Mount Maunganui surfers enjoyed another successful weekend at the Backdoor GromBash.
Mackenzie Christie surfed to his first-ever victory at national level, winning the premier Under-18 Boys Division on Sunday.
With surf sitting around the 1.5m-2.0m mark all day with next to no wind, the scene was set for an amazing day of surfing that included firsts, double titles for the country's best young surfers.
Christie claimed his victory late in the day, surfing to a 14.0 point total. "Yeah [I'm] so stoked, it's about time I won an event. It is one of my last events in the Under-18 Boys Division so yeah ... it is definitely about time," said Christie.
"The boys were getting such big scores in the lead up to the final but in the final it went a bit dry and I had two decent scores already," he added of his 7.17 and a 6.83 point rides. Christie was the only goofy footer (right foot forward) in the final which gave him a point of difference as he completed tight hooks in the pocket.