The Under 20 Boys Division began with a crazy day of surfing at the first event of the Billabong Grom Series at Tay St in Mount Maunganui, with day two underway today.

Fifty-six heats were contested at the Grom Series, presented by Oceanbridge, on Saturday, with two arenas running for half of the day to get through large turnout of surfers from throughout New Zealand.

Whangamata surfer Dune Kennings slashing his way to the Quarterfinals of the first event of the Billabong Grom Series, presented by Oceanbridge, at Mount Maunganui on Saturday. Photo by: Rambo Estrada.

The surf remained under the 1.0m mark throughout the day but the light morning winds followed by sea breezes made for some great conditions at times.

Whangamata surfer Dune Kennings got the action underway in the very first heat of the day surfing to a 15.17 point heat total advancing through to the quarterfinals.

Kennings was joined by Christchurch surfer Harrison Whiteside who also looked promising in the early rounds posting a 14.33 point heat win with some powerful forehand turns.

Mount Maunganui surfer Mackenzie Christie also posted a high 14.0 point heat total to win the final heat of the round.

The small waves did take their toll on several surfers with top seeds Josh and Daniel Farr, Jonas Tawharu (Mnt) and Jack Wilson (Chch) all being eliminated from the division.

Kai Wolfe (Gis) scored a perfect ten point ride in the Under 14 Girls Division. The young surfer completed two critical turns, busting her fins out the back of the wave on her second turn.

Wolfe scored an 18.2 point heat total to advance into the semi-finals. She will also contest the quarterfinals of the Under 17 Girls Division on Sunday morning.

National Champion Gabriella Sansom (Auck) lived up to expectations surfing to a comprehensive win in the Under 20 Girls Division.

Sansom scored a 17 point heat total which included a fantastic 9.0 point ride on her backhand showing excellent speed, power and flow though her turns. It has been a week since the Auckland surfer claimed her title at the National Championships completed at Piha last weekend.

Yesterday, Sansom progressed alongside local favourite Kea Smith, herself having an excellent heat and posting a 9.0 on one of her waves. Other surfers to impress in the Under 20 Girls Division included Gabriella's sister Bianca, Milly Crewe (Mur) and Claudia Fraser (Piha) who all took heat wins.

Being the first event of the series and a new year, the Under 14 Boys Division unearthed some great new talent. The youngest age group surfers were hooting at the chance of surfing against each other as well as some of the more well-known names they have seen previously.

The anticipation grows all day for these guys as they continually come up asking when their heats are, staying in their wetsuits all day and trying to hide from the sun until they are ready to hit the water.

National Champion Kaya Horne (Mnt) is a seasoned campaigner in competitions and he dominated the early rounds progressing through to the semifinals.Newcomers such as Whangarei surfer Thomas Robinson stood out with his smooth approach to the waves, the young surfer winning his first heat.

Other fresh faces to advance included James Scott (Coro), Navryn Malone (Rag), Finn Vette and Sam Dingle (Tara).Outside of the competition, the competitors all enjoyed the luxury of the onsite breakfast supplied by Muesli Hub before they kitted up in the sumo suits and body slammed each other between their heats and free surfs.

Conditions are expected to be similar for day two of the event with a 1.0m swell and variable morning winds followed by sea breezes.

Day two will be held at Omanu Beach, with an 8am start. Finals are expected to hit the water from 2pm.

Please see below for results from day one of Event 1 of the 2015 Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge at Tay St, Mount Maunganui on January 24.

Under 20 Boys Round 1 Heat 1

Dune Kennings (Whmata), 15.17, 1, Thomas Dixon - Smith Gis), 6.57, 2, Tom Norton (Waipu), 4.3, 3, Sean Kettle (Tara), 0, 4

Heat 2

Corey Asplin (Ham), 13.9, 1, Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 11.3, 2, Jonas Tawharu (Mnt), 10.9, 3, Jack Mills (Mnt), 7.43, 4

Heat 3

Callum Chuter (Tau), 11.2, 1, Andrew Fraser - MacKenzie (Tau), 10.47, 2, Sam Sands (Chch), 8.17, 3, Harry Macintosh (Rag), 5.47, 4

Heat 4

Harrison Whiteside (ChCh), 14.33, 1, Conor Mclennan (Chch), 7.1, 2, Tim Westerkamp (Auck), 5.03, 3

Heat 5

Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 11.3, 1, Dylan Preston (Whmata), 10.5, 2, Jacob Pullen (Auck), 4.43, 3

Heat 6

Caleb Braithwaite (Whakatane), 12.63, 1, Riccardo Lucibella (Tara), 10.73, 2, Joshua Farr (Tara), 9.5, 3, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 6.17, 4

