MAGIC WAVE _ November 2009

lombok sectionKawai Lindo@ Desert PointA total of 62 groms entered the competition, a whopping 40 in the Under14 division and 22 in the Under 16 division, coming from Medewi, Uluwatu,Sanur, Nusa Dua, Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu, Nusa Lembongan, andeven a couple of kids from Australia.The conditions went from a rising tide in the morning then down to a deadlow tide for the finals, making for a wide variety of surfing conditionsthroughout the day. According to Head Judge Mark “Boonga” Clift, “Therewere some very challenging conditions out there today for these groms,especially on the low tide later on in the day. But even so these kids sortedit out and posted some very good scores. It was really fun to watch, andgreat to see how high the level of grom surfing has gotten here over in thelast 5 years.”Clift was assisted in the judging duties by Rip Curl Team Riders GarutWidiarta, Wayan “Gobleg” Suyadnya, and Oney Anwar, as well as byPeter and Pete from the Medewi Boardriders Club and Ado from the BukitBoardriders Club.At the end of the day it was 11-year-old Jeren Kiring from Canggu thatclaimed victory in the Under 14 division with an impressive display of forehandsurfing, throwing out big turns and floating over long sections on hisway to racking up big scores. He was the first surfer of the day to post a 9point wave during his round 2 heat, but had to fight off the constant chargeof Koko Misuantara from Nusa Dua, who put on his own grom clinic withdeep bottom turns and aggressive re-entry’s, taking 2nd place.In the Under 16 division it was local knowledge coupled with a talentedforehand attack that saw Medewi localAhmad Kamal surf to the top spot onthe podium and come away with his “Ticket to Final” entry into the NationalFinals. He charged into the lead early and staved off the repeated attacksof charging Rip Curl Team Rider Putra Hermawan from Nusa Lembongan,who was the only natural footed surfer in the final. From the podium, thebeaming Kamal said, “I’m so happy to win here at my home break, andthat now I can compete in Kuta for the trip to Australia. Thank you Rip Curlfor coming here and having the GromSearch, and thank you to my friendsand family who support me for surfing. Thanks so much, and see you inKuta!Then as is customary at all Rip Curl GromSearch events, so that even thenon-surfers get a chance to participate, MC (Dede Gun) and Events Manager(Dhanny) gathered everyone around for games like trash collecting, musicalchairs, quizzes and more until all the goodies including mobile phonesfrom Fren, stickers, hats, wallets and more from Rip Curl were all gone.Also taking to the podium to receive a goody bag from Rip Curl andcool Skull Candy headphones were the winners of the Expression Session.Mukhlis Anwar was awarded Best Trick honors for his aerial, andHermanreceived his awards for having the Best Wave.richard @ alang alangThen it was time for the Rip Curl crew to pack it up and head home, so theycould start preparing for the Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival and Rip CurlGromSearch National Finals that will take place at Kuta Beach on the 24thand 25th of October.Just before heading back to Kuta, Rip Curl’s Marketing Manager JamesHendy had this to say; ‘I’m really impressed with the level of surfing theseyoung groms displayed out there today, they are surfed incredibly well.And when it came time for the games and giveaways, the kids back hereon the beach are also very competitive when playing for prizes and vyingfor their share of the free goodies. They went crazy! Everybody had sucha good time, it was awesome. Thanks to all the kids and the Medewi localsthat helped make it such a great GromSearch!”Ochong w/ new double stringerboard from outer island -mitchel rae. a gift from RexMagic delivery in lombokBlacky @ Senggigi leftmason ho@ Desert Pointby bokahGrom’sGo Madat Medewi in Rip Curl GromSearch 55 October 2009, Kuta-Bali: At 7 am on Sunday morning October 5th at the scenic fishing village ofMedewi in Northwest Bali, dozens of groms who had traveled from all over Bali and Nusa Lembonganlined up together with the local Medewi groms to sign up and compete in the fifth regional Rip CurlGromsearch event of 2009.Looking out over the 2-3 foot waves peeling off the point at the cobblestone lefthander of MedewiBeach in Northwest Bali, the energy was high and the vibe was electric as the kids all knew what wasat stake in today’s competition.For the Under 16 division, today’s winner and runner up would be stepping up to the podium to acceptthe grand prize of a “Ticket to Final”, the exclusive entry into the National Grand Final to be held atKuta Beach on October 25th. Only 20 groms , two from each of the five previous regional events(Lombok, Sumatra, Sumbawa, Java, and Bali) will be competing for the ultimate prize of a spot in theRip Curl GromSearch World Finals at Bells Beach in Australia next year.For the Under 14’s, it was their chance to get recognition and admiration from their friends and familyas well as to come home with a trophy and prizes from the many GromSearch series sponsors.The Rip Curl GromSearch Series 2009 is sponsored by: Fren, Skull Candy,Eat Sleep Surf (ESS), Light Surfboards, Yayasan Gelombang Udara Segar(GUS), Trax Magazine, Surf Time Magazine.The Rip Curl GromSearch Series 2009 is sanctioned by the Coca-ColaIndonesian Surfing Championship Tour, and the participants are given pointsthat add to their tally in their run for the 2009 Coca-Cola ISC Junior DivisionChampionship.Results:Under 161 – Ahmad Kamal2 – Putra Hermawan3 – Putu Anggara4 – Komang ArifExpression SessionBest Wave – HermanBest Trick – Muklis AnwarText and Photos: Tim Hain - Coca-Cola ISC TourUnder 141 – Jeren Kiring2 – Koko Mitsuandara3 – Blacky4 – Abi Azwar Anas28 MAGIC WAVE _November 2009 MAGIC WAVE _ November 2009 29