Rainy day at Croyde Bay for Quiksilver King of the Groms

Quiksilver King of the Groms

Croyde Bay & Putsborough, North Devon
16 - 17 June 2012

Event runs in association with GoldCoast Oceanfest

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 June, 2012 : - - Looking back over a weekend of weather and waves it’s fair to say this year’s Quiksilver King Of The Groms in association with GoldCoast Oceanfest was one to remember. The Surfing GB events team had to think fast when the ’50 year storm’ showed up pushing 60mph winds and 8-10ft waves into Croyde Bay, North Devon.

A last minute decision was made to relocate to Putsborough beach for day 1 of this prestigious world series event. The Groms turned out in force despite the wind & rain as the British summertime delivered its usual winter weather, the waves were solid 3-4ft and the competition got underway smoothly.

The judges had their work cut out as the boys U14’s/ 16’s Groms put on a show for the hardy spectators, which included musician Ben Howard, and continued to push the boundaries of junior surfing in the UK. By the end of day 1 the judges had whittled down the field with eyes on the Sunday and Finals day. Attention then turned to the nights proceedings at The GoldCoast Oceanfest site as a break in the weather allowed for a fantastic end to the day, watching acts including Natty & Ben Howard perform to over 10,000 fans.

Day 2 of the contest saw a complete contrast in the weather as the glorious sunshine and light winds allowed the event to be held at Croyde Bay in fun 2-3ft waves. Surfing GB & Quiksilver created a fantastic contest area that impressed all, and as the live music of Oceanfest filtered across the bay the Groms amped up and the surfing began. Early exchanges in the boys U16’s again pushed the boundaries with stand out surfing from GEAROID McDAID from Ireland and ANGUS SCOTNEY from Cornwall.

 The finals kicked off with the U12’s open which saw some incredible surfing by all, especially 8yr old Quiksilver rider Stanley Norman however ultimately GABE LEY used his local knowledge and talent to take the title.

Boys U14’s title was taken by an in form ANGUS SCOTNEY who had also advanced to the semi’s of the U16’s boys. Girls U16’s final was tightly contested seeing local girl FLORA LAWTON pip her local rival (and good friend) PEONY KNIGHT to the title. The U16’s boys final was a great encounter to watch with mature surfing well above their age. An electric atmosphere on the beach was mirrored in the water with all finalists delivering a great display of surfing. RHYS BARFIELD produced the goods and was crowned the 2012 UK King Of The Groms Champion.

RHYS and 2nd place ED SMITH will now go onto compete in the next round of the series in Portugal and we wish them the best of luck. Many thanks go out to all the Surfing GB team, volunteers, supporters and competitors and the sponsor Quiksilver without whom the event could not have gone ahead.  Quiksilver Team Manager Spencer Hargreaves was in attendance throughout and believed “This years Quiksilver KOTGs was a great weekend, the UK groms level as gone up another level and great to see a strong number of entries! Massive thanks to Surfing GB and Matt for running a fantastic event”. 

Finally a big thanks from Surfing GB & Quiksilver to the GoldCoast Oceanfest team for helping create the event, Warren Latham (Oceanfest Director) enjoyed the contest and said "What a brilliantly high standard of surfing by such talented up and coming names. Our thanks to sponsors Quiksilver and my Devon for the support and to Surfing GB team for the superb organisation and delivery of the surfing element at the 2012 GoldCoast Oceanfest. We hope to build on these foundations well laid."

U12 Open
1st Gabe Ley
2nd Stanley Norman
3rd Garin Clay
4th Freedom Wall

U14s Boys
1st Angus Scotney
2nd Harry De Roth
3rd Max Payne
4th Hayden Bishop

U16s Girls
1st Flora Lawton
2nd Peony Knight
3rd Emily Currie
4th Emily Williams
5th Maisie Marshall

U16s Boys
1st Rhys Barfield
2nd Ed Smith
3rd Geriod McDaid
4th Dale Foster

www.surfinggb.com
www.quiksilver.com

Source: Surfing GB

Author: Rob Tibbles

Tags: North Deveon, King of the Groms, Quiksilver, Croyde Bay, UK

Events: Surfersvillage