Mount Maunganui surfers had a great day at the Whangamata leg of the Billabong Grom Series held on Sunday in clean 1.0m waves and light onshore winds.
Kehu Butler, Raiha Ensor and Teina Smith won their respective divisions with Teina the only new champion, winning the under-12 girls division.
The stronghold Mount Maunganui has on the girls side of surfing was never more evident than in the under-14 girls division that was filled with four of their surfers. Ensor made it two wins from two events scoring 11.80 points in the under-14 girls final after another battle with Kea Smith, who finished with 10.43 points and a runner-up finish. Maaia Reid-Bennett placed third in the final ahead of Elin Tawharu in fourth.
Teina Smith dominated the under-12 girls final charging out the back and catching several long waves on her own. Grace Pevats (Whangarei) also took some big take-offs unassisted and despite a few hefty wipeouts, showed amazing courage to finish in second place. Third went to first-time competitor Georgia Humphreys from the Wairarapa ahead of Iritana Butler (Mount) in fourth.
Kehu Butler (14), who was surfing up an age group in the under-16 boys, led his final from start to finish, posting 13.2 out of a possible 20 points in the final. The only time his lead was challenged was in the final 30 seconds when Harrison Whiteside (Christchurch) completed two big powerful manoeuvres to score a 7.1 point ride - the highest of the final but short of the 8.5 point ride required for the win.