Mount Maunganui turned on the weather more than the waves to open the first event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge on Saturday.

Over 120 of New Zealand's top young surfers worked hard to advance through the preliminary rounds of the event and on to the final day.

The surf remained in the 0.5 metre - 1.0 metre range all day with light variable winds giving way to afternoon sea breezes. Conditions made it challenging to find good scoring rides throughout the day and particularly on the low tide in the afternoon.

It was the top seeds that rightfully pushed through their heats to advance to the Quarterfinals of their respective divisions.

Taranaki surfer Kalani Louis was one surfer to impress in the early rounds of the Under 16 Boys Division, posting a 16.23 point heat total with two excellently surfed lefthanders that ran along the beach.

Navryn Malone (Rag) followed Louis' lead during his heat to easily advance to the Quarterfinals going vertical on his backhand several times to post a 15.33 point heat total.

Other surfers to advance with heats winds included Bill Byers (Piha), Will Hardie (Piha) and Jack Tyro (Chch).

Dale Cromhout, Photo: Cory / NZ Surfing Magazine

In the Under 14 Boys Division, two rounds were contested to get through the large field and find the final 16 surfers. Hawkes Bay surfer Dale Cromhout continued his exceptional summer form pushing through to the Quarterfinals with a 13.17 point heat win for his show of aggressive surfing. Number one seed Ashton Rogers (WGM) kept his hopes alive with a heat win and tight backhand surfing to post a 10.5 point heat score.

Other surfers to impress were Christian Fougere (Piha) who advanced with two heat wins as well as local surfers Cooper Roberts, Tyler Stenzel and Tava Santorik who all won their heats.

Late in the day the Under 18 Boys got their campaigns off to a flying start with National Champion Finn Vette (Gis) living up to his number one seed. Tom Robinson (Whngrei) found the corners on the lefts to rack up some fast paced turns winning his heat as did Jayden Willoughby (Rag).

Local boys Jack Hinton and Isaac Klein – Ovink notched up good heat wins while Raglan's Kora Cooper rounded out the winners circle for the Round of 24.

The Under 14 Girls Division was contested at the end of the day, post report, while the Under 16 and Under 18 Girls Divisions will be contested on Sunday. The top boardriders club for the event will also be determined at the conclusion of the event.

The surf is expected to build slightly for the final day of the event on Sunday with a 1.0m swell and more light variable winds forecasted.

Action takes place at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui from 8am until late afternoon today, Sunday with finals commencing from 2:00pm. Live scoring can be viewed at www.compusurf.com.au.

Results from Day 1 of the first event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge held at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui Saturday January 30:

Under 16 Boys Round 1
Heat 1
Kalani Louis (Tara), 16.2, 1, George Laery (Mnt), 8.57, 2, Leo Hobson (Mur), 5.97, 3, Luke Dymond (Mnt), 5.37, 4
Heat 2
Tai Murphy (Whaka), 10.2, 1, James Charlesworth (Auck), 7.5, 2, Mali Millen (Tai), 2.45, 3, Otis Baxter (WGM), 2.3, 4
Heat 3
Jack Tyro (Chch), 10.5, 1, Beau Woods (Mnt), 8.97, 2, Evan Broad (Hbay), 7.57, 3, Nate Florence (Tara), 4.9, 4
Heat 4
Tao Mouldey (Mnt), 9.67, 1, Tai Erceg - Gray (Whngrei), 8.03, 2, Eden Mainwaring (WGM), 5.07, 3, Thomas Crockford (Mnt), 4.97, 4
Heat 5
Navryn Malone (Rag), 15.3, 1, Tana Clapham (Rag), 11.2, 2, Spencer Rowson (Tara), 8.4, 3, Lachie Kidd (Mnt), 3.6, 4
Heat 6
Mathias Thompson (Piha), 7.3, 1, Braedon Webster (Ohope), 7.23, 2, Ben Fougere (Piha), 6.17, 3, Hugo Sale (Auck), 2.83, 4
Heat 7
Bill Byers (Piha), 13.5, 1, Noah Camburn (Whaka), 7.3, 2, Kaden Littlejohn (Kati), 3.83, 3, Luke Mitchell (Mnt), 3.4, 4
Heat 8
Will Hardie (Piha), 10.87, 1, Izaak Hayes (Whngrei), 7.87, 2, Levi Waller (Pau), 4.9, 3, William Blair (Mnt), 4.23, 4


