Rogers and Rowson Too Good at Sequence Surf Gisborne Junior Pro

Pia Rogers (WGM) and Spencer Rowson reigned supreme at the Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro this weekend claiming the premier Under 18 Divisions to finish the junior season of events. 

The two surfers were joined by Joe Goodjohn (Mnt) and Lola Groube (Pau) as winners in the Under 16 Divisions and Sol Fritchley (Mnt) and Kyra Wallis (Piha) as winners in the Under 14s Division.

The surf built slightly from day one of the event but was still well under the 1.0m mark at Makorori Beach with the same northerly cross shore winds impacting conditions.

Spencer continued his explosive performances from the early rounds into Sunday and finished with a 13.67 heat total in his final.

“Yeah it is good to finish the season on a high with that score and a win, I was happy with how I was surfing but wanted to land that big air reverse in the final,” said Rowson who is always searching for improvement in his surfing.

“It was a fun final, all the boys rip and they are good dudes, so it was fun to get out there with them” he added about his opponents, two of which were in their first final of the year. 

Rowson now turns his attention to training over the winter months and as he puts it “getting more powerful, stronger and faster I guess.”

Rowson defeated Tyler Perry (Kaik) in the final, Perry finishing with a 12.40 point heat total thanks to his own powerful surfing as he tried to chip away at the win.  Will Hardie (Piha) finished the final in third place ahead of fellow first-time finalist George Laery (Mnt).

National Open Women’s Champion Pia Rogers (WGM) secured her second win of the year in the Under 18 Girls Division in a tight, low-scoring final.  Rogers posted an 8.17 point heat, a nice two-turn combo the difference in the final as she finished ahead of Asia Braithwaite (Gis) as runner up.

“It’s a good way to finish the season, stoked.  I was really nervous in the final with this event being the last of the season and also the waves out there were small,” said Rogers. 

“My plan was to keep busy out there and get speed where I could, I almost maxed out my wave count so I guess I stuck to my plan,” she added. 

Rogers now shifts focus to the World Surfing Games at the end of the month where she is part of a six person New Zealand Team vying for Olympic qualification.

“I am in training mode at the moment for the World Surfing Games which is three weeks away in El Salvador and I am getting pretty excited for that opportunity.”

Sophia Brock finished in third place in the final ahead of Skylar McFetridge (Tara) in fourth.

Joe Goodjohn (Mnt) and Manu Roberts (Tai) were first time finalists of the NZ Grom Series this year and it was Goodjohn with a clutch 6.60 point ride in the dying seconds of the final that was enough to jump him into first and claim the win, his first at a national level.

Goodjohn forced Mount Maunganui friend Tao Mouldey into second place after leading the majority of the final.  Christian Fougere (Piha) finished in third place in the final ahead of Roberts in fourth.

Lola Groube (Pau) got to work early in the Under 16 Girls Division final and led from start to finish amassing an 11.20 point heat total for the win.  Making the most of the lefthanders running into the low tide rocks, Groube used her lightweight frame to fly across sections for the win.  Christchurch surfer Poppy Entwisle fought back with a late 5.33 point ride to claim her best result of the year with a second place finish ahead of Leia Millar (Piha) in third and Maya Mateja (Rag) in fourth.

Under 14 titles went to Sol Fritchley (Mnt) in the boys and Kyra Wallis (Piha) in the girls.  Fritchley showed exceptional skill as he pushed his performance throughout the final to secure a 14.93 total beating National Champion Vitor Bauermann (Mnt) with Lennox Holdaway (Mnt) in third and Luca Thompson (Rag) in fourth.

Wallis surfed to her fifth event win of the year ahead of Indi-Lee Ruddell (Whangarei) who placed second, Poppy Arkle (Piha) in third and Maddie Tod (Mnt) in fourth.

With the junior season coming to close with the Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro, qualification for the New Zealand Junior Team was confirmed.

Under 18 Boys – Navryn Malone (Rag), Spencer Rowson (Tara), Kalani Louis (Tara)
Under 18 Girls – Tayla Green (Aus), Anna Brock (Mnt), Pia Rogers (WGM)
Under 16 Boys – Alexis Owen (Dun), Tao Mouldey (Mnt), Theo Morse (Rag)
Under 16 Girls – Alani Morse (Rag), Leia Millar (Piha), Lola Groube (Pau)

The location and timing of the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships is yet to be determined later in the year.

For full results from the Sequence Surf Shop Gisborne Junior Pro, please visit https://liveheats.com/events/115156.

Sequence Surf Shop Pro Biggest Manoeuvre Awards
Under 18 Boys – Spencer Rowson (Tara)
Under 18 Girls – Sophia Brock (Mnt)
Under 16 Boys – Tao Mouldey (Mnt)
Under 16 Girls – Maya Mateja (Rag)
Under 14 Boys – Sol Fritchley (Mnt)
Under 14 Girls – Indi Lee Ruddell (Whangarei)

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.