An epic weekend (9th-10th Feb.) was had by Raglan junior surfers at Whangamata for Event 2 of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge. On Saturday at the main beach, the surf was contestable all day, solid 1.0m – 1.5m swell and moderate onshore winds. A relocation to the estuary beach on Sunday offered small waves around the 1.0m.
Late on day 1 Jayden Willoughby (Rag) got the Under 16 Boys Division off to a flyer with the highest single scoring wave of the day – a 9.6 point ride (out of a possible 10) as he pushed through to the Quarterfinals alongside Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei).
On day 2, Willoughby claimed his first win in the Under 16 Boys Division after being the form surfer all weekend. He posted a 15.3 point heat total which included an 8.43 point ride in the final. Current rankings leader Tom Butland (Tara) racked up another runner up finish in the final with Kora Cooper (Rag) finishing in third and Tom Robinson (Whngrei) finishing in fourth.
In the Under 18 Boys Division, current ratings leader Caleb Cutmore had to settle for a fourth place finish behind Luke Griffin (Mount), Jack Lee (Whaka) and Luis Southerwood (Whaka).
Navryn Malone (Under 14 boys division) and Brie Bennett (Under 16 girls division) both secured a third place finish.
Photos: Col surf2surf