Padma Beach, Bali, April 13th, 2015- It was a day of love, sweat and tears at Padma Beach as Rip Curl kicked off its second Gromsearch series competition in friendly 2-3, dry season surf. Under a blazing, clear blue sky, Indonesia’s best under 16yr old surfers took to the water in front of one of the heaviest crowds Bali can offer. Proud Fathers like Rizal Tanjung, Bruce Hansel, Cacho Izaquierdo and Brad Benson sat on the edge of their seats as their young cubs did battle for the prestigious Gromsearch title and the grand prize of an all expense paid trip to the National finals. And then there was the Padma Boys community family keeping everything on an even keel, almost willing the performances to a higher level. On the cleanest beach in Bali, thanks to surfers like Raju Sena who was seen picking up litter on the way to the water and stuffing into his pocket for later disposal, this event for the mini-mighty felt more like a celebration of the future than just another comp. Simply put, the Padma Venue was a delight.
To say nothing of the surfing, which featured the cream of the next generation pushing the limits in the high tide conditions with high flying aerials and end section slashes. The theme of the day was commitment. Each surfer throwing themselves 100% into each and every manoeuvre, into every late drop and into hundreds of suicide skyhooks.
“I wouldn’t want to be in this heat” Said Rip Curl’s finest, Garut Widiarta, who proudly watched a Halfway protégé named Mega Arkana give dominator Raju Sena a close run for his money. “These kids are really benefitting from these contests, they are really paying attention to the training and really surfing like pro’s”. By heats end, only 2 points separated Mega and Raju while a hotly contested last second exchanged sealed the deal for Rio Waida in third and Ketut Agus in fourth. “I was proud to surf for Padma Boys” said a grinning Ketut Agus, and to win a ticket to the nationals is a dream come true. I am going all the way this year!”.
In the under 14’s boys division, all bets were with charger Tenshi Ishii after the devastating form he showed in Lombok at GromSearch one. But it was whirlwind Kian Martin, inspired by a growth spurt, who put the pedal to the metal and soared into a ten point lead ahead of his closest competitor. A highlight heat with the biggest score gap of the day, Kian’s smile on the beach was one of a true champion of the day.
Boys, under 12’s, and a very unexpected result. After the super-form Ben Benson has been showing ever since his foray into the big stuff on the North Shore this winter, it was thought to be a forgone conclusion that the race for second would be all that was left. But a stalwart Varun Tandjung, and coach/Father Rizal, had other plans. Gritting his teeth against Benson’s onslaught, Varun used his cagey wave catching ability and his signature laybacks to grind a very surprised Ben Benson into second place by one close point. Other finalists Kona Eru and Romandho Fajar were forced to watch from the sidelines as a victorious Varun and a classy Ben Benson shook hands like men at the end of their watery cage match.
Unlike any normal surfing competition the Rip Curl GromSearch also gives Grommets a fun activity through a POSCA Art competition where kids can draw their creative mind into an artwork on tiny surfboard replicas. Meanwhile they were also being taught how to keep the beach clean with helping reduce the use of plastic drinking bottles, planting baby coconut trees and beach cleaning together with the Bye Bye Plastic Bags Foundation. Last but not least there was free Zombie Surf Wax for everyone and cool Beach Hut sun block!!
Big Thanks from Rip Curl GromSearch to the Padma Boys Boardriders as our host for this event, Sponsors include: Posca Pens, Beach Hut Sun Cream, Zombie Surf Wax, and Bye Bye Plastic Bags.
This event was sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championship.
Result:
Under 16 (boys)
1. Raju Sena (35,8)
2. Mega Artana (33,6)
3. Rio Waida (31,1)
4. Ketut Agus (28,4)
Under 14 (boys)
1. Kian Martin (44,4)
2. Dhany Widianto (34,0)
3. Tenshi Ishii (25,6)
4.Shu Kamiya Yasa (19,4)
Under 12 (boys)
1. Varun Tanjung (29,1)
2. Ben Benson (27,7)
3. Kona Eru (19,4)
4. Romandho Fajar (17,5)
Under 16 (girls)
1. Minori Kawai (34,5)
2. Dhea Natasya (21,6)
3. Salini Rengganis (18,0)
3. Cllie Turmer (16,6)
Ticket to Asian regional Final:
1. Mega Arkana
2. Ketut Agus
3. Febrianshah
4. Putu Krisna
Recent Comments