Gromsearch Upset

Durbanite Smit looked in control in the final, held in clean 3-4' surf at the popular Kommetjie beachbreak, to beat a star-studded group of national junior team members fresh from their silver medal at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. J-Bay local Lightfoot’s team mates Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) and Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand) had to settle for third and fourth respectively.

The Under 16 Boys winner pocketed R2,000 in prize money, won himself a state of the art Rip Curl watch, bagged 1,000 PST points and put himself at the top of the leader board for the all expenses trip to Australia which goes to the overall winner of the Under 16 Series.

Current SA under 15 Champion Gina Smith of Jeffrey’s Bay took honours in the Under 16 Girls Division when she beat up and coming Kenilworth surfer Nina Woermann into second spot. Nicole Pallet (Bergvliet) was third and 13 year old Ruth Armstrong (Scarborough) took fourth place. Smith won R1,200, a Rip Curl watch, bagged 1,000 PST points and leads the series with two events to go.

Talented Jordy Maree (Silvertree) beat Adin Masencamp (Strand) to take honours in the Under 14 division. Steffen Burrows (Stellenbosch) was third and Dillon Fernandez (Muizenberg) came fourth.

The Under 12 division title went to Masencamp, who was singled out by the sponsors as the stand out surfer in the event. Jose Faulkner (Pellsrus, Jeffrey’s Bay), a winner at the recent Grommet Games in Port Elizabeth, came second to Masencamp with Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie) third and Tristan Lev (Tableview) taking fourth slot.

The Under 12 Division, which featured surfers as young as nine, showcased an incredible group of talented young surfers who are already making their mark in South African surfing..

The next Rip Curl Gromsearch in the series of three will be held at Southbroom on the KZN South Coast on August 6 & 7 with the final event scheduled for Mossel Bay on October 29 & 30.

In addition to the R13,000 in prize money which will be paid out at each of the three events, the overall series winner in the under 16 Boys Division will win a trip to Australia in 2012.

U/16 Boys
1. Josh Smit (Durban) R2 000
2. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffrey’s Bay) R1 000
3. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) R 500
4. Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand) R 400
U/16 Girls
1. Gina Smith (Jeffreys Bay) R1 200
2. Nina Woermann(Kenilworth) R900
3. Nicole Pallet(Bergvliet) R500
4. Ruth Armstrong(Scarborough) R300
U/14 Boys
1. Jordy Maree(Silvertree) R1 000
2. Adin Masencamp (Strand) R800
3. Steffen Burrows (Stellenbosch) R400
4. Dillon Fernandez(Muizenberg) R200
U/12 Boys
1. Adin Masencamp(Strand) R800
2. Jose Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay) R400
3. Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie) R200
4. Tristan Lev (Tableview) R100

The Rip Curl Gromsearch series is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport, and forms part of the SSA Pro Surf Tour (PST).

Dates and venues for the final two 2011 Rip Curl Gromsearch events are:
GROMSEARCH # 2 : Southbroom KZN : August 6/7 – Entry Form on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
GROMSEARCH # 3 : Mossel Bay : October 29/30 – Entry Form on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za