As New Zealand bakes under the amazing run of summer weather, New Zealand's top junior surfers commenced the first of three events in the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge, which started in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.

With the surf ranging between 1.0m-1.5m, Tay Street provided an excellent arena for the surfers who had converged from as far north as Whangarei and far south as Christchurch.

Whakatane surfer Jack Lee was one of the stars of the day, surfing to a 14.83 point heat total in the Under 16 Boys Division to advance through to the quarterfinals. Lee is one of several Whakatane surfers that are attending the event. Lee was a finalist at the National Championships only two weeks ago and will be looking to get to the podium again on the final day of the event tomorrow.

Lee was joined by fellow Whakatane surfer Luis Southwood who also won his heat with some powerful surfing.

Whangarei surfer Tom Robinson joined the Whakatane lads with a high 14.7 point heat total to carry his campaign through to the final day. Both Robinson and Lee will be up against each other early on Sunday morning along with James Ririnui (Mnt) and Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whangarei).

Other heat winners included the Gisborne Finn's, Johnson and Vette plus local surfer Jack Hinton.

Honours in the Under 16 Girls Division were shared by New Zealand and Australia with Brie Bennett (Rag) winning her match up while visiting Australian surfer Charlie Phillips won her heat to advance through to the final.

Phillips was joined by another Australian in Eden Grey who together with Tegen Bishop (Chch) won their heats in the Under 18 Girls Division.

In the Under 18 Boys Division it was National Champion Conor McLennan (Chch) that kept his roll going with a solid heat win as did New Zealand representative Jared Gebert (Ohope) and National Championships finalist, Jay Piper-Healion (Whiti).

The end of the day was filled with the youngest of divisions – the Under 14 Boys and Girls. Raglan's Jayden Willoughby and Navryn Malone pushed through two rounds to reach the semifinals, Willoughby looking particularly sharp with his performances.

In the Under 14 Girls Division it was the newly relocated Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara) that stormed her opponents with an 11.67 point heat total. Gouldsbury completed two huge forehand turns for her top wave of an 8.5 out of 10 points. She was joined by Anna Brock (Mnt) and Daizee Rawls (Gis) as heat winners.

The surf is expected to hold its size for the final day of the event with light to moderate onshore winds forecasted. Action takes place at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui from 8am until 4pm with finals starting at approximately 1pm today.

Results

Under 20 Boys Division Semifinals Heat 1

Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 12.56, 1, Jacob Warnes (Mnt), 11.04, 2, Thomas Harcourt (Chch), 11, 3, Zac Curle (Waihi Bch), 9.57, 4

Heat 2

Sam Sands (Chch), 8.43, 1, Eli Voschezang (Auck), 6.13, 2, Cody Lucas (Auck), 5.63, 3, Henry Gautrey (Wgtn), 4.17, 4

Under 18 Boys Round 1

Heat 1

Conor McLennan (Chch), 11.9, 1, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 10.2, 2, Aloysius Lane (Wgtn), 7, 3, Alex O'Dwyer (Whaka), 6.36, 4

Heat 2

Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 11.4, 1, Tom Norton (Waipu), 8, 2, Jack McLaren (Mnt), 7.07, 3, Oscar Brady (Mnt), 6.3, 4

Heat 3

Luke Griffin (Mnt), 9.3, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 9, 2, Tanner Hayes (Kati), 6.56, 3, Joshua Holy (DUE), n/s,

Heat 4

Jack Rosewarne (Ham), 9.3, 1, Shane Kraus (Piha), 9.0, 2, Cameron Hankins (Waihi Bch), 6.56, 3, Andrea Gariglio (TGA), N/S

Heat 5

Jared Gebert (Ohope), 12.3, 1, Ayrton Yarrell (Waihi Bch), 10.3, 2, William Van der Beek (Mnt), 9.93, 3, Tristan Torr (TGA), 6.63, 4

Heat 6

Jay Piper - Healion (Whiti), 11.3, 1, Tyler Carrington (Wgtn), 7.4, 2, Jeremy Guernier (Mnt), 3.13, 3, Sam Braly (Auck), 2.9, 4

Under 16 Boys Round 1

Heat 1

Jack Hinton (Mnt), 10.77, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 10, 2, Cassidy Mann (Auck), 8.56, 3

Heat 2

Finn Johnson (Gis), 10.56, 1, Tom Butland (Tara), 9.6, 2, Sonny Eades (Mnt), 6.36, 3, Ben Moir (Ohope), 6.04, 4

