Groms from all around the Lakey area took on the triple overhead conditions in the under 16 division giving the judges a taste of the gutsy talent that is on offer in this region.
The evening before the event kicked off a meeting was called in Lakey Beach Inn where a unanimous decision was reached by the kids– some as young as 9 years old – to hold the main event out at the peak, one of Indonesia’s most perfect waves.
In the morning the crew were greeted with perfect conditions giving Rip Curl Indo’s best team riders the opportunity to put on an amazing free-surfing display of tube riding skill and Ariel antics. Once the tide filled in with more water flooding over the shallow reef, contest officials decided it was time for the first heats of the day to be run.
From the first horn until the end of the Under 16 finals in the early afternoon, local boys ripped the peak to pieces with stand out performances including 10 year old Andri Anwar, an existsting Rip Curl team rider who signed another 2 year contract with Rip Curl during the event weekend.
Dominating the under 16’s division were local boys Bombar, Mansur, Sin and Usman who slayed their way into a 4 man final with impressive late drops flowing turns not to mention the odd tube ride on some of the biggest set waves of the day. However, it was local boy Usman who took first place defeating Mansur in 2nd, Sin in 3rd and Bomar in 4th.
Usman and runner-up Mansur both walked away with tickets to the Rip Curl GromSearch National final to be held during the Rip Curl Surf n music festival at Kuta Beach on October 23rd.
As the tide dropped out in the afternoon main competitors gave a welcome break for the older boys to take to the water for the SKULLCANDY EXPRESSION SESSION with local boy Ornot winning best wave and Firman best trick, both winning the latest Skullcandy headphones for their efforts.
With the Under 16’s and expression session finished the contest site was moved to the beach inside Lakey Pipe where the Under 14’s division was contested in fun 2 foot waves offering some playful sections for the remaining kids.
Winning the under 14’s division was Ompu Imran, with Lakey Irmansyah in 2nd place, M.Sirajudin 3rd and Irfan 4th.
Rip Curl team manager Wayan Yudha said: ‘Were stoked to be welcomed by the local boys here at Lakey to run this event, it gives some of the youngest grommets a taste of competition surfing for the first time in a friendly, fun environment. This event also gives us a chance to look out for new up coming talent as some of Rip Curl’s best team riders have been found during the GromSearch in this region in the past”
Rip Curl would like to thank its sponsors – Skullcandy, Light Surfboards, Eat Sleep Surf, OZ radio, Gus foundation, Surftime, Magic Wave and CocaCola/ ISC Tour.
See you for next Rip Curl GromSearch....
