Rip Curl GromSearch 4

ISC
Kuta Beach Bali
15 July 2007

Gazali Hamzah Breaks 2nd Place Jinx in GromSearch 4 at Kuta Beach

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 16 July, 2007 : - - The morning sunshine lit up Kuta Beach with the promise of great things to come for the 61 groms lining up to get their place in the fourth GromSearch event in the 2007 series. The sun was bright, the waves were coming in with the tide at a consistent and glassy 2-3 feet, and all systems were go for an epic day on the one of the worlds most popular tourist beaches. And certainly a day to remember for Gazali Hamzah!

When the Under 17 finalists paddled out for the last time on Sunday afternoon, the weather had turned cloudy and a few drops of rain even fell on the very low tide and 1-2 foot mostly closing out beachbreak, but by the time the horn blew and the surfers paddled in, the smile on the face of Gazali Hamazh lit up the beach like a 1,000 watt light.

Finally he would take the number one spot on the podium, after finishing as runner up to younger brother One Anwar in the previous two GromSearch events. “I’m so happy to have won today,” said Gazali, “and really happy that I’m here on the podium with my brother One and Putra,” he added. These three seem be spending a lot of time on contest podiums lately!

Kuta Beach is always a great venue for a surf competition, especially on a Sunday when the beach is thronged with both tourists and locals alike, enjoying a walk on the beach, a snack and a drink in the shade of a tree. Add to that some great surfing action mixed with beach games and free surf lessons courtesy of Rip Curl, and you have all the elements for a perfect day at the beach!

There were 38 kids competing in the Under 17 Division, and MC Ribut Wahyudi called them into action for the first heat of the day at 7:30 am. The rising tide and glassy waves gave them a perfect forum in which to test their skills against the waves and each other, and to impress the judges with their best lip smacks, floaters, and cutbacks.

Judging the action during the day was Head Judge Wayan Jodi from the ISC, along with Brad and Ado from the Bukit Boardriders. Assisting Ribut in calling the action and adding some hilarious commentary to the event were the Rip Curl Team Riders from Lakey Peak Dedi Gun and Joey Barrel.

In the Under 15 Division, the standouts of the day were Koko Misuantara, the smallest but most brave of the groms in his division, and Putu Anggara, the winner of GromSearch 3 in Medewi back in May. The small waves were perfectly suited for these young shredders, and in most every heat at least one competitor got their limit of 10 waves for the heat.

All during the final, the Rip Curl crew was on the beach cheering on Koko, pushing him to go deeper and bigger. His second place finish was just fine with him, as his big grin on the podium proved. Putu Anggara is on a roll now as the point leader in his division. Let’s see if he can keep his streak alive at the series final at Keramas on October 28th.

Just before the finals, the Expression Session was held to see who could win a set of X-Fins and a goodie bag from Rip Curl. The on-fire Gazali Hamzah flew an air 180 to take the Best Trick, and Putra Hermawan followed with one-foot-off air reentry to capture the Best Wave prize.

Under 17
1. Gazali Hamzah
2. Putra Hermawan
3. One Anwar
4. Agus Sumertayasa

Under 15
1. Putu Anggara
2. Koko Mitsuantara
3. Wayan Pramana
4. Arya Wijaya

Expresssion Session
Best Trick – Gazali Hamzah
Best Wave – Putra Hermawan

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Tim Hain

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