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The Hibiscus Coast’s young longboarders are making their mark.
In the recent Auckland Scholastic Surf Champs, Nat Fitt of Orewa College placed first in Longboard and Joel McMullen of Whangaparaoa College third.
The Scholastic competition consists of four events at various Auckland beaches, which included challenging surf conditions at Piha.
Joel, aged 15, and Nat, 13, who are members of the Orewa Longboard Club, were among the youngest competitors at the Scholastics. Both ride short boards as well, but have had more success on the longboard.
Part of the attraction is that Orewa’s conditions are ideal for the longboard, providing long, peeling waves that are soft and not too big. This gives surfers who enjoy traditional longboarding an opportunity to show flair and style, rather than speed, moving up and down the board and nose riding.
Joel and Nat are used to competing against each other and also represent rival surf clubs – Joel is in Orewa Surf Club and Nat belongs to Red Beach.
Nat took up longboarding five years ago, encouraged by his father Rhys who is also a member of Orewa Longboard Club. This is the first year that Nat has been old enough to compete in the Scholastic event – making the win particularly sweet. Joel has only been surfing on a longboard for a year.
The Scholastic series effectively serves as trials for the Auckland Scholastic Team. Nat will compete with the team (U18 Longboard) in the Nationals in Gisborne in October and Joel is the reserve.
Another Coastie, Dylan Vujcich of Orewa College, placed 5th in the U18 (short board) category.
