Maui and Sons Grommet Comp

Surfing Queensland
Gold Coast, Qld.,
April 8th -11th

Bennetts and Hubbard Claim Inaugural Titles

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 11 April, 2006 : - - Chris Bennetts (Main beach) and Amy Hubbard (Currumbin) have claimed the blue ribbon Maui and Sons under 18 boy’s title and the Maui Girl under 18 girl’s title on finals day at the inaugural Maui and Son Grommet Comp, held at Lacey’s Lane (Currumbin) today.

Finalist's were given their chance to impress as the sun shone bright and 3-foot of southerly swell continued to pulse into the world-class break of Currumbin Alley. High scores and innovative surfing was the norm, as competitor’s exchanged blows in the quest for esteemed titles, valuable prizes and important stature as ’06 champions.

Over 150 of Australia’s budding junior surfers were reduced to just 28 finalists across 7 divisions today.

Surfing with a great sense of style, Bennett’s totally outclassed his fellow competitors Joshua Lee (Coolangatta – 2nd), Harrison Roach (Sunshine Beach – 3rd) and Damien Chaudoy (Coolangatta – 4th) to be crowned the Maui and Sons Grommet Comp under 18 boy’s champion.

The Trinity Lutheran College student was under immense pressure for most of the 25-minute final, trailing both Lee and Roach by more than 7-points.

Showing nerves-of-steel Bennett’s executed a series of radical forehand maneouvres on his last wave to post an impressive 8.5-point ride and in doing so captured the lead with a little over two minutes remaining.

“ I wasn’t sure if any waves were going to come through. But I’m stoked they did!” said a pleased Bennetts. Bennetts further added, “ This event is definitely one of my biggest wins to date!” Similarly, Currumbin’s Amy Hubbard continued her great form by taking victory in the under 18 girl’s final, posting an impressive 7-point ride and a 5.85-point ride.

Hubbard’s sensational performance can be greatly credited to her rigorous training with the Surfing Queensland Coaching Academy. The Palm-Beach Currumbin High school student studies surfing as part of her curriculum and is ready to follow the competitive Australian pro-junior series in 2006.

Coolangatta’s James Woods (Formerly South Africa), the in-form surfer of the 4-day event, went-to-town on Currumbin Alley’s reeling blue walls to defeat Keiran Lloyd (Kingscliff), Tom Myers (Freshwater beach - Sydney) and Jarrad White (Kingscliff) in the under 16 boy’s final.

Wood’s had an anxious moment halfway through the final when the judges issued a paddling interference call involving Woods and Lloyd. Luckily for Woods, the interference was called on Lloyd. “ I did what I had to do to win!” said the relieved Woods.

In the Maui Girl divisions, Maddi King (Byron Bay) was crowned the under 16 girl’s champion, while Hawaii’s Alisha Gonsalez (Oahu) added some international flavor by convincingly winning the under 14 girl’s division.

Sunshine Coast’s budding star, Nicholas Edgerton (Caloundra), led from the start in the under 14 boy’s final to post an impressive victory and take kudos as the 06’champion. Whilst, pint-sized grommet, Sol Bailey (Byron Bay) ran away with the under 12 boy’s title and is one to keep an eye out for in future years.

Wave selection proved critical today, with long lulls between set waves and a decreasing southerly swell proving to be costly to many of the competitor’s campaigns. The inaugural Maui and Sons Grommet Comp acts as a major stepping-stone to a professional junior surfing career for many of Queensland’s and Australia’s emerging grommets.

Results

Under 18 boys
1st Chris Bennetts
2nd Joshua Lee
3rd Harrison Roach
4th Damien Chaudoy

Under 18 girls
1st Amy Hubbard
2nd Tiana McNeven
3rd Jade Antonieff
4th Dana McNeven

Under 16 boys
1st James Woods
2nd Keiran Lloyd
3rd Tom Myers
4th Jarrad White

Under 16 girls
1st Maddi King
2nd Amy Hubbard
3rd Dana McNeven
4th Jaz Hosking

Under 14 Girls
1st Alisha Gonsalez
2nd Ashley Goodall
3rd Eden Putland
4th Laura Poncini

Under 12 boys
1st Sol Bailey
2nd Hayden Cervi
3rd Bodi Smith
4th Sam Poncini

Full event updates can be found at www.surfingqueensland.com

The Maui and Sons Grommet Comp is proudly presented by Big W – We Sell For Less.

www.surfingqueensland.com

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Jake White
Surfing Queensland
jake@surfingqueensland.com.au

Groms - Surfersvillage