Surfing NZ
Threepeat for Hutchison as Vette Steps Up Big in Under 20s
Raglan surfer Taylor Hutchison made it three in a row at the Backdoor GromBash completed at Manu Bay on Sunday (30th April) winning the Premier Under 20 Boys Division.
Joining Hutchison was Saffi Vette (Gis) who won the Under 20 Girls Division moving up from the Under 17 Girls Division with her biggest win of her career.
The two surfers along with their opponents had to endure some strong cross onshore winds and wobbly 1.0m – 1.4m waves that only the points of Manu Bay could line up to resemble a clean line up.
Hutchison’s win sees him reclaim the number one ranking from Harrison Whiteside after his fourth straight win in the division.
Hutchison was simply too strong for his three competitors in the 25 minute final. Double finalist Jared Gebert (Ohope) was his closest rival posting a 12.33 point heat total compared to Hutchison’s 14.40. Callum Chuter (Mnt) placed third in the final ahead of Jay Piper – Healion (Whitianga) who surfed in his first national level final.
Australian Axel Rose – Curotta claimed the Under 17 Boys Division but could not repeat his winning performance in the Under 14 Boys Division finishing runner up to Kora Cooper (Rag).
In the final of the Under 17 Boys Division, Rose – Curotta used his polished backhand to post a 13.83 point heat total. It is the third year the youngster has crossed the Tasman Sea to compete at the event and the first time he has finalled. He defeated his Kiwi opponents who were led by Dylan Preston (Mnt) in second, Jared Gebert in third and Caleb Cutmore (Ham) in fourth.
In the Under 14 Boys Division it was one near-perfect wave surfed by Kora Cooper (Rag) that completely flipped the final. Cooper went from fourth to first thanks to a 9.17 point ride. Finishing with a 13.3 point heat total, Cooper claimed his fourth win from six events contested this year and takes back the overall rankings lead with one event to go.
Curotta added a runner-up finish to his weekend’s performance ahead of Jayden Willoughby (Rag) in third and Josef Jungwirth (Rag) in fourth.
Saffi Vette (Gis) snatched victory in the Under 20 Girls Division surfing to a 5.9 on her last wave with 10 seconds to go in the final. Her win came at the demise of Mount Maunganui’s Raiha Ensor who led for much of the 25 minutes.
Vette finished with a 14.8 point heat total pipping Ensor’s 13.07 with Claudia Fraser (Piha) in third.
Despite missing the Under 20 Girls Division final due to pending international flights, Elin Tawharu made up for that earlier in the day with a win in the Under 17 Girls Division.
Tawharu posted an 11.7 point heat total for the win. It was her fourth straight win in the division giving her an unassailable rankings lead with one event remaining.
Finishing second was Brie Bennett (Rag) with Tiana – Breeze de Mooij (Mnt) in third and Zhana Hutchison (Tara) in fourth.
Bennett went on to win the Under 14 Girls Division and take the overall rankings for the year with the Backdoor GromBash being the final event.
Bennett was sitting in second place behind Ariana Shewry (Oakura) for much of the final until Shewry dropped in on the same wave as Bennett and incurred an interference putting her back to second.
Finishing third in the Under 14 Girls final was Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin) with first-time finalist Liv Haysom (Piha) finishing in fourth.
Please see below for final results from the Backdoor GromBash completed at Manu Bay, Raglan today, Sunday 30th April.
Under 20 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Jared Gebert (Ohope), 13.07, 1, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 13.03, 2, Harrison Whiteside (ChCh), 12.4, 3, Tom Butland (OaKura), 11.03, 4
Heat 2
Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 14.77, 1, Callum Chuter (Tau), 10.67, 2, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 10.57, 3, William Van Der Beek (Mnt), 8.6, 4
Under 20 Boys Division Final
Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 14.40, 1, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 12.33, 2, Callum Chuter (Tau), 9.50, 3, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 8.0, 4
Under 17 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 15.3, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 14.3, 2, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 11.8, 3, Shane Kraus (Piha), 9.6, 4
Heat 2
Dylan Preston (Mnt), 11.2, 1, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 9.73, 2, Kora Cooper (Rag), 7.1, 3, William Van der Beek (Mnt), 7, 4
Under 17 Boys Division Final
Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 13.73, 1, Dylan Preston (Mnt), 12.36, 2, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 10.83, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 10.8, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 12.5, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 11.6, 2, Tom Butland (Tara), 10.8, 3, Saxon Reber (AUS), 10.8, 4
Heat 2
Kora Cooper (Rag), 13.3, 1, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 11.4, 2, Navryn Malone (Rag), 9.2, 3, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 7.97, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Final
Kora Cooper (Rag), 14.63, 1, Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 14.33, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 14.17, 3, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 13.83, 4
Under 20 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 13.8, 1, Elin Tawharu (Mnt), 11.2, 2, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 8.77, 3, Tiana – Breeze de Mooj (Mnt), 8.03, 4
Heat 2
Saffi Vette (Gis), 12.3, 1, Claudia Fraser (Auck), 12.2, 2, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 9.27, 3, Zhana Hutchison (Tara), 8.73, 4
Under 20 Girls Division Final
Saffi Vette (Gis), 14.80, 1, Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 13.07, 2, Claudia Fraser (Auck), 9.60, 3, Elin Tawharu (Mnt), n/s
Under 17 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Elin Tawharu (Mnt), 11.8, 1, Brie Bennett (Rag), 8.6, 2, Aimee Brown (Auck), 5.93, 3, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 5.4, 4
Heat 2
Zhana Hutchison (Tara), 9.77, 1, Tiana – Breeze de Mooj (Mnt), 6.57, 2, Gabrielle Paul (Auck), 6.53, 3, Saffi Vette (Gis), 5.1, 4
Under 17 Girls Division Final
Elin Tawharu (Mnt), 11.7, 1, Brie Bennett (Rag), 9.13, 2, Tiana – Breeze de Mooj (Mnt), 8.43, 3, Zhana Hutchison (Tara), 8.43
Under 14 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Brie Bennett (Rag), 12.3, 1, Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 11.5, 2, Anna Brock (Mnt), 7.83, 3, Daizee Rawls (Gis), 5.97, 4
Heat 2
Ariana Shewry (Tara), 15.6, 1, Liv Haysom (Piha), 10.1, 2, Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 8.27, 3, Hannah King (Gis), 6.83, 4
Under 14 Girls Division Final
Brie Bennett (Rag), 12.27, 1, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 7.77, 2, Natasha Gouldsbury (Levin), 7.57, 3, Liv Haysom (Piha), 3.93, 4