Under 14 Boys Round of 48
Heat 1
Jay Tingle (Pau), 1, Zen Mouldey (Mnt), 2, Connor Cummins, 3, Taylor Mainwaring (WGM), 4
Heat 2
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 4, 1, Daniel Cox (WGM), 3, 2, Beau Rogers (WGM), 2, 3, Ffeon Clifford, 1, 4
Heat 3
Zeke Pregert (Piha), 11.27, 1, Cohen Graham (Auck), 10.17, 2, Lennox Jennings, 4.67, 3, Koby Cox (WGM), 2.33, 4
Heat 4
Vitor Kokemper (Mnt), 11.3, 1, Sev Tolhurst (Piha), 10.8, 2, Ryder Pragert (Auck), 1.73, 3
Heat 5
Christian Fougere (Piha), 10, 1, Christian Iggulden (Pau), 6, 2, Alex Burnett, 4.73, 3, Braydon Gregory (Hbay), 4.57, 4
Heat 6
Tava Santorik (Mnt), 10.83, 1, Jacob Graham, 5.5, 2, Jacob Walker (Auck), 4.73, 3, Noah Officer, 4.1, 4
Heat 7
Harrison Biddle (WGM), 8.77, 1, Soren Bucka - Christensen (Tara), 7.6, 2, Lachie Cruickshank (Auck), 4.5, 3, Beau Fitzgibbon, 3.37, 4
Heat 8
PJ Klein Ovink (Mnt), 13.3, 1, Hunter Graham, 5.83, 2, Akira Reid (Auck), 5.07, 3, Solomon Ryan, 2.93, 4

Under 14 Boys Round of 32
Heat 1
Kauai Rahui (Whgrei), 7.23, 1, Ezekiel Wyper (Tai), 6.47, 2, Daniel Cox (WGM), 5.4, 3, Jay Tingle (Pau), 4.03, 4
Heat 2
Tyler Stenzel (Mnt), 8.77, 1, Gabriel Lobb (Gis), 8.47, 2, Zen Mouldey (Mnt), 6.67, 3, Remy Sale (Auck), 6.3, 4
Heat 3
Cooper Roberts (Mnt), 10.07, 1, Zeke Pregert (Piha), 7.33, 2, Sev Tolhurst (Piha), 5.93, 3, Maceo Thompson (Piha), 5.6, 4
Heat 4
Ashton Rogers (WGM), 10.5, 1, Vitor Kokemper (Mnt), 6.27, 2, Cohen Graham (Auck), 4.4, 3, Harley Waller (Pau), 2.5, 4
Heat 5
Christian Fougere (Piha), 8.67, 1, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 7.67, 2, Ben Milne (WGM), 5.3, 3, Jacob Graham, 2.83, 4
Heat 6
Tava Santorik (Mnt), 8, 1, Theo Morse (Orewa), 7, 2, Sam Frazerhurst (Auck), 5.3, 3, Christian Iggulden (Pau), 2.73, 4
Heat 7
Taj Dal Bosco (WGM), 7.17, 1, Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck), 5.43, 2, Harrison Biddle (WGM), 4.43, 3, Hunter Graham, 3.2, 4
Heat 8
Dale Cromhout (Hbay), 13.2, 1, PJ Klein Ovink (Mnt), 11, 2, Soren Bucka - Christensen (Tara), 9.4, 3, Zak Becroft (Auck), 3.57, 4


Under 18 Boys Round of 26
Heat 1
Ben Moretti (Ahipara), 9.13, 1, Harper McBride (Mnt), 6.63, 2, Lennox McBride (Mnt), 5.43, 3, Jean Viljoin (Mnt), 4.87, 4

Under 18 Boys Round of 24
Heat 1
Finn Vette (Gis), 12.3, 1, Harper McBride (Mnt), 7.3, 2, Connor Van Der Pol (Mnt), 6.6, 3, Ari D'Anvers (Whngrei), 3.77, 4
Heat 2
Isaac Klein - Ovink (Mnt), 10.2, 1, Sam Charlesworth (Auck), 9.53, 2, Joshua Wynne-Lewis (HB), 6.8, 3, Jackson Peak (Auck), 6.3, 4
Heat 3
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 9.27, 1, Kobey Gregory (Hbay), 8.6, 2, Jai Wallis (Piha), 6.57, 3, Valentin Gadras (Rag), 3.97, 4
Heat 4
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 11.9, 1, Jacob Saunders (Mnt), 9.6, 2, Jacob Buckle (Whangrei), 8.14, 3, Luca Rendle (Hbay), 7.54, 4
Heat 5
Jack Hinton (Mnt), 10.5, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Rag), 7.37, 2, Max de Groot (HBay), 6.9, 3, Cameron Broad (HBay), 2.87, 4
Heat 6
Kora Cooper (Rag), 8.83, 1, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei), 8.17, 2, Ben Moretti (Ahipara), 6.4, 3, Charlie Webb ( Auck), 2.87, 4

The Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge offers three of nine events nationwide where grommets can take part before the final in May which caters for the top 16 boys and eight girls in the Under 18 and 16 Divisions.

The sixteenth edition of the series draws on a long history of fun with all of New Zealand's current crop of elite surfers having taken part including Richard Christie (Gis), Paige Hareb (Tara), Billy Stairmand (Rag), Mount Maunganui's own Kehu Butler and Ella Williams (WGM).

The Billabong Grom Series receives generous support from Billabong, with sponsorship from Oceanbridge, Kustom, Von Zipper and Dakine to this series possible. Bay Boardriders are hosting the event.

Follow the action via social media @billabong on Instagram and @surfingnz across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Follow the series hashtag - #BillabongGromSeries.