The duo of Zara Owen and Jaxon Pardoe of Gisborne have claimed the two major titles at the Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs presented by Skullcandy completed in Gisborne today under sunny skies. 

Zara Owen of Dunedin earnt her first win in the Year 7 and 8 Girls Division title at the event while it was a first win also for Jaxon Pardoe in the Year 7 and 8 Boys Division.

In the Year 6 and Below Divisions it was Thomas Owen (Dunedin) and Nami Marsden (Bay of plenty) that claimed the titles in what was a jam-packed weekend of junior surfing action. 

Just under 100 talented young surfers took part in the event with participants from Ahipara to Dunedin in attendance, having a blast and for the majority, enjoying their first experience at a national event. 

Competition concluded in fun 1m – 1.5m waves at Midway Beach today with beautifully sunny conditions and light sea breezes for most of the event.

Gisborne turned on for the groms with idyllic conditions up until late in the evening on both days, which were a contrast to the 2023 edition of the event held in challenging waves at Northern Makorori.

In the Year 6 and Below boys, event stand out, Lenny Quinn of Gisborne went head-to-head with Arlo Scorringe of Bay Boardriders, Fergus fletcher of Bay Boardriders and Thomas Owen of South Coast, Dunedin, all with 3 heat wins to their name, it was anyone’s title to take.

Lenny Quinn controlled the lineup for the majority of the heat using his local knowledge to find a number of quality scores.

However, with time counting down and pulsing sets Owen found a buzzer beater to take the win in the dying seconds of the heat.

Fergus Fletcher placed third whilst Arlo Scorringe following an excellent performance all weekend long placed 4^th.

For the Year 6 and below girls it was Nami Marsden of Bay of Plenty who surfed with confidence and ability beyond her years. She edged the win in the final over fellow Bay Boardriders members Millie Dyck who placed 2^nd , Sieni Ryan in 3^rd and Lexi Sanders of Waihi beach finishing in fourth. 

In the boy’s year 7 and 8 it was a Bay Boardriders domination in the early rounds with Beau Broadhurst and Haru Marsden the first confirmed finalists of the event.

Broadhurst and Marsden went head-to-head early in the afternoon finding waves with plenty of scoring potential.

Their patience and competitive experience proved to be critical with both surfers getting the nod over Jordy Elder (South Coast) and Koa Gillespie (Oakura).

Semifinal 2 saw a dominant display from the Gisborne local Jaxon Pardoe. Also on form all weekend long he continued his success finding a 7.5 and a 5.5 putting him through to the final where a late flurry of waves saw him jump into first position with 3 minutes remaining.

Hot on his heels throughout the event was London Cockerill of New Plymouth. With three heat wins to his name in the early rounds Cockerill continued his momentum exchanging waves with Pardoe finding a 7.8 and a 4.0 .

Moving into the final heat of the day, deteriorating conditions challenged Cockerill and Haru Marsden who in his final year of the event left everything out in the water.

Beau Broadhurst held on in an edge of your seat finish concluding the event in 2^nd place whilst Haru placed 3^rd and Cockerill 4^th. Jaxon Pardoe took the prestigious title much to the delight of his home town support team.

In a nail biting finish to the day, the Year 7 and 8 girls put on a clinic in the deteriorating conditions.

Jade Phillips of Ahipara narrowly missed out on a win after Zara Owen clinched her final with a 7.67 on her final wave. 

Phillips relegated to 2^nd place showed dominance all event long winning three of four match ups. In today’s final, Charlotte Oswald of Whangamata finished third and Lara Lay of Mangawhai finished in fourth. 

The top club award went to Bay Boardriders for the 5^th time in a row.

A special selection of trophies were also handed out courtesy of Sticky Johnson surf wax.

Maeva Dyck received an award for standout performance of the event, Thea Tulloch for the best showing of sportsmanship and Lenny Quinn who received the best air award for a punt attempt in the early rounds.

The final trophy was awarded to London Cockerill for the best turn of the event displayed in his final heat.

Often the first event experience for many, the Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs presented by Skuyllcandy has ignited many careers of the best Kiwi surfers including Olympian Ella Williams (WGM), New Zealand representative’s Ava Henderson (Chch) and Kehu Butler (Mnt).   

The draw, live scores and all other information can be found by searching Surfing New Zealand on www.liveheats.com.  

Further Information   
For further information on the 2024 Sticky Johnson Primary School Champs pres by Skullcandy please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Dan on 021 02672292 or email dan.westerkamp@surfingnz.co.nz  

Imagery   
High resolution action images of the surfing will be available to media free of charge upon request.   

Social Media   
Keep up with all the action by following @surfingnz on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.    

Partners  
Generous support from Sticky Johnson and presenting sponsors Skullcandy, has made the Primary School Champs event.  The event is proudly hosted by Gisborne Boardriders.  

Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:   
Sport NZ   
Sunbum
OSM