Northland Goes From One Extreme To The Next For National Scholastic Surfing Championships
Tuesday 11 October 2011, 9:05AM
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The National Scholastic Surfing Championships took on the challenge of a sub tropical storm to get day one of five underway today (Monday 10th October). The weather was a stark contrast to the blistering heat the day prior that had everyone lapping up the sun at the afternoon powhiri held at Koura Kore Marae at Ahipara.
The ten teams and over one hundred surfers at the event ventured north along Ninety Mile Beach to The Bluff to contest their heats. The surfed slowly dropped throughout the day starting off 1.5m - 2.0m in the morning.
After a late start to the day the Under 18 Boys Division entered the water with Sid West (Wai) wasting no time in locking down 13.33 which ultimately became the highest heat score of the day.
After his Waikato team first had car issues and then getting lost in the maze of Northland forestry roads, West was happy to come through his first heat with a win.
"It is a bit tricky surfing the first heat of the day but there are good waves out there" commented West. "I had a few problems with the strong offshore winds early on in the heat but I got used to it after a while."
West was joined by team members Nat Hughes and Ben Poulter in progressing directly through to the second round after winning their heats. Fellow team member Dillon Tarrant was not so lucky but will get a second chance in the requalifying round.
The Auckland team also fared well on the first day with their two Under 18 Boys Division surfers progressing to the second round. Team captain Stefan Gross was happy with how the team surfed, also notably satisfied with his own performance placing second.
"I am pretty stoked with making my heat. Me and Olly Le Noel both made our heats so it is a good start for our team.
Team captaincy comes with added responsibility which Gross puts down to simply "keeping the young groms in line."
Like most teams, Auckland is willing the swell to build later in the week so that they can get a taste of the world famous points at Shipwreck Bay.
We are looking forward to day two of the event and perhaps even moving out to the points later in the week, we want to have a surf on the point breaks for sure."
Other surfers to win their Under 18 Men's Division heats included Peri Matenga (BOP), Eli MacDonald (Tara), Matt Sanger (Tara), Jack Treacy (North) and Fraser Chatham (Coro).
Late in the day the Under 16 Boys Division was contested with results from the first four heats decided. Winners included Coromandel team members Dune Kennings and Levi Stewart as well as Jordan Hart (Tara) and Josh Taylor (BOP).
The rain continued to bucket down all day drenching the hardy bunch of teams that predominantly stuck it out until the final heats were surfed late in the afternoon. Teams huddled under tents and strategically placed vehicles to protect them from the wind. With weather expected to be wet for much of the week, it could be more of the same when surfing resumes tomorrow (Tuesday).
The second day of competition is likely to see surfing resume at The Bluff with a decreasing swell but with lighter winds. The weather forecast is for further heavy rain.
Please see below for results from day one of the National Scholastic Surfing Championships held at The Bluff, Northland today (10th October 2011).
Under 18 Boys Round 1
Heat 1
Sid West (Wai), 13.33, 1, Josh Kettle (Tara), 13, 2, Kahu Craig-Ranga (BOP), 7.8, 3
Heat 2
Peri Matenga (BOP), 9, 1, Jacob Steens (BOP), 6.97, 2, Peter Doran (Coro), 6.37, 3, Kane Stewart (Coro), 6.37, 4
Heat 3
Eli MacDonald (Tara), 8.57, 1, Jack Hawke (Chch), 6.93, 2, Jorden Dyer (Hbay), 6.33, 3, Seth Marshall (Tara), 3, 4
Heat 4
Matt Sanger (Tara), 6.4, 1, Jacob Kohn (Gis), 5.67, 2, Hugh Ritchie (Chch), 4.1, 3
Heat 5
Nat Hughes (Wai), 8.27, 1, Taylor McNeil (Chch), 6.37, 2, Chad Jones (Tara), 5.9, 3
Heat 6
Jack Treacy (Nrth), 6.9, 1, Stefan Gross (Auck), 6.1, 2, Fintan Cram (Coro), 4.73, 3, Dillon Tarrant (Wai), 4.13, 4
Heat 7
Fraser Chatham (Coro), 11.17, 1, Olly Le Noel (Auck), 8.77, 2, Patxi Scott-Arrieta (Nrth), 8.3, 3, Louie Smith (Nrth), 6.83, 4
Heat 8
Ben Poulter (Wai), 14.33, 1, Billy Harmon (Chch), 6.23, 2, Tom Pilkington (Tara), 5.43, 3
Under 16 Boys Round 1
Heat 1
Dune Kennings (Coro), 9.17, 1, Max Cooke (Chch), 6, 2, Toa MacDonald (Tara), 4.13, 3
Heat 2
Levi Stewart (Coro), 9.57, 1, Ware Wano (Auck), 8.03, 2, Fraser Seymour (Nrth), 7.37, 3, Max Wollerman (Wgtn), 1.67, 4
Heat 3
Jordan Hart (Tara), 6.87, 1, Duncan Milne (Gis), 5.67, 2, Matt Hansen (BOP), 5.6, 3, Jordan Bailey (Wgtn), 2.63, 4
Heat 4
Josh Taylor (BOP), 8.33, 1, Corey Asplin (Wai), 6.27, 2, Brodie Arbuckle (Tara), 5.73, 3, Sam Pajo (Wgtn), 2.43, 4
A list of previous National Scholastic Champions is located on the Surfing New Zealand website under events.
For more information on the National Scholastic Surfing Championships please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Media releases will be distributed at the end of each days surfing.
Scholastics Blog
Check out a behind-the-scenes account of the Scholastics on the SNZ website for a lighter commentary of what happens each day.
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