Champions Crowned at the GromSearch NSW Championships
The final day of competition brought perfect surfing from Australia’s best grommets at the Rip Curl GromSearch NSW Championships held in Merewether, NSW.
The final day of competition brought perfect surfing from Australia’s best grommets at the Rip Curl GromSearch National Qualifier held in Merewether, NSW.
In form surfers Talia Tebb (Avacoa, NSW) and Locana Cullen (Avalon, NSW) took out the Under 12 Girls and Boys. Continuing their run of recent wins in the NSW State Titles, Tebb didn’t lose a heat all week on her way to victory. Perfect surfing from Cullen sealed him the win in the Under 12 Boys final. It was Cullen who dropped the first and only perfect 10-point ride of the event.
In the Under 14’s, it was local surfer Ocean Lancaster (Merewether, NSW) who took the win in the boys, and South Coast surfer Lucy Darragh (Kiama, NSW) who got the win in the girls. Both surfers were standouts at the event, and it was always going to be hard for their fellow competitors to beat them. Lancaster will look to defend his National title at URBNSURF early in the new year, while Darragh will be looking to do one better than last year’s second place at the National final.
Continuing the dominance of local surfers, Newcastle’s very own Natalie Fensom (Newcastle, NSW) took out the Under 16 Girls, finding the right waves allowing her to display her powerful rail game.
In what was a nail biting final for the Under 16 Boys, Kash Brown (Cronulla, NSW) started out the strongest on opening exchange with an 8.17. Jimmi Hill (Port Stephens, NSW) then fought back to post the highest single wave of the heat with a 9-point ride. It was Brown who then found himself an 8.47 in the last 10 minutes of the heat to edge out Hill by 0.11.
The GromSearch Series runs in more than 10 countries, with over 3,000 competitors worldwide.
The worldwide series of events is designed for grommets and features Under 12 Boys, Under 12 Girls, Under 14 Boys, Under 14 Girls, Under 16 Boys and Under 16 Girls divisions.
2022 RIP CURL GROMSEARCH SERIES DATES
EVENT 1 – Jan Juc, VIC – Sept 17 – 19, 2022
EVENT 2 – Newcastle, NSW – Sept 29 – Oct 2, 2022
EVENT 3 – Coolum, QLD – Dec 12 – 14, 2022
National Final – URBNSURF Melbourne, VIC March 2023
- 1st – Talia Tebb (Avoca, NSW)
- 2nd – Zara Hall (Avoca, NSW)
- 3rd – Malia Watson (Tweed, NSW)
- 4th Olive Morriss (Avoca, NSW)
- 1st Locana Cullen (Avoca, NSW)
- 2nd Kaoni Aguiar (Northern Beaches, NSw)
- 3rd Tommy Hainsworth (Kiama, NSW)
- 4th Luca Martin (Coffs Harbour, NSW)
- 1st Lucy Darragh (Kiama, NSW)
- 2nd Mia MacMahon (Norah Head, NSW)
- 3rd Alice Hodgson (Werri, NSW)
- 4th Madora Barton (Yamba, NSW)
- 1st Ocean Lancaster (Merewether,NSW)
- 2nd Ben Zanatta (Freshwater, NSW)
- 3rd Joey Silk (Cresent Head, NSW)
- 4th Balin Cullen (Avalon, NSW)
- 1st Natalie Fensom (Newcastle, NSW)
- 2nd Isabel Higgs (Dee Why, NSW)
- 3rd Ocea Curtis (Lennox Head, NSW)
- 4th Lani Cairncross (Kiama, NSW)
- 1st Kash Brown (Cronulla, NSW)
- 2nd Jimmi Hill (Port Stephens, NSW)
- 3rd Lex O’Connor (Queenscliff, NSW)
- 4th Fred Carmody (Bondi, NSW)
