Rip Curl GromSearch National Final

Bells Beach, Australia
March 20, 2005
Rip Curl Pro

www.ripcurl.com

SECOND ANNUAL RIP CURL GROMSEARCH NATIONAL FINAL WON & RUN IN TORQUAY TODAY

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 March 2005: - - A host of Australia’s best junior surfers converged on Torquay, Victoria, today to compete in the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final at Winki Pop.

Held in small, but clean conditions, today’s event was the climax of Rip Curl’s National GromSearch Series. All of the juniors that competed had won one of the seven GromSearch events this season, held in Torquay (Vic), Newcastle (NSW), Perth (WA), Seaford (SA), Gold Coast (Qld), Clifton (Tas) and Maroubra (NSW) from September last year.

In the strong guy’s ’16 & Under’ division, Shaun Stevic (Castaways, NSW) and Phillip Island’s Carl Wright finished first and second respectively to win entry to represent Australia in the GromSearch International Final. Local Torquay surfer Cahill Bell Warren and Keil Bigeni (Port Macquarie, NSW) rounded-out the four-man final.

In the girl’s ’16 & Unders’, it was Jessica Hickson (Boomerang Beach, NSW) and New Zealand’s Mischa Davis (Gisbourne) who scored top honours, defeating Brittani Nicholl (Cabarita, NSW) and Elkie Jones (Boomerang Beach, NSW) in a close final. Hickson and Davis will join Stevic and Wright on the Australian team to take on surfers from South Africa, Indonesia, Brazil and the USA.

“There were a lot of good surfers in the comp today, so I’m pretty stoked about winning,” said Stevic. “There was a lot of luck involved all day and I’m just glad I picked a couple of okay quick ones.”

“It was definitely tricky,” agreed Hickson. “I got a good wave early and then there were no waves for like 10 minutes. I’m heaps stoked to be surfing in the International Final this week and looking forward to surfing against the other country’s teams.”

Rip Curl’s decision to hold a National Final and an International Final at Bells Beach during the Rip Curl Pro was made to strengthen the GromSearch Series, boost its profile and most importantly stoke the groms by giving them the chance to live out their dreams of surfing an empty Bells line-up in front of a massive crowd.

“I’ve surfed against Nikita before, but I don’t know much about the other girls,” continued Hickson. “We’ll be looking forward to surfing Bells by ourselves and it’s great experience surfing an event with so many pros around.”

“This is the first year we’ve had an International Final and it’s looking like being a great success,” added Mark Flanagan, Rip Curl Events Manager. “All of the groms are frothing about surfing Bells during the Rip Curl Pro and we’re happy to give them the chance.”

Just like their World Championship Tour heroes, the international finalists will have to wait for ideal conditions, with the Final’s waiting period running from March 24 to March 28. Organisers will run the Final at the first available time during this window and are hoping conditions serve competitors with a great experience.

www.ripcurl.com

RIP CURL INTERNATIONAL FINAL - FAST FACTS
When: The competition window is from March 24 to March 28, with organisers running the event at the first available time during this period.
Where: Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia – Rip Curl Pro
Why: To crown the guy and girl Rip Curl GromSearch International Champions.
Who: ‘16 & Under’ aged National GromSearch Champions from around the world.

RIP CURL GROMSEARCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Australia: Shaun Stevic, Carl Wright, Jessica Hickson & Mischa Davis
Brazil: Gian Carlo Zampiere & Bruna Schimtz
Indonesia: Garut Widiarta
South Africa: Jordy Smith & Nikita Robb
USA: Mason Ho & Lexi Papilion
New Zealand: Kierin Vander Helder & Daisy Thomas

Rip Curl GromSearch Series is presented by Nintendo and proudly supported by: Waves, Telstra, Surfing Australia and the Rip Curl Pro.

More Australasian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts

For more information on Rip Curl GromSearch, please contact:

Dane Sharp
+61 439 300 391

Mark Flanagan
+61 408 619 929

Groms - Surfersvillage

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