A BIG day at Sandy Bay greeted Northland's more than 40 secondary school surfers as they gathered to compete at the Northland scholastic championships on Sunday. It wasn't quite surf of epic proportions but sets of 1.5-2m with a steady offshore breeze giving the young surfers the chance to show offtheir skills in front of their peers. One surfer who was almost peerless at his final Northland scholastic competition was Tikipunga High School seventh former Paco Divers, who unsurprisingly took out the under-18 division. It wasn't because the competition in the class was poor _ far from it. All of the finalists in the division, Ollie Bone, Kieran Pullman and Todd Hale, are top surfers in their own right but Divers has shown how far he has improved during his time competing in national open events and in age-group international events during the past year. "Having Paco around this year will definitely add a little bit to our team this year. Having him out there pulling air reverses on Sunday showed the young kids coming up (through the ranks) just what it's like to compete at an international level," North Coast Boardriders president and contest organiser Malcolm Pullman said. Divers was in scorching form as he won the under-18 final, but his fellow finalists all have the consolation of having surfed well enough in the event to probably earn invitations to compete at the National Scholastics in Taranaki in April. Pullman said the depth in the under-18 class would help Northland to field a strong team this year at the Taranaki event. Experience gained at national competitions in age group and open events helped Mimiwhangata's Joe Moretti take out the under-16 division. But he didn't have it all his own way as he was pushed hard in the final by Kamo High school's Darcy Bowden. Both now look like certainties to be in the team to travel to Taranaki. The under-14 boys' division was won by Paxti Scott-Arrieta, with Jack Treacy making strong progress in the division to take second place. The numbers in the women's division meant the under-18 final and the under-16s were run together, with Demi Poynter out-pointing Kaitaia's Jesse Anderson to win the 18s and Ellen Koland winning the 16s title.
