25 July 2011, Kuta-Bali: Last year’s Rusty Gromfest series title winner Jeren Kiring added a second consecutive Gromfest Under 16 title to his growing list of accomplishments on Sunday after battling it out in a closely contested 20 minute final at Kuta Beach against runner up Angga Mardiana, edging out Mardiana by less than a point to finish with a combined two wave score of 10.60 (out of a possible 20) to Mardiana’s 10.23. Third spot was taken by Koko Mitsuantara, and fourth place by Usman.
Kiring was ecstatic with his win, saying “I’m so very happy to win today here at Kuta Beach, and to be a two time winner makes it super special for me. I really wanted to win this event, as I knew I was surfing pretty well. I’m so stoked. Thanks to Rusty and all my friends and sponsors who support me, and thanks to the judges too!
Kiring was last year’s Coca-Cola ISC Junior Champion and is looking good to repeat another championship this year as well, with his smooth yet aggressive style and complete array of maneuvers. For his win today he and the other finalists receive valuable Junior Division championship points in addition to a mix of Rusty and Dakine products and accessories, an Apple Ipod, Aerial7- headphones, Sabre eyewear, MacBeth shoes, and vouchers from Freedom Surf Shop.
The two day Rusty Gromfest saw a whopping 92 groms from all over Indonesia, Australia, Brazil and Japan converging at Kuta Beach on Saturday July 23rd to compete in three divisions, Under 12, Under 14, and Under 16, for the prestige and prizes that come with this much anticipated annual event.
The waves were pumping on Saturday with sizeable 4-5 foot sets rolling through on to challenge the fearless groms in Round 1, and then on Sunday there were literally thousands of perfect 2-3 foot waves hitting the Halfways sand bar on Sunday to give the remaining quarterfinalists ample opportunity to show off their high performance maneuvers while chasing a finals berth. In the majority of the Sunday heats, at least one if not more of the four competitors reached their 10-wave maximum before their 20 minutes was up.
In the Under 12 final it was Kuta’s Raju who bested the diminutive Made Tedi from Serangan and wunderkind ripper Rio in another tight final, with just over a point separating their three final scores. At any given point it was anybody’s guess who might bring home the win, with these young groms showing skills far in advance of their years.
West Java grom Dian Hendriyanto from Pangandaran was a standout in the Under 14 Division, aggressively attacking the (for him) well overhead waves with a mix of deep bottom turns and big floaters to nip last year’s Under 14 winner Komang “Komo” Sastrawan from Nusa Lembongan. Tommy Sobri and Reef Doig finished third and fourth respectively.
Receiving the special Coca-Cola Surfboard Award as the most promising grom in need of proper equipment was Matius, who is Javanese but lives in Kuta at an orphanage, having no parents or family. Rusty GM Kane Faint explained how Matius was selected; “We asked the local groms here at the beach who they thought most needed a new surfboard, and they all agreed on Matius. They said that he really loves to surf but always had to borrow their boards because he didn’t have one of his own, so on behalf of Coca-Cola it was very gratifying to be able to give a brand new custom surfboard to this deserving young grom.”
When asked for his feelings on the weekend event Faint added, “Wow, what can I say? We had pumping waves and the groms were really ripping, although I admit that when looking at the forecast for Saturday I had my doubts whether we would be sending the kids out in what looked to be solid 6 foot Kuta Beach. But it all turned out perfectly and I couldn’t be more pleased. The groms had loads of free goodies from Walls, plenty of drinks from Coca-Cola, and we did a trash collecting competition in addition to the surfing, so it was fun for everyone. Looking forward to doing it again next year already. Thanks to my Rusty team, the Coca-Cola ISC crew and judges, and to all the sponsors and media, it was the best Gromfest we’ve done yet!”
Rusty Gromfest 2011 Results
Under 16 Division
1. Jeren Kiring (Bali)
2. Angga Mardiana (Nusa Lembongan)
3. Koko Mitsuantara (Bali)
4. Usman (Lombok)
Under 14 Division
1. Dian Hendriyanto (West Java)
2. Komang Sastrawan (Nusa Lembongan)
3. Tommy Sobri (Bali)
4. Reef Doig (Australia/Bali)
Under 12 Division
1. Raju (Bali)
2. Made Tedi (Bali)
3. Rio (Japan/Bali)
4. Mega (Bali)
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