Heat 3

Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 14.7, 1, James Ririnui (Mnt), 8.9, 2, Jackson Peak (Auck), 8.3, 3, Jack Pearson (Mnt), 0.93, 4

Heat 4

Jack Lee (Whaka), 14.83, 1, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Whngrei), 10.83, 2, Noah Collier (Gis), 8.57, 3, Ollie Quinn - Gilbert (Auck), 6.67, 4

Heat 5

Luis Southwood (Whaka), 13, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 10.63, 2, Jacob Saunders (TGA), 8.47, 3, Josh Watson (Mrnsville), n/s

Heat 6

Finn Vette (Gis), 11.93, 1, Manawa Ruru (Gis), 8.47, 2, Mitchell Dalley (Mnt), 7.3, 3, Jacob Buckle (Whngrei), 6.1, 4

Under 18 Girls Round 1

Heat 1

Tegen Bishop (Chch), 10.5, 1, Kea Smith (Arataki), 7.83, 2, Saffi Vette (Gis), 7.66, 3

Heat 2

Eden Gray (AUS), 7.44, 1, Tiana - Breeze de Mooj (Mnt), 7.4, 2, Aimee Brown (Auck), 7.27, 3

Under 16 Girls Round 1

Heat 1

Brie Bennett (Rag), 11.33, 1, Summer Carkeek (Auck), 6.33, 2, Mia Morgan (Waihi Bch), 2.30, 3

Heat 2

Charlie Phillips (Aus), 11.94, 1, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 10.43, 2, Hannah King (Gis), 6.60, 3

Under 14 Boys Round 1

Heat 1

Bill Byers (Piha), 10.6, 1, Tai Erceg - Gray (Auck), 9.94, 2, Tyce Schumacher (Mnt), 3.4, 3, Shelby Simpson (Mnt), 3, 4

Heat 2

Braedon Webster (Ohope), 6.77, 1, Noah Camburn (Ohope), 3.67, 2, Ben Fougere (Auck), 2.03, 3, Hugo Sale (Auck), 1.17, 4

Under 14 Boys Division Round 2

Heat 1

Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 13.9, 1, Harper Mcbride (Mnt), 7.53, 2, Tai Erceg - Gray (Auck), 6.7, 3, Jay Gordon (Waihi Beach), 2, 4

Heat 2

Connor Van Der Pol (Mnt), 8.57, 1, Jai Wallis (Auck), 7.04, 2, Jack Mckenzie (Waikuku), 6.67, 3, Theo Morse (Orewa), 4.83, 4

Heat 3

Bill Byers (Piha), 10.1, 1, Ben Storey (Rag), 7.27, 2, Beau Woods (Mnt), 5.1, 3, Will Hardie (Piha), , n/s

Heat 4

Reef Newdick (Mnt), 8.57, 1, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 5.23, 2, Braedon Webster (Ohope), 4.6, 3, Ollie Holland (Rag), 4.1, 4

Heat 5

Dara O'Malley (Chch), 11.3, 1, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 5.77, 2, Ethan McConnell (Whaka), 4.06, 3, Journey Lum (Whngrei), 1.13, 4

Heat 6

Navryn Malone (Rag), 11.2, 1, Koby Cameron (Chch), 7.5, 2, Lennox McBride (Mnt), 5.54, 3, Noah Camburn (Ohope), 3.73, 4

Under 14 Boys Quarterfinals

Heat 1

Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 15.2, 1, Jai Wallis (Auck), 10.5, 2, Connor Van Der Pol (Mnt), 7.67, 3, Harper Mcbride (Mnt), 6.57, 4

Heat 2

Reef Newdick (Mnt), 8.9, 1, Bill Byers (Piha), 8.03, 2, Ben Storey (Rag), 6.36, 3, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 5.44,

Heat 3

Navryn Malone (Rag), 13.7, 1, Koby Cameron (Chch), 9.8, 2, Dara O'Malley (Chch), 9.56, 3, Indica Corcoran (Mnt), 5.27, 4

Under 14 Girls Division Round 1

Heat 1

Daizee Rawls (Gis), 7.2, 1, Jay Ryan (Gis), 4.73, 2, Amelie Brady (Mnt), 4.3, 3, Alice Westerkamp (Auck), 2.1, 4

Heat 2

Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 11.7, 1, Asia Braithwaite (Gis), 7.8, 2, Sophia Brock (Mnt), 5.5, 3, Jess Haysom (Piha), 4.6, 4

Heat 3

Anna Brock (Mnt), 7.6, 1, Daisy Boon (Auck), 4.46, 2, Alani Morse (Orewa), 4.24, 3, Liv Haysom (Piha), 3.1, 4