Mount
Maunganui
surfer
Jaxon
Willows
has
kept
a
clean
sheet
for
2026
after
securing
wins
in
the
Men’s
and
Juniors
at
the
2026
NZ
Festival
of
Longboarding
presented
by
Mount
Longboards
and
Mojo
Handshapes
held
at
Papamoa
over
the
weekend.
Willows
was
joined
by
Te
Waiotu
Fairlie
(Tologa)
who
won
the
Women’s
Division
at
the
event.
With
the
swell
sticking
below
the
1.0m
mark
and
forecasted
to
fade
into
Sunday,
the
decision
was
made
to
press
on
and
complete
the
event
late
on
Saturday
evening
with
a
nice
clean
swell
that
improved
with
the
late
afternoon
low
tide.
Willows
backed
up
his
performance
from
the
National
Championships
with
a
14.67
point
performance
in
the
final
of
the
Men’s
and
an
event-high
17.66
in
the
Boys
Division.
“Pretty
good
to
win
aye,
stoked.
I
backed
it
up
after
the
Nationals,
back-to-back
wins
is
pretty
good,”
said
Willows.
“Just
surfing
against
those
guys,
Matt
Newdick,
Dylan
Barnfield
and
Matt
Cockayne,
big
names,
stoked
to
get
one
on
them,
might
not
get
one
like
that
again
so
will
take
it
when
I
can,”
he
added.
Willows
was
by
far
the
youngest
of
four
finalists,
all
of
which
have
years
of
experience
more
than
the
young
17-year-old.
Gisborne’s
Dylan
Barnfield
finished
in
second
place
in
the
final
with
Matt
Cockayne
(Mnt)
in
third
and
Matt
Newdick
(Auck)
in
fourth.
After
a
finals
finish
at
the
National
Championships,
Te
Waiotu
Fairlie
claimed
the
title
at
Papamoa
to
take
the
overall
lead
on
the
2026
NZ
Longboard
Series
rankings.
Fairlie
finished
with
a
9.86
point
heat
total
in
the
final
to
win
out
over
Jay
Ryan
(Gis),
Demi
Roberts
(Mnt)
and
Emma
Ryan
(Mangawhai).
“It
is
so
epic,
I
had
a
hard
year
last
year
but
have
come
into
this
year
trusting
that
I
have
what
it
takes
to
do
well,
so
yeah,
I
am
happy
to
win,”
said
Fairlie.
“All
of
the
big
names
were
out
of
the
final
and
all
the
groms
were
in
there
and
it
was
good
to
be
surfing
with
them
all
and
vying
for
the
title,”
she
added.
Morgan
Bramley
(Mnt)
claimed
the
Over
50
Men’s
Division
taking
out
fellow
local
Owen
Barnes
in
the
final
with
Wyn
Hoogerbrugge
finishing
third
in
his
second
final
of
the
day
and
Andy
Collins
finishing
in
fourth.
Jaxon
Willows
(Mnt)
surfed
to
the
highest
heat
score
of
the
event
in
the
Under
18
Boys
Longboard
with
a
17.66
point
heat
total.
His
top
score,
a
9.33
comprised
of
critical
nose
riding
with
fancy
footwork
thrown
in.
It
left
the
surfer
undefeated
in
the
division
this
year.
Northland’s
Hawk
Edwards
finished
second
in
the
final
ahead
of
Charlie
Hartstone
(Mnt)
in
third
and
Nico
Fa’anana
Dwen
(Port
Wai)
in
fourth.
Long
time
NZ
Longboard
Series
participant
Wyn
Hoogerbrugge
(Auck)
claimed
the
Over
40
Men’s
Longboard
Division
over
local
surfer
Chris
Ryan
(Mnt)
in
second
and
Vitor
Castro
in
third.
Bryan
Young
(Orewa)
followed
along
the
lines
Hoogerbrugge
with
a
sound
win
in
the
Over
60s
Division.
Young
posted
a
12.50
point
heat
total
leaving
his
opponents
requiring
excellent
scores
to
catch
him.
It
was
Joe
Evemy
that
got
the
closest,
finishing
in
second,
ahead
of
Grant
Corchrane
(Chch)
in
third
and
Mark
Hoyle
(Orewa)
in
fourth.
The
Under
18
Girls
Longboard
Division
final
was
a
cracker
with
the
lead
changing
several
times,
National
Champion
Izaro
Williamson
Sasia
(Tara)
getting
the
nod
in
the
end.
A
4.67
on
her
last
wave
of
the
final
was
enough
to
push
her
into
the
lead.
However,
the
last
play
belonged
to
Mangawhai’s
Emma
Lay
who
surfed
a
lovely
righthander
all
the
way
to
the
shore
but
came
up
with
a
5.30,
shy
of
the
5.51
point
ride
required
for
the
win.
Izzy
Evans
placed
third
in
the
final
ahead
of
Emma’s
younger
sister
Lara
in
fourth
and
Jayda
Bramley
(Mnt)
in
fifth.
The
New
Zealand
Longboard
Series comprises six
events
including
the
National
Championships
held
in Gisborne earlier
in
January,
the
Gathering
of
Stoke
in
Gisborne,
the
Ray
White
Duke
Festival
of
Surfing,
South
Island
Championships
and
the
Exit
Surf
Men’s
Canterbury
Champs
and
Women’s
Canterbury
Championships.
Full
results
can
be
viewed
on Live
Heats.
The
event
would
not
be
possible
without
the
support
of
Mount
Longboards,
Mojo
Handshapes,
Firefly
Takeaways,
Beach
Bar,
Neufound
Eyewear
and
Zen
Float
Spa.
Further
Information
For
further
information
on
the 2026
New Zealand
Festival
of
Longboarding
please
contact
Surfing
New
Zealand’s Gavin
Bisman
on
027-446-4174 or email: gavin.bisman@surfingnz.co.nz
Imagery
High
resolution
action
images
of
the
surfing
at
the
event
will
be
available
to
media
free
of
charge. Email @Ben
Kennings
Hosts
The New
Zealand
Festival
of
Longboarding
is
proudly
hosted
by
the Papamoa Boardriders Club.
Follow
the
event
Follow
the
action
via
all
social
media
platforms
–
@surfingnz
across
Facebook,
Instagram,
TikTok
and
YouTube.
Surfing
New
Zealand
is
proudly
partnered
by:
Sport
New
Zealand
ACC
Sun
Bum
Kiwi
Holiday
Insurance
Ends
Go to Surfing New Zealand
Author: Ben Kennings