Champions crowned at the Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps on Northern Beaches, NSW

Stop three out of four of the NSW based Woolworths Surfer Groms Comp has wrapped up in challenging conditions. Starting off at South Curl Curl Beach for day one and commencing finals day at North Curl Curl, the harsh winds and heavy rain didn’t deter the 90 plus grommets who competed.

In U14 Boys, Locana Cullen (Avalon) was an overall standout with the highest two wave heat total of all the finals (14.34) and won the final undefeated over all rounds of competition.

Another athlete coming away undefeated was winner of the U12 Boys, Jacques Callebaut (Freshwater). The young grom finished with a combined heat total of 13.0 leaving Chase McGuire (Shelly Beach) in second, Andy Blanchfield (Norah Head) in third and Henry Smith (Mona Vale) in fourth.

Top performer in U10 Boys was Milo Dubois (Curl Curl) with a pair of six’s to finish up his campaign well and truely above the others. That left Lachlan Pye (Dee Why), Louis Moore (Curl Curl) and Tasman Mellis (Curl Curl) battling it out for places, with not much in it.

In U10 Girls, Yvie Buckley (Narraweena) consistently caught the judges eyes. Yvie dropped some of the biggest scores across all divisions over the weekend, finishing up with a combination heat total of 14.0 (7.83 and 6.17). Coming away victorious in a back and forth final over fellow competitor Chloe Grainger (Newport) who was piped down into second in the dying minutes. Yvie also received the Le Tan “Breakthrough Performer” award for showing the judges her strength and talent well beyond her years.

The U12 Girls Final was a nail biting heat, but it was Avoca’s finest, Olive Morriss who took the win narrowly over Estella Carbonelli (Jan Juc, Vic), Coco Hamano (Terrigal) and Mila Grainger (Newport). The friends are no strangers to competing against each other and often take it in turns for the win, but after dropping a 6.17 early on in the heat, Olive became unreachable.

When it came to the U14 Girls final, it was another tight heat between all athletes. All girls stayed extremely busy catching at least seven waves each. Gidget Kowalski (Kirra, QLD) managed to narrowly come out saving her best performance till last. That left Zara Hall (Avoca) fighting for second, Lily Sain (Ingleside) in third and Talia Field (Umina) in fourth.

But it was the U8’s Mixed final that was the most impressive division. After surfing two heats and combining those placements together to find a winner, it was obvious to all that seven-year-old Indi Elkerton was unstoppable. The young girl from Warilla is set to have a big future ahead after wowing beachgoers with her skills. Although it was compliments to the parents of the U8’s who deserve some credit for fighting rips and rain whilst assisting these superstars in the water.

Full results HERE.

Results

Under 8 Mixed
1^st Indianna Elkerton (Warilla)
2^nd Reif Sheather (Curl Curl)
3^rd Oscar Batey (Freshwater)
4^th Ivan Abagian (Curl Curl)
5^th Josh Pye (Dee Why)

Under 10 Girls
1^st Yvie Buckley (Narraweena)
2^nd Chloe Grainger (Newport)
3^rd Callie Hull (Flinders)
4^th Ruby Blanchfield (Norah Head)

Under 10 Boys
1^st Milo Dubois (Curl Curl)
2^nd Lachlan Pye (Dee Why)
3^rd Louis Moore (Curl Curl)
4^th Tasman Mellis (Curl Curl)

Under 12 Girls
1^st Olive Morriss (Avoca Beach)
2^nd Estella Carbonelli (Jan Juc, Vic)
3^rd Coco Hamano (Terrigal)
4^th Mila Grainger (Newport)

Under 12 Boys
1^st Jacques Callebaut (Freshwater)
2^nd Chase McGuire (Shelly Beach)
3^rd Andy Blanchfield (Norah Head)
4^th Henry Smith (Mona Vale)

Under 14 Girls
1^st Gidget Kowalski (Kirra, QLD)
2^nd Zara Hall (Avoca)
3^rd Lily Sain (Ingleside)
4^th Talia Field (Umina)

Under 14 Boys
1^st Locana Cullen (Avalon)
2^nd Jaggar Phillips (Maroubra)
3^rd Eli Clarke (Elanora Heights)
4^th Noah McBride (Adamstown)

Regarded as one of the major stepping stones in the development of young Australian surfers, the 10-event Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps series caters for surfers from U8 to U14 and will be held in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia over summer.

As an added bonus, the respective winners of the Under 14 boys’ and girls’ divisions from each event will receive an invite to attend an all-expenses-paid, three-day Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps National Final Surf Camp, (1-day coaching clinic, two days of competition and heat analysis coaching) at the Surfing Australia High-Performance Centre (HPC). For the South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian events, the Woolworths Surf Camp prize will be awarded to the highest place Under-14 Boy and Girl who reside in that respective state.

Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps 2023 Schedule:

• EVENT 1 – Kiama, NSW – Sept 2 – 3, 2023
• EVENT 2 – Coffs Harbour, NSW – Sept 9 – 10, 2023 
• EVENT 3 – Fleurieu Peninsula, SA – Sept 30, 2023
• EVENT 4 – Gold Coast, QLD – Oct 7 – 8, 2023
• EVENT 5 – Torquay, VIC – Oct 14 – 15, 2023
• EVENT 6 – Clifton Beach, TAS – Oct 28, 2023
• EVENT 7 – Northern Beaches, NSW – Nov 4 – 5, 2023
• EVENT 8 – Trigg, WA – Nov 18 – 19, 2023
• EVENT 9 – Cronulla, NSW – Dec 2 – 3, 2023 
• EVENT 10 – Sunshine Coast, QLD – Dec 9 – 10, 2023
• National Final – Surfing Australia HPC, Casuarina, NSW – Dec 16 – 18, 2023

The Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps Series is proudly supported by Le Tan, Ruffie Rustic Foods, Wax Fresh and Surfing Australia.