The New Zealand School Surfing Festival is set to take place for the first time in 2024. The event will be held next week, on March 19-20, at Maori Bay, Muriwai, Auckland. The festival will feature boys and girls teams from schools around the country, all competing to win the inaugural Cranch Cup.
So far, 20 teams have confirmed their participation. The format of the festival includes a plate round, which encourages schools to participate and develop their teams for future events.
The Bay of Plenty region, known for its strength in junior surfing, will be represented by three school teams. Tauranga Boys College is considered a favourite, with surfers Joe Goodjohn and Tao Mouldey leading their five-person team.
New Plymouth Boys High School and Whangamata Area School are also fielding strong teams. Mount Maunganui College’s girls team, which includes New Zealand representative Pia Rogers and junior representative Sophia Brock, is expected to perform well.
Several Auckland schools, including Takapuna Grammar, Westlake Boys, and Rangitoto College, will also participate. The festival’s Cranch Cup is named in honour of Carol Cranch, who initiated the New Zealand school surfing programme in the late 80s.
The festival is part of the School Sport New Zealand calendar and includes both Cup and Plate rounds. The event aims to promote surfing to a wider number of schools and encourage team participation.
The 2024 New Zealand School Surfing Festival will run from 8:00am to 4:00pm on March 19-20. For more information, contact Ben Kennings at Surfing New Zealand. Live scores and results will be available on Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand. You can also follow the event on social media using the hashtags #nzschoolsurffest and #schoolsportnewzealand.
