Gisborne Boys’ High 10th at teams’ surfing festival

Gisborne Boys' High student Jett Dalton competes at the NZ School Surfing Festival teams' event. Photo / PhotoCPL

Gisborne Boys’ High School had to settle for 10th at the NZ School Surfing Festival teams’ competition at Maukatia on the west coast of Auckland.

The GBHS team finished fourth in their boys’ round 1 heat, which demoted them to the plate section.

They finished second in that with a team score of 16.60 - Jaxon Pardoe scoring 4.70 for his best wave, Ollie Tong 3.57, Austin Fergus 2.23 and Archie Alder 3.13.

New Plymouth won with 18.74.

The two schools duked it out again in the final, New Plymouth winning with 16.67 to Gisborne’s 16.60 - Pardoe scoring 3.00, Tong 4.47, Jett Dalton 4.50 and Alder 2.10.

Opunake High were third on 9.66 and Rosmini College were fourth on 5.97.

Whangamatā Area School won the boys’ championship final with a score of 25.29 while Mount Maunganui College won the girls’ title.

The champions were presented the Cranch Cup, which honours New Zealand surfing pioneer Carol Cranch, a two-time national champion and staunch supporter of junior surfing, who died in Gisborne in 2022.