After leading the field on the penultimate day of competition, Northland slipped to fifth place at the 2011 National Scholastic Surfing Championships, held in the Far North.
Gisborne rose to the occasion to claim their first team title in six years on Friday - the final day of the week-long competition, contested at the Pines, Shipwreck Bay in 1m waves with light westerly winds.
The winning Gisborne team who comprised only ten of a possible 12 surfers rode to an impeccable final day taking three titles and putting claim to eight finalists eventually nudging out Canterbury who almost snatched their first ever title. The margin after five days of surfing was a mere 244 points - the equivalent of one or two individual placings.
Having progressed through to Friday's semifinals after a solid performance throughout the contest, Northland's under-18 surfer Patxi Scott-Arrieta from Sandy Bay and under-16 competitor Paul Moretti from Mimiwhangata were unable to produce the goods for the judges. Both boys placed third in their heats which was not enough to secure a place in their respective finals and saw the Northland team slide down the ladder as the other teams came to the fore with waves going in their favour.
The only Northland surfer to reach the finals, was Patxi's younger brother Manu. He placed third in the under-14 boys final behind Canterbury's Harrison Whiteside, who entered the event as No1 seed. He proved that mantle was justified with his performance in the final scoring 11.07 out of a possible 20 points. Whiteside carved his way to victory on his backhand and when the waves allowed he attacked the end section on the shallow reef. Defending champion Te Rapai Barbarich-Love from Taranaki got one great wave in the final but was unable to find a backup wave riding a borrowed board from teammate Sean Kettle after breaking his the day prior. Barbarich-Love had to settle for second place, while first time finalist Waikato's Taylor Hutchison was fourth behind Scott-Arrieta.
