The waves were tiny but so were the competitors on the fourth and final day of the Rip Curl GromSearch presented by POSCA at North Cronulla beach on Tuesday.
Monty Tait managed to snatch the win in the under-16 boys division, throwing down an eclectic mix of turns to dispose of Kalani Ball (Cronulla Boardriders), Jeames Young and Jackson Giles who finished second, third and fourth respectively.
The Maroubra natural-footer coached by Cronulla surfer Matt Griggs was given a leg up in the heat when Giles and Young scored a double interference because of a mid-wave collision.
Consequently, the door was left wide open for Tait to take the win with a 14.50 heat total (out of a possible 10).
Holly Wawn added another feather to her cap with a convincing win in the under-16 girls final.
The Newport natural-footer notched up an impressive 16.83 heat total to claim the win ahead of Laura Poncini, Zoe Clarke and Lucy Callister who finished in second, third and fourth respectively.
In a contest masterstroke, the organisers ran the 16-years event yesterday when the surf was biggest; in the 1-2 feet offshore-blown conditions today, it was left up to the under 12s and 14s to battle it out — in of all places, Henderson reef.
It was about as good as two-foot Henderson reef could be and the lightweights did their best in the trying conditions.
Surfing NSW CEO Mark Windon, who managed to catch the majority of the day’s action, believes the future of Australian surfing is in fine hands.
“The level of surfing in the Rip Curl GromSearch continues to astound me,” Windon said.
“The benchmark just gets higher and higher every year. A lot of the competitors in this event are getting ready to hit the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series, and the GromSearch series is the ideal platform to prepare them to tackle it head-on.”
RESULTS:
Under-14 Boys
1 – Sandon Whittaker (Avoca – NSW)
2 – Reef Heazlewood (Moffat Beach – Qld)
3 – Marlon Newling (Avalon – NSW)
4 – Mitch Raymond (Macmasters Beach – NSW)
Under-14 Girls
1 – Macy Callaghan (Avoca – NSW)
2 – Alyssa Lock (Tweed Heads – NSW)
3 – Kobie Enright (Barrack Heights – NSW)
4 – Alysse Cooper (Queenscliff – NSW)
Under-12 Boys
1 – Keanu Miller (Bulli – NSW)
2 – Xavier Huxtable (Jan Juc – Vic)
3 – Caleb Tancred (Avoca – NSW)
4 – Mikey McDonagh (Lennox Head – NSW)
Under-12 Girls
1 – Bodhi Leigh-Jones (Avalon – NSW)
2 – Kirra-Belle Olsson (Copacabana – NSW)
3 – Summa Longbottom (Wollongong – NSW)
4 – Madison Poole (Lambton – NSW)
See more at: http://surfingnsw.com.au/
The 2013 Rip Curl GromSearch series is presented by POSCA (Mitsubishi Pencil Australia) with managing partner Surfing Australia and associate partners FireWire Surfboards, Shapers Fins and ASL Magazine.
