Pau), 6.03, 3, Alex Burnett, 2.17, 4
Heat 3
Theo Morse (Orewa), 9.46, 1, PJ Klein Ovink (Mnt), 9.27, 2, Sam Frazerhurst (Auck), 7.06, 3, Manu Roberts (Tai), 4.2, 4
Heat 4
Cooper Roberts (Mnt), 8.30, 1, Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck), 7.03, 2, Ollie Tong (Gis), 6.24, 3, Remy Sale (Auck), 4.80, 4
Heat 5
Sev Tolhurst (Piha), 8.37, 1, Ashton Rogers (WGM), 5.97, 2, Zak Becroft (Auck), 4.50, 3, Soren Bucka – Christensen (Tara), 2.17, 4
Heat 6
Gabriel Lobb (Gis), 7.16, 1, Jay Tingle (Pau), 6.56, 2, Beau Fitzgibbon (Whaka), 4.86, 3, Christian Fougere (Piha), N/S
Heat 7
Maceo Thompson (Piha), 8.03, 1, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 7.97, 2, Tava Santorik (Mnt), 7.03, 3, Lennox Jennings, 3.57, 4
Heat 8
Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 9.00, 1, Kauai Rahui (Whgrei), 5.97, 2, Ben Milne (WGM), 3.17, 3, Milo O’Brien (Piha), n/s
Under 14 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Dale Cromhout (Hbay), 7.76, 1, Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 7.3, 2, Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck), 2.73, 3, PJ Klein Ovink (Mnt), 2.67, 4
Heat 2
Theo Morse (Orewa), 7.77, 1, Ezekiel Wyper (Tai), 5.3, 2, Zeke Pregert (Piha), 4.7, 3, Cooper Roberts (Mnt), 2.4, 4
Heat 3
Kauai Rahui (Whgrei), 8.46, 1, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 7.7, 2, Sev Tolhurst (Piha), 6.94, 3, Gabriel Lobb (Gis), 6.3, 4
Heat 4
Ashton Rogers (WGM), 8.5, 1, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 6.16, 2, Maceo Thompson (Piha), 5.57, 3, Jay Tingle (Pau), 3.84, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 9.77, 1, Dale Cromhout (Hbay), 8.57, 2, Ezekiel Wyper (Tai), 5.07, 3, Theo Morse (Orewa), 4.23, 4
Heat 2
Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 7.23, 1, Ashton Rogers (WGM), 6.47, 2, Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 6.16, 3, Kauai Rahui (Whgrei), 4.20, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Final
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 10.17, 1, Dale Cromhout (Hbay), 9.50, 2, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 7.77, 3, Ashton Rogers (WGM), 5.76, 4
Under 14 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Maya Mateja (Rag), 11, 1, Ariana Walker (Mnt), 4.8, 2, Lola Groube (Pau), 4.13, 3, Kyra Wallis (Piha), 3.13, 4
Heat 2
Chloe Groube (Pau), 8.1, 1, Alani Morse (Orewa), 6.77, 2, India Kennings (WGM), 2.8, 3, Stella Arkle (Piha), n/s
Under 14 Girls Division Final
Maya Mateja (Rag), 10.5, 1, Chloe Groube (Pau), 5.87, 2, Alani Morse (Orewa), 5.7, 3, Ariana Walker (Mnt), 3.47, 4
Under 16 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Anna Brock (Mnt), 9.06, 1, Pia Rogers (WGM), 4.7, 2, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 4.43, 3
Heat 2
Ava Henderson (Chch), 9.2, 1, Leia Millar (Piha), 6.66, 2, Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 5.6, 3
Under 16 Girls Division Final
Ava Henderson (Chch), 12.3, 1, Anna Brock (Mnt), 9, 2, Leia Millar (Piha), 8.46, 3, Pia Rogers (WGM), 5.77, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 14.00, 1, Bill Byers (Piha), 10.04, 2, Izak Hayes (Whngrei), 8.87, 3, Cooper Ashill (Whngrei), 7.36, 4
Heat 2
Kaden Littlejohn (Kati), 7.54, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 7.37, 2, Tai Erceg – Gray (Whngrei), 7.20, 3, Jack McKenzie (Chch), n/s
Under 16 Boys Division Final
Navryn Malone (Rag), 11.70, 1, Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 11.67, 2, Bill Byers (Piha), 11.0, 3, Kaden Littlejohn (Kati), 6.3, 4
Under 18 Girls Division Final
Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 9.44, 1, Liv Haysom (Piha), 7.77, 2, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 6.97, 3, Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 6.44, 4
Under 18 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Finn Vette (Gis), 13, 1, Isaac Klein – Ovink (Mnt), 8.87, 2, Ari D’Anvers (Whngrei), 6.76, 3, Connor Van Der Pol (Mnt), 5.33, 4
Heat 2
Jack Hinton (Mnt), 10.8, 1, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 8.87, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 7.76, 3, Jacob Buckle (Whangrei), n/s
Heat 3
Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 11.2, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 10.3, 2, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei), 7.03, 3, Harper McBride (Mnt), n/s
Under 18 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Finn Vette (Gis), 14.8, 1, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 11.4, 2, Kora Cooper (Rag), 7.63, 3
Heat 2
Jack Hinton (Mnt), 12.7, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 11.5, 2, Isaac Klein – Ovink (Mnt), 5.53, 3
Under 18 Boys Division Final
Finn Vette (Gis), 14.3, 1, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 14.2, 2, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 11.1, 3, Josef Jungwirth (Rag)10.0, 4
The Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge offers three of nine events nationwide where grommets can take part before the final in May which caters for the top 16 boys and eight girls in the Under 18 and 16 Divisions.
The sixteenth 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 Ricardo Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Kehu Butler (Mnt) and Ella Williams (WGM).
Further Information
For further information on the 2021 Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
Web clips will be distributed free of charge from each event. Please contact Ben Kennings for further details.
High resolution action images of the surfing at all events on the Billabong Grom Series 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
Generous support from Billabong, presenting sponsors Oceanbridge, Kustom, Von Zipper and Dakine has made this series possible.
Thanks to Piha Boardriders for hosting the event.
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
SunSmart
Water Safety NZ
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