Sandy Bay star takes third in Gisborne

An in-form Patxi Scott-Arrieta, from Sandy Bay, claimed a creditable third place in the under-16 boys division of the Hyundai National Surfing Championships, in Gisborne.
Scott-Arrieta surfed consistently throughout the five-day championships, but the wheels fell off during the under-16 final at Makorori Beach on Sunday, in perfect  1m waves and light winds.
He finished  third - after falling off a number of waves - behind Raglan's Ben Poulter, who snagged his first  under-16 national title  on his last two waves.
Poulter struggled at the start of the heat as he and the other opponents jostled for priority to the point of being out of position.  Piha's Tane Wallis  led the majority of the final but failed to find a good back-up wave after scoring a 6.0 on his first wave of the final. Wallis finished  second,  ahead of Scott-Arrieta and Adam Grimson, of Gisborne, in fourth.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Billy Stairmand, of Raglan, was crowned the new national men's champion after defeating the more experienced Gisborne surfers Richard Christie, who placed second, Maz Quinn and Morehu Roberts.
Stairmand posted 16.67 out of a possible 20 points,  registering the scores within the first four minutes of the 30-minute final.
He caught the first right-hander to post a 6.5, paddled back out and caught a left under his three opponents' noses. He then belted the lip of the wave through to the inside to post an excellent 9.0 point ride.
Mount Maunganui's Laura Rishworth won the open women's final, scoring 12.10 to beat three  opponents in Grace Spiers, of Whangamata, second, Gisborne's Jayda Martin-Fitzharris, third, and Ella Williams, of Whangamata, fourth.
The average age of the women's finalists was only 16 and 20-year-old Rishworth proved that age does have its benefits. "It was good surfing with the younger girls and watching them step it up but I wanted to surf my best and make sure that the oldest surfer in the final won," Rishworth said