Under 16 winners : photo Tim Hain

Rip Curl GromSearch #2

Indonesian Pro Surfing Tour
Seger Beach, Kuta-Lombok
23 March 2008

Rip Curl GromSearch #2 Draws Top Groms to Seger Beach in Kuta-Lombok

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 March, 2008 : - - On Sunday March 23rd, Rip Curl became the first surf brand to bring an ISC sanctioned grommet comp to Lombok, with 38 groms from as far away as Senggigi, Gili Trawangan, and Gili Air, coming to Seger Beach in the South Lombok town of Kuta to show off their skills and compete for prizes and prestige, and the grand prize of an all expense paid trip to Bali to compete in the GromSearch Finals in October. 
 
Seger Beach is just 2 kilometers from the small beach town of Kuta, located on the southern coast of the island of Lombok.  A 20-minute plane ride from Bali and a one and a half hour car ride put you on the white sands of Seger Beach in Kuta Lombok. 

The right hand reef break was a perfect venue for the competition and showed off the beautiful scenery of this still pristine area, just a stones throw from the 4 star Novotel Coralia Resort. During the competition the rip curl crew stayed at this wonderful resort and were completely grateful for the perfect service and features of Novotel Coralia Resort. According to them it is the ideal place for relaxing holidays in beautiful Kuta-Lombok.

The rising sun highlighted the glassy 2-3 foot peaks of the right hand reef break at low tide, and the boys wasted no time showing off their best bottom turns, lip bashes, and cutbacks.  There were not many barrels to be had, but a couple guys tried their best to get into the few that came in.

Seger Beach : photo Tim Hain

 
The tide rose fast and by 10 am started slowing down the sets a bit, and that together with the increasing wind made for more challenging conditions but the waves never stopped coming in and everyone got their share.  The rain also made an appearance at just before noon, and stuck around on and off for a couple of hours before deciding to disappear for good just after the start of the Under 16 final around 2 pm.

It was clear from the start that the Gerupuk boys were on a mission, with Taka Arwada and Mahatta making their statements early that they were headed for a showdown in the final. They won their Round 1 heats, met each other in Round 2 with Mahatta coming out on top, and then met again in the Final with Taka getting top points and the overall win. 

Mulyadi from Senggigi lost his board on his first wave, putting him way behind, but then charged every wave he could get and even tried to get into the small barrel section on the inside, which got him enough points to take over 3rd place.  Semang started out well but didn’t seem to have the fire in him to charge and risk the big maneuver, so ended in 4th place. After the Under 16 Final, ISC Judge Leon Suandhi said, “I really liked Taka’s backside style. 

He has good power and got big points for his turns off the top today.  He now has a ticket to Bali so he’ll have a chance to compete with the other winners in Bali in October.  It’s a great opportunity for him.”  Then he added, “This is my first time to Lombok and I really enjoyed watching and judging these kids here today.  It’s a great place to surf and everyone really had fun.  I’ll come back here again, as I’d like to surf some of these waves myself!”

In the Under 14 division, it was 12 year old M. Rifai (also from Gerupuk) that stood proud atop the podium at the end of the day.  He has only been surfing less than a year, and showed remarkable skill at threading his way through the sections and finished his waves. 

11 year old Sayid Hamjah had the lead for most of the Final, solidly linking up bottom turns and off the tops, but Rifai’s last minute wave all the way to the inside got him the top score of the heat and the win. He also receives a ticket to Bali to compete in the series final in October.

Immediately after the Under 14 Final, the entrants for the Expression Session ran down the beach and paddled out to take their turns at winning some great stuff from Dakine and Rip Curl.  The water was packed with guys dropping in all over each other.  In the end it was Mul from Kuta that got the Best Wave, and Ketok Ovan from Senggigi that had the Best Trick.
 
Everyone went home with something that day, whether they won or not, as Rip Curl giveaways were thrown into the air for all to grab, and then before you knew it the beach was cleaned up, the equipment packed up, the trucks loaded, and Seger Beach was again returned to its natural state.
 
Rip Curl thanks Kimen at Kimen Surf for all his help in organizing the event, the Novotel Lombok for their hospitality, Drh. Abdul Samad (Lombok Tourism Department) and sponsors All Seasons Resort Legian - Bali, Dakine, Light Surfboards, Trax Magazine, Surf Time, Magic Wave, the ISC, and GUS for their generous support of the Rip Curl GromSearch program.

Results

Under 16
1.  Taka Arwada – Gerupuk
2.  Mahatta – Gerupuk
3.  Mulyadi – Senggigi
4.  Semang – Gerupuk

Under 14
1.  M. Rifai – Gerupuk
2.  Sayid Hamjah – Awang Balak
3.  Dani Abdullah – Senggigi
4.  Fahmi – Senggigi

Expression Session
Best Wave:  Mul- Kuta (Lombok)
Best Trick:  Ketok Ovan – Senggigi

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Tim Hain

Groms - Surfersvillage