Tane Wallis (Piha) stormed back to form to win the second event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge held at Whangamata today (Sunday). Showing maturity in the inconsistent waves, Wallis waited for the best waves to come and rode away with the win. Local girl Grace Spiers backed up her win only one week ago in the Under 16 Girls Division to jump out to a massive lead on the ratings.

Small but perfect surf of a little under 1.0m prevailed throughout the day and the offshore winds held up until the last five minutes of the finals so conditions could not be better to complete the event.

Wallis posted an 8.0 point ride on one of the biggest waves of the day when he put it all on the line out the back on his first turn completing a big fins free manoeuvre. He then worked the wave through to the inside to complete the wave and was rewarded with the highest single wave score of the final.

Wallis finished the final with a 13.05 point heat total for the win. He was closely chased down by Mount Maunganui surfer Todd Doyle who finished with 12.35 points out of a possible 20 in the final. Doyle has continued to impress with his fast surfing completing some innovative turns to finish his waves. Doyle, the only surfer to make both finals of the first two events, finds himself in third place on the ratings behind Wallis and Ben Poulter (Rag) who are now first equal.

Todd Doyle – Image NZ Surfing Magazine

Elliot Paerata – Reid (Piha) placed third in the final after earlier trouncing his opponents in the semifinals scoring a near perfect 9.5 point ride. The waves eluded him in the final and he was left with a 7.0 point heat score to outpoint Jacob Kohn (Gis) in fourth.

Grace Spiers (WGM) continued her return from injury in style and in home waters too when she won her second event in as many weeks. Spiers, who was selected as a reserve for the New Zealand Junior Team this year again showed how much class she posses despite only being back in the water for less than two months after two years of serious back trouble.

Spiers now finds herself with an almost unassailable lead on the ratings. Closest rival and runner up at today’s event Ella Williams (WGM) would have to win the final event with Spiers placing seventh or worse for Williams to overtake her and snatch the trip to Australia and entry in the Billabong Parko Grom Stomp held on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Grace Spiers – Image NZ Surfing Magazine

Ella Williams – Image NZ Surfing Magazine

Double finalist Williams now moves into second place on the Under 16 Girls ratings after today’s result. It was a highly successful day of competing for Williams who also won the Under 14 Girls Division. Third place today was taken by Kristi Zarifeh (Chch) who secured her best result of summer and Gisborne surfer Jayda Martin – Fitzharris (Gis), also a double finalist placed fourth.

Waretini Wano (Piha) got his first ever win at a national level in the Under 14 Boys Division. After posting a heat high 6.0 point wave Wano only needed a 2.5 for the win. The inconsistent conditions meant that Wano had to fight for his second scoring ride but he did manage to secure the score in the second half of the heat to overtake Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata) by 0.10 points.

Paul Moretti – Image NZ Surfing Magazine

Moretti looked like he was going to seal the win and better his runner up placing from the first event of the series but it was not to be. However Moretti does take the ratings lead with one event remaining and will hope to finish on top to secure his trip to Aussie to compete in the Billabong Parko Grom Stomp later in the year. Adam Grimson (Gis), the lone goofy foot surfer in the final placed third and Taranaki surfer Sean Kettle repeated his result from last weekend placing fourth.

Ella Williams (WGM) reversed the result of the first event to win the Under 14 Girls Division over Jayda Martin – Fitzharris (Gis). Williams scored 11.0 points in the final compared with Martin – Fitzharris 10.55. Gabriella Sansom (Auck) finished third with double finalist Dayna Story (Gis) in fourth.

Korbin Hutchings (Gis) surfed his first wave to an 8.25 point ride and never looked back in the Under 12 Boys final. The long righthander got ripped to bits by Hutchings with a series of big cutbacks and hacks. Hutchings finished with a total heat score of 13.2. It was the second win in a row for Hutchings with the minor placings also replicating the first event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge. Manu Scott – Arrieta finished in second with Quin Matenga (Mnt) in third. Taranaki surfer Isaac Kettle (Tara) placed fourth in his first ever final.

Dayna Story (Gis) took her second win of the seires in the Under 12 Girls Division. Story dominated her opponents scoring 14.5 in the final leaving her competitors requiring more than a perfect ten point ride to get close to her heat total. Local girls Lily Spiers and Bronte Turner placed second and third in the final with Paige Penny (Gis) in fourth.

Please see below for final results from the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge held at Whangamata.

Under 16 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1Todd Doyle (Mnt), 1, Jacob Kohn (Gis), 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 3, Subarn Linklater (Auck), 4Heat 2Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha), 1, Tane Wallis (Piha), 2, Ben Poulter (Rag), 3, Adam Grimson (Gis), 4

Under 16 Boys Finals
Tane Wallis (Piha), 1, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 2, Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha), 3, Jacob Kohn (Gis), 4

Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1Paul Moretti (Mimiwhanga), 1, Adam Grimson (Gis), 2, Peri Matenga (Mnt), 3, Jules Craft (Gis), 4Heat 2Waretini Wano (Piha), 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 2, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 3, Kahu Craig Te Ranga (Waihi Bch), 4

Under 14 Boys Finals
Waretini Wano (Piha), 1, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhanga), 2, Adam Grimson (Gis), 3, Sean Kettle (Tara), 4

Under 12 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 1, Quin Matenga (Mnt), 2, Travis Morton, 3Heat 2 Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 1, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 2, Blake Haven (Muriwai), 3

Under 12 Boys Finals
Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 1, Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 2, Quin Matenga (Mnt), 3, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 4

Under 16 Girls Semifinals
Heat 1Ella Williams (Whmata), 1, Kristi Zarifeh (Chch), 2, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 3, Gia Garrick (Tairua), 4 Heat 2Grace Spiers (Whmata), 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 2, Alethea Lock (Chch), 3, Gabriella Sansom (Gis), 4

Under 16 Girls Finals
Grace Spiers (Whmata), 1, Ella Williams (Whmata), 2, Kristi Zarifeh (Chch), 3, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 4 Under 14 Girls Semifinals
Heat 1Ella Williams (WGM), 1, Gabriela Sansom (Auck), 2, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 3Heat 2Jayda Matrin-Fitzharris (Gis), 1, Dayna Story (Gis), 2, Demi Hewitt (Mnt), 3

Under 14 Girls Finals
Ella Williams (WGM), 1, Jayda Matrin-Fitzharris (Gis), 2, Gabriela Sansom (Auck), 3, Dayna Story (Gis), 4

Under 12 Girls Semifinals

Dayna Story (Gis), 1, Lily Spiers (Whmata), 2, Bronte Turner (WGM), 3, Paige Penny (Gis), 4

Make sure you get to witness the final event this summer. There will be some great surfing and plenty of fun activities to partake in. Plus the six division winners will be awarded their boarding passes to Australia for the Billabong Parko Grom Stomp.

Billabong Grom Series Event Three – 28th February – 1st March Piha Beach, Auckland

For more information on the series please contact Ben Kennings at Surfing New Zealand on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz. Alternatively contact AJ Matthews at Billabong on 021 2416227 or email aj.matthews@billabong.co.nz.

The Billabong Grom Series is brought to you by Billabong, Oceanbridge, Nickelodeon, Panasonic, Pacific Blue, Von Vipper, Kustom and NZ Surfing Magazine.

Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by

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