NZ Primary School Surfing champs in Gisborne this weekend

Rising talent will be on show in Gisborne at the New Zealand Primary School Champs, which start on Saturday at Midway Beach conditions depending.

Gisborne’s Midway Beach will host over 80 potential surfing stars of the future this weekend.

The Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs presented by Skullcandy will be held tomorrow and on Sunday.

Midway Beach will be the primary venue but organisers say other options will come into play should conditions at Midway be unsuitable.

Gisborne District Council had been “extremely accommodating” despite the weather-borne devastation of the past year, they said.

The Primary School champs serve as a stepping stone to competitive surfing.

The National Scholastic Secondary School Champs will be held in Dunedin a week later.

This weekend’s competition will be the first national contest for many young surfers, so a round-robin format will give every entrant three heats before the top-ranked surfers go into the knockout rounds.

For many, it will be a great chance to reconnect with mates they haven’t seen since the last competition.

Jade Nias Phillips, of Ahipara, will look to build on the confidence she gained from her win at the AimsGames, where surfing made its debut last month.

She takes on a stacked Year 7 and 8 girls’ division.

In the boys’ year 7 and 8 division, local grom Jaxon Pardoe will be out to improve on his third placing last year. However, it will not be easy in a division brimming with talent.

The Primary School Championships are the entry point for New Zealand’s youngest surfers wanting to compete at a national level.

In the boys’ Year-6-and-under division, a strong contingent of Gisborne groms led by Lenny Quinn will look to use their local knowledge to reach the finals.

In the girls’ Year-6-and-under division, 2023 dominant performers Millie Dyck and Riley Miskell, from Bay Boardriders, will be out to feature again.

Some of the young surfers competing this weekend regularly take part in domestic events and even venture overseas to take on top Australian surfers.

Past event champions include Olympian Ella Williams (Whangamatā) and New Zealand representatives Ava Henderson (Christchurch) and Kehu Butler (Mt Maunganui).

The award for the nation’s top club at this level will also be presented. Bay Boardriders, of Mt Maunganui, are four-time defending champions.