The Volcom’s Great White Surf Series kicked off in Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, last weekend.

There was perfect 70-degree weather, not a cloud in the sky and 3-5 foot surf with glassy conditions. This set the stage for a great day of competition. We were bombarded with more competitors than ever. All four divisions were overflowing with alternates. Remember get there early, first come first surf (no matter who you are).

The Groms get better every year. They still ask a million questions, but their talent is on the move. The final was a classic battle between the east and west. Shawn Burns was “the man” on this day. But it was Tori “torback” Robinson who impressed the judges and spectators alike, he was also the youngest competitor. Great job Groms!

The Juniors division had a different look to it. A lot of the old faces had to move on to the highly competitive Pro-Am Division. Make no mistake, the Juniors are always exciting to watch. Kyle Thierman the kid who would always ask the most questions as a Grom, has grown up and he lets his surfing do all the talking.

Bud Frietas : photo by Bart Keagy

Ripping heat after heat, but in the final Kyle was snuck up on by wave magnet Nick Alheit who ended up taking first place and a ton of prizes including the DVS Step Out of Summer pack.

The girls also had some new faces. This division is usually one heat, but this time they had three heats making it our largest girls division yet. And did they amaze us. The battle for first was between Diana Mattison and Kim Mayer. As the final horn sounded it was Kim’s big cut backs down the point that gave her the first place prize.

The Pro-Am was bigger and more exciting than ever. Their were 17 alternates- so we had to go to a 10 minute best 1 wave format for the first round, but everyone got to surf. When it came down to the final minute it was Bud Frietas leading, but before the horn Peter Mel caught the bomb off the back to score a 9.0 to win the final and become $500 bucks richer.