21 February 2011, Batu Karaas – West Java: The scenic beachside town of Batu Karas in West Java was ablaze with action on Sunday as right on plan the swell kicked up and provided the perfect arena for the Java groms to fire up the first event of the 2011 Rip Curl GromSearch season.
47 groms, some from as far away Cimaja (a 12 hour drive by car) as well as from nearby towns Pangandaran, Cilicap, and Karang Papak gathered at the beach in Batu Karas for a fun day of surfing competition, but with a serious prize at stake for the two top finalists in the Under 16 Division…The coveted “Ticket to Bali”.
In addition to trophies, prestige and prizes from Rip Curl, ESS, and Skullcandy for all the finalists, the two best surfing groms in the Under 16 Division received an all expense paid trip to Bali this October where they will compete with the other GromSearch event finalists in the National GromSearch Finals at Kuta Beach. The grand prize for the overall winner of the National Finals is a trip to the Rip Curl GromSearch World Finals at Bells Beach in Australia.
With visions of trips to Bali and Australia firmly in their minds, the starting horn called the first heat of the Under 16 groms into action at 7:30 am at the spot locally known as “the Reef”, with the rising tide conditions providing glassy and perfectly lined up 2-3 foot waves for the 23 frothing youngsters. They aggressively went on the attack with deep bottom turns, big hits to the lip, and going for aerials whenever possible.
By 10:30 the semi-finals were finished and the four finalists decided, but first the Under 14 groms had to have their turn.
The highlight of the Under 14 Division was the 4th heat, which had the only two girls groms competing, 9 year old Nika and 12 year old Bela both from Cimaja, as well as tiny Batu Karas local 9 year old Cece. MC Elan Jaelani got the crowd all fired up with his commentary, and soon everybody was shouting encouragement and cheering from the beach every time the groms caught a wave. It was great fun.
On the serious side, Diki, Muldi, Yoga, and Erik showed off their skills to the judging panel led by Head Judge Arya Subyakto and included Rip Curl team riders Pepen Hendrik and Wayan “Gobleg” Suyadnya from Bali, as well as Batu Karas locals Husni Ridwan, Giang, and Lili leading up to their final showdown.
After taking a short break for a 20 minute Expression Session, where 10 non-grom contestants were given the chance to win Skullcandy and ESS gear for having the Best Wave and Best Trick, it was down to the business end…the Finals.
The low tide and slight cross-shore wind didn’t faze the Under 14 Finalists as the waves were still head high for them. At the final horn it was Diki using his local knowledge to find the best waves and post the highest scores to nab a first place finish over Muldi from Karang Papak.
The Under 16 finalists were initially challenged by a lull in the waves during their 20 final, which only increased the tension. But it soon became clear that Deden and Dian were in a tight battle for the win, with 13-year-old Dian aggressively attacking each wave and going for the big maneuvers. Deden was more selective, trying to find the best wave before blasting his patented big turns. In the end, Dian had racked the most points and proved to the judges that he was the most committed in his surfing, and was all smiles after being presented with his prizes and Ticket to Bali.
“I really wanted to win, but didn’t know if I could against the older guys. I just had to try my best. Now I will be practicing hard because I want to become the champion when I go to the finals in Bali!” he said.
In addition to the surfing competition, the non-surfing kids were giving a chance to win some prizes too. Rip Curl Event Manager Dhanny called all the kids together for a trash gathering competition, explaining the importance of having a clean beach and properly disposing of their trash. Earlier in the day everyone on the beach had been given a booklet from GUS, an environmental non-profit company in Bali, on how to care for their environment.
“I’m really happy to see the kids so eager to cooperate and learn about caring for beach and the environment, and also want to thank the local Bata Karas crew for making this such a great GromSearch event. We had great waves, saw some great surfing and had a create crowd, so it was just a super day. The 2011 GromSearch is off to a great start!” he said at the end of the day.
Head Judge Arya Subyakto was very pleased the quality of the grom surfing he had seen at Batu Karas, saying, “We saw some really good surfing from these groms here today and it was clear that the level is rising all the time. I’ve been spending a bit of time around here and know everyone was really excited to be hosting this event. It’s a great location for a GromSearch and I was stoked to be here and help out.”
At each ISC Junior event, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia asks the judging crew to select the grom who shows the greatest potential but lacks the proper equipment and gives them a custom made surfboard. The lucky grom at the Batu Karas GromSearch even was Deni Mencos. Congratulations Deni!
Next month the Rip Curl GromSearch team will be heading to the island of Lombok for the 2nd event of the series, which will take place on the 20 of March at Kuta Lombok. For more information see
www.ripcurl.com and
www.isctour.com.
The Rip Curl GromSearch 2011 series is sponsored by ESS (Eat Sleep Surf), Skullcandy, TRAX, GUS, Magic Wave and
OZ101.FM Radio Bali.
The Rip Curl GromSearch series is sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour; therefore all contestants receive ISC Junior Division Championship points at each event. The Under 16 year old surfer with the most points accumulated through all junior events at the end of the year will become the Indonesian Junior Surfing Champion.
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