Heat 7

Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 10.37, 1, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 10.17, 2, Jack Wilson (Chch), 9.23, 3, Campbell Ivory, 9.1, 4

Under 14 Boys Round 1 Heat 1

Navryn Malone (Rag), 1, Alex O'Dwyer (Whaka), 2, Tom Graham (Mnt), 3, Ted Rua (Piha), 4

Heat 2

James Scott (Coro), 1, Ollie Meadows (Waiheke), 2, Leo Gerrie (Mnt), 3, Sam Gerrie (Mnt), 4

Heat 3

Finn Johnson (Gis), 1, William Van Der Beek (Mnt), 2, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 3, Harper Mcbride (Mnt), 4

Heat 4

James Ririnui (Mnt), 1, Jai Parr (Mnt), 2, Kava Matthews (Tara), 3, Oscar Brady (Mnt), 4

Under 14 Boys Round 2 Heat 1

Tom Robinson (Auck), 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 2, Cory Vercoe (Mangawhai), 3, Ollie Quinn Gilbert (Auck), 4

Heat 2

Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 1, Finn Vette (Gis), 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 3, Alex O'Dwyer (Whaka), 4

Heat 3

Max Brunker (Whangarei), 1, James Scott (Coro), 2, Jai Wallis (Auck), 3, Nathan Gebert (Ohope), 4

Heat 4

Kaya Horne (Mnt), 1, Ollie Meadows (Waiheke), 2, Kora Cooper (Rag), 3, Rory Goodchap (TGA), 4

Heat 5

Dylan Preston (Whmata), 1, Finn Johnson (Gis), 2, Ryder Pennington (Tara), 3, Jack Lee (Whakatane), 4

Heat 6

William Van Der Beek (Mnt), 1, Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 2, Reef Newdick (Mnt), 3, Mac Rogers (Waiheke), 4

Heat 7

James Ririnui (Mnt), 1, Sam Dingle (Tara), 2, Tom Butland (Tara), 3, Luis Aruquipa - Southwood (Whaka), 4

Heat 8

Lucca Lind (Tara), 1, Luke Griffin (Mnt), 2, Jai Parr (Mnt), 3, Kya Knight (Mnt), 4

Under 20 Girls Round 1 Heat 1

Milly Crewe (Muri), 1, Abby Falwasser - Logan (Gis), 2, Tiana - Breeze de Mooij (Mnt), 3, Celeste Calway (Waihi Bch), 4

Heat 2

Claudia Fraser (Auck), 1, Zhana Hutchison (Tara), 2, Elin Tawharu (Mnt), 3

Heat 3

Bianca Sansom (Auck), 1, Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 2, Dayna Story (Gis), 3, Billie Scott (Whangarei), 4

Heat 4

Gabriella Sansom (Auck), 1, Kea Smith (Mnt), 2, Maaia Reid - Bennett (Mnt), 3, Britt Kindred (Muri), 4

Under 17 Girls Round 1 Heat 1

Sammy Croker (Waihi Bch), 9.67, 1, Gabrielle Paul (Auck), 6.4, 2, Courtney Salahub (Auck), 2.97, 3

Heat 2

Maaia Reid - Bennett (Mnt), 10.8, 1, Georgia Wederell (ChCh), 7.83, 2, Aimee Brown (Gt Barrier), 3.47, 3, Imogen Halliday (Auck), 1.43, 4

Heat 3

Stella Smith (Gis), 11.5, 1, Grace Pevats (Whanagarei), 6.13, 2, Jennifer Rockwell (Auck), 0, N/S

Heat 4

Abby Falwasser - Logan (Gis), 15, 1, Kai Woolf (Gis), 12.1, 2, Holly Marson-Wood (Piha), 4.07, 3

Under 14 Girls Round 1 Heat 1

Saffi Vette (Gis), 2, 1, Asta Schnell (Auck), 1, 2

Heat 2

Grace Pevats (Whngrei), 5.17, 1, Lily Dowsett (Auck), 4.33, 2, Stella Smith (Gis), 3.9, 3

Heat 3

Gabrielle Paul (Piha), 11.83, 1, Georgia Wederell (ChCh), 5.33, 2, Zara Cook (Mnt), 4, 3

Heat 4

Kai Woolf (Gis), 18.17, 1, Toni Power (Mnt), 6.9, 2, Teina Smith (Mnt), 3.23, 3

The Billabong Grom Series will continue on from Mount Maunganui with the second event at Whangamata (7-8 February) and the third event at Auckland's Piha Beach (7-8 March) where the series winners will be announced.

Entry into the events can be completed at Surfing New Zealand under events.