Rip Curl GromSearch

Rip Curl GromSearch 2008 Lights Up Pacitan in East Java    > Indonesian below

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 February, 2008 : - - The Search for Indonesia’s best grommet began on Sunday the 10th of November in the scenic coastal town of Pacitan in East Java, which just happens to be the birthplace the current president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

On the Saturday before it was raining and cloud for much of the day, but on Sunday morning the sun poked through the clouds and lit up the white sand beach for a great day of surfing and fun for the 28 grommets and the local people who had never witnessed such an event before.

The kids started lining up at the Rip Curl tent before 7 am, amped and ready to put on their jerseys and paddle out in the 1-2 foot surf.  With the semi-clear skies and small but glassy surf, it was perfect grom conditions.  And for many of them it was their very first contest experience!

The contest got started around 7:30 am with the Under 14’s.  Local ripper Sapri, sporting a fresh Mohawk hairdo, raced to the lead to declare his dominance over his home break.  But at the end of the day he had to battle it out with Made Butut, who had made the 12-hour trip to Pacitan from Pangandaran on Thursday.

Finalists : photo Tim Hain

Though Sapri ended up taking the runner up spot to Butut, he got the most cheers from the crowd for every wave he took.  Butut, though smaller of stature, was on fire, gouging “big” cutbacks and lofting floaters on his way to victory. 

The Under 16’s saw the two top spots also going to two kids from Pangandaran, with Agustina clearly displaying both talent and experience.  His wave selection and technique got him top points and the top spot on the podium.  Taking second was Ahmad Taufik, chasing Agustina but just not able to get that one big maneuver that would put him ahead.

An exciting new addition to the usual two boys divisions was the unprecedented Girls Division.  During the signup it was discovered that Pacitan is the hotbed of girls surfing in Indonesia, with four brave young girls really getting into the sport.  Young Salina cleaned up, taking first place in her division as well as winning in the Expression Session for Best Wave Selection. 

In addition to the surfing a Sand Art competition and at the end of the day a Trash Collection competition were held. The winners received all kinds of cool Rip Curl products for their efforts.

During a break for lunch, the crowd was treated to a tow-in session where they could see Rip Curl Team riders Pepen Hendrik, Made “Garut” Widiartha, and Yoga “Mega” Semadhi do some airs and big slashes.  Afterwards many of the kids came up to the riders and got them to sign their surfboards and even their clothes. 

It was the first time most of the kids had ever seen pro surfers other than in a magazine, so it was a real treat for them.  In addition, they all got copies of SurfTime magazine, MagicWave surf newspaper, and a booklet from GUS about how to care for their environment.

Not only receiving goody bags full of cool Rip Curl products, the winners of the Under 14 and Under 16 received a free Trip to Bali to surf in the GromSearch National Finals at Kuta Beach in October.  And the overall winner of the Indonesian GromSearch series in the Under 16 division will get a trip to Australia in 2009 to compete in the World GromSearch finals at Bells Beach.

Rip Curl would like to thank all the crew at Pacitan as well as sponsors All Seasons Hotel, Balin Wax, Dakine, Light Surfboards, GUS, ISC SurfTime, MagicWave, and Trax for their support of the Rip Curl GromSearch 2008. The next GromSearch event will be at Kuta on the island of Lombok on March 23rd, so all you groms get signed up now and we’ll see you there!

Contest Results

Under 14
1. Made Butut (Pangandaran)
2. Supri  (Pacitan)
3. Agung (Pangandaran)
4. Ivan Putra (Pangandaran)

Under 16
1. Agustina (Pangandaran)
2. Ahmad Taufik (Pangandaran)
3. Hambali (Pacitan)
4. Suprianto (Pacitan)

Girls Division
1. Salina (Pacitan)
2. Anisa (Pacitan)
3. Lisa (Pacitan)
4. Wilda (Pacitan)

Expression Session

Best Trick:
Agus Gitar (Pacitan)

Best Wave Selection:
Salina (Pacitan)

www.ripcurl.com

Indonesian

Rip Curl Gromsearch 2008 membuka seri pertama dengan perjalanan ke Jawa Timur

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 February, 2008 : - - Rip Curl Gromsearch 2008 membuka seri pertama dengan perjalanan ke Jawa Timur, pantai Teleng Ria Pacitan tempat kelahiran dari Bapak Presiden kita Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Kompetisi ini juga bagian dari ISC Pro Junior Tour. Telah ramai berkumpul pagi itu anak-anak dari Pacitan - Pangandaran dan daerah sekitarnya dipantai menunggu kontes yang akan dimulai.
> 
> Merupakan pertama kalinya seri kejuaraan Rip Curl GromSearch di selenggarakan di pantai tersebut, antusias masyarakat setempat yang tinggi menjadi pemacu acara kompetisi olah raga surfing ini. Selain itu, diakhir seri kejuaraan nantinya untuk pemenang pertama akan diberangkatkan oleh Rip Curl ke Bali mengikuti Nasional Final yang akan diadakan diakhir tahun seri kejuaraan ini yaitu pada bulan Oktober di Pantai Kuta - Bali.

www.ripcurl.com
www.isctour.com

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

New! B2B News ASBE-Surf   |  Receive News-Alerts

Tim Hain

Groms - Surfersvillage