Seeded surfers entered the Rip Curl GromSearch yesterday for day two of competition at Maroubra Beach and put on a show for hundreds of Sydney spectators. In typical three foot summer waves, with light winds and a packed beach, the surfers justified exactly why they were seeded into round two, with all claiming great results.
Thomas ‘Tiger’ Woods (Coolangatta) made his intentions clear with a standout performance in the 14 and under boys division to move into the Quarter finals. Coming off a win at the Gold Coast GromSearch in December, his confidence showed as he claimed the best wave of the competition so far with an amazing 9.17 and the best total points score of the day with a 16.84 out of a possible 20.
Woods pushed Will Coy (Cresent Head) into second place using a full repertoire of big turns and aerials to be a deserving heat winner and also claimed the Snickers Wave of the day. “I am keen to get another good result here and that heat was a step in the right direction” said Woods. “I know I have to surf consistently well in order to get a result here because the competition is so hard…..bring on the quarter finals, I can’t wait!”
Other standouts from today’s action included Cooper Chapman (North Narrabeen), Jackson O’Donnell (Crescent Head), Doug Chandler (Werri Beach), and Oscar Scanes (Old Bar) who all put in strong performances in winning their way into the quarter finals of the 14’s division.
The girls premier 16 and under division followed and the familiar faces of Laura Enever (North Narrabeen), birthday girl Phillipa Anderson (Merewether – pictured above) and Paige Haggerston (Coal Point) won through to join the impressive Raine Jackson (Avalon) as winners advancing straight to the quarters.
There has been another solid turnout of the very best of Australia’s young surfers to compete in this event which has a stacked field running out over the full 4 days of competition right through till Tuesday afternoon.
Surfing NSW events manager Peter Hunt said of the big numbers and quality field: “The entry levels this year were so high that a few surfers missed out. We may even look to extend this leg of the series to 5 days of competition. The GromSearch series caters for the elite juniors of Australia while still encouraging all of the enthusiastic young surfers to have a go at the sport they love. It’s great to see so many kids enjoying the surf!”
The conditions at Maroubra Beach have been great for contest surfing and organizers are confident that the waves will stick around for the following 2 days of competition. Maroubra Beach may even see a small pulse of swell for Tuesday when Finals of all divisions will be held.
The 16 and under Boy and Girl winners here will go onto the National GromSearch Final at Bells Beach next Autumn and from there, winners go to the International GromSearch Final which runs as a specialty event at Bells Beach during the World Championship event at Easter.
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