Whangamatā Area School students Lola Groube, Leia Millar and Pia Rogers are off to the Junior World Surf Games in Brazil.
Whangamatā Area School students Lola Groube, Leia Millar and Pia Rogers are off to the Junior World Surf Games in Brazil.
Three Whangamatā students will represent New Zealand at the ISA Junior World Surf Games in Brazil in November.
Whangamatā Area School students Lola Groube, Leia Millar and Pia Rogers were recently named to compete in the event, known as a stepping stone into the world of top-level surfing.
The event is the largest junior surfing event in the world, hosting more than 340 surfers from 44 nations.
New Zealand is this year sending a full team of our best 12 athletes in the country to compete in the Under-18 Women’s, Under-18 Men’s, Under-16 Boys and Under-16 Girls divisions.
Pia, 17, is a U-18 rep, and Leia, 16, is a U-16 rep, along with 12-year-old Lola.
She described herself as “super, super-stoked to make the team”.
“My goal for the juniors is to try to make the top 30 this year.”
With her experience from the 2022 edition of the event, joining the seniors at the ISA World Surfing Games this year and heading to Bali in August for the Anoc Beach Games, Pia hopes to improve on her 37th-place finish.
Whangamatā's Pia Rogers was selected for the New Zealand junior surf team. Photo / PhotoCPL
“Last year was an awesome experience and introduction to the competitive surfing level outside of New Zealand, so I am stoked to be able to go to the event again feeling prepared,” Leia said.
Leia moved from Piha to Whangamatā specifically to join the local Surf Academy. The Academy is essentially a subject choice in the Whangamatā Area School curriculum that students can apply to be part of at the beginning of the year.
This is second time representing New Zealand in the U-16 team, after competing last year in El Salvador.
“Having been around the team at surf events, it looked like a great team environment and a really good thing to be part of, and had the benefit of combining the usual school subjects with surfing,” she said.
This will be Lola Groube’s first appearance at the event, and one she is really looking forward to. Lola is from the neighbouring town of Pauanui and also joined the Whangamatā Area School Surf Academy this past year. Her goal was always to make the NZ surfing team, so she is pretty excited to have achieved her goal at such a young age.
When asked about the upcoming trip, Lola said: “I’m really excited to be travelling to Brazil with the NZ team, and look forward to surfing with the best girls from around the world.”
The cost of the trip per athlete is about $12,000, and over Labour Weekend, Pia, Leia and Lola raised funds by coaching youngsters aged 7-15.
They are also holding a quiz night at Whangamatā Memorial Hall on Saturday, October 28 at 7pm.
There is a $50 entry fee for drinks and dinner, and the evening includes raffles and auction items.
Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite, at the Whangamatā Area School, or by texting 021 766 778.
In a shared statement to HC Post, all three athletes said they were “excited to represent the country” and were looking forward to the challenges ahead, but needed “to be both physically and mentally prepared”. They aim to “learn and practice making good decisions under pressure”.
As an IOC-recognised event, New Zealand has been represented at ISA World Junior Surf Games since 2003 when the junior divisions were separated from the World Surfing Games.
The last time New Zealand competed at the championships was in El Salvador in 2022, where the New Zealand junior team placed 13th.
