Rip Curl GromSearch Gisborne Results 2009

Surfers made the most of the great surf conditions on day one of the Rip Curl GromSearch New Zealand held at Makorori Beach today (Saturday 3rd October) contesting their way through 33 heats in the clean 1.0m waves.

A cold southerly weather system is marching up the country and is expected to hit Gisborne early on Sunday so it was a wise move to push through the event until near dark today.

The heats were tight throughout the day with many of the top seeds obviously feeling the pressure of potential selection for the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team which is named in just over two weeks. The Rip Curl GromSearch is the last national event where surfers get the chance to prove themselves in front of selectors.

Several surfers soaked up the intense pressure with the likes of Tane Wallis (Piha), Todd Doyle (Mnt), Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), Peri Matenga (Mnt) all winning their heats moving through to the quarterfinals of the Under 16 Boys Division.

The day's surprise package was Ella Williams (WGM) who outshone her male counterparts in the Under 16 Boys Division to make it through to the final 16 surfers after winning her heat.

However, the pressure proved too much for several surfers, as they succumbed one by one to their peers and were ultimately eliminated from the event. Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata) and Sean Kettle (Tara) both suffered losses in their preferred Under 14 Boys Division. The two surfers do however remain alive in the Under 16 Boys and will want to prove that today's performance was a mere hiccup.

Bay of Plenty surfers Mackenzie Christie and Levi Stewart were the two day-one standouts posting excellent wave scores in the 8.0 point range. Both surfers attacked the lip on several occasions to rack up their high scores in the Under 14 Boys Division and could push on to their first ever finals on the last day of the Rip Curl GromSearch tomorrow (Sunday).

Other standouts in the Under 14 Boys Division were Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Beach), Josh Taylor (Mnt) and Jordan Griffin (Mnt) who all moved through to the semifinals.

Late in the day the girls divisions were contested with Grace Spiers (WGM), Ella Williams (WGM) and Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis) looking highly impressive. Spiers and Fitzharris looked particularly sharp posting scores of 12.33 and 13.7 respectively - the two highest scores of the day. Martin - Fitzharris will contest two finals on Sunday after several successful heats on day one.

Other girls to progress through to the finals were Alexis Poulter (Rag) and Ella Williams in the Under 16 Girls. In the Under 14 Girls the final will comprise Ella Williams, Gabriella Sansom (Auck), Jayda Martin-Fitzharris and Mayia Thompson (Auck).

If you get a chance, listen to the Edge or tune into www.surf2surf.co.nz for updates on where all the action will take place and who is in the water throughout Sunday. Alternatively you can ring the Surfing New Zealand Hotline each morning at 7am for a full update - 0211134506.

Check out the store for the latest in rip curl wetsuits, tshirts from rip curl and rip curl board shorts.

Rip Curl GromSearch held at Makorori Beach Results

Under 16 Boys Round 1

Heat 1
Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 1, Sam Haven (Auck), 2, Dillon Tarrant (Ham), 3, Wiremu Tonga (Raglan), 4

Heat 2
Jamie Curle (Gis), 1, Jordan Hart (Tara), 2, Jack Hunt (Gis), 3, Jacob Steens (Ham), 4

Heat 3
Paul Carter (Tau), 1, William Brown, 2, Hemi Porter (Waitara), 3, Jonny Curle (Gis), 4

Heat 4
Ella Williams (Whanga), 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 2, Finn Jacobson (Tau), 3, Kale Isaac (Gis), 4

Under 16 Boys Round 2

Heat 1
Paul Moreiti (Mimiwhangata), 1, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 2, Josh Taylor (Mnt), 3, Taylor Louie (Auck), 4

Heat 2
Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 1, Fintan Cram (Whmata), 2, Sam Haven (Auck), 3, Chad Kleiman (Tau), 4

Heat 3
Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), 1, Fraser Chatham (Whmata), 2, Subarn Linklater (Auck), 3, Jamie Curle (Gis), 4

Heat 4
Tane Wallis (Piha), 1, Josh Kettle (Tara), 2, Jules Craft (Gis), 3, Jordan Hart (Tara), 4

Heat 5
Todd Doyle (Mnt), 1, Kahu Craig-Ranga (Waihi Bch), 2, Nat Hughes (Rag), 3, Paul Carter (Tau), 4

Heat 6
Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 1, Patxi Scott-Arietta (Sandy Bay), 2, William Brown, 3, Nick Mason (Mnt), 4

Heat 7
Ella Williams (Whanga), 1, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 2, Stefan Gross (Auck), 3, Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 4

Heat 8
Peri Matenga (Mnt), 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 2, Dylan Pigeon (Auck), 3, Kane Stewart (Waihi Bch), 4

Under 16 Boys Quarterfinals (Yet to be surfed)

Heat 1
Paul Moreiti (Mimiwhangata), Fraser Chatham (Whmata), Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), Josh Kettle (Tara)

Heat 2
Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), Tane Wallis (Piha), Fintan Cram (Whmata)

Heat 3
Todd Doyle (Mnt), Dune Kennings (Whmata), Mackenzie Christie (Tau), Sean Kettle (Tara)

Heat 4
Ella Williams (Whanga), Kahu Craig-Ranga (Waihi Bch), Peri Matenga (Mnt), Patxi Scott-Arietta (Sandy Bay)

Under 14 Boys Round 1

Heat 1
Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 1, Kobi Harrison (Mnt), 2, Jack Virtue (Gis), 3, Tangaroa Rawiri (Raglan), 4

Heat 2
Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), 1, Nicolaj Probst (Ohope), 2, Dougal Hunt (Gis), 3, Dylan Walsh Munro (Gis), 4

Heat 3
Josh Taylor (Mnt), 1, William Brown (H-Bay), 2, Nick Mason (Mnt), 3, Blake Haven (Muri), 4

Heat 4
Jordan Hart (Tara), 1, Rene England (Whktane), 2, Brennan Hill-Rennie (H-Bay), 3, Sam Poulter (Rag), 4

Under 14 Boys Quarterfinals

Heat 1
Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 1, Jules Craft (Gis), 2, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangta), 3, Nicolaj Probst (Ohope), 4

Heat 2, Blue
Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), 1, Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), 2, Sean Kettle (Tara), 3, Kobi Harrison (Mnt), 4

Heat 3
Josh Taylor (Mnt), 1, Peri Matenga (Mnt), 2, Taylor Louie (Piha), 3, Rene England (Whktane), 4

Heat 4, Blue
Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 1, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 2, Jordan Hart (Tara), 3, William Brown (H-Bay), 4

Under 14 Boys Semifinals (Yet to be surfed)

Heat 1
Jordan Griffin (Mnt), Jules Craft (Gis), Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch)

Heat 2
Josh Taylor (Mnt), Peri Matenga (Mnt), Mackenzie Christie (Tau), Dune Kennings (Whmata)

Check out the date for the final event of the Rip Curl GromSearch scheduled for Piha later in the year.

Rip Curl GromSearch Event 2 - Piha Beach, Auckland, 5-6 December 2009