July 24 - 30, 2016: Issue 273

2016 NSW GROMMET STATE TITLES

Under-14 Girls day one standout Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Under-14 Girls champion Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon) - photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW 
The NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics will see over 130 of NSW’s best grommet surfers compete in an effort to claim a state title and position in the Australian Junior Surfing Titles.
 
The three-day event takes place at Maroubra Beach from the 22nd – 24th July, 2016.
 
Competitors in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions will be vying for a revered NSW Junior Title, with the Under-14 division given an allocated amount of positions for the Australian Junior Surfing Titles, which will take place on Victoria’s Phillip Island in November/December.
 
“Last year we saw an amazing response to the NSW Grommet Titles and can’t wait for it all to unfold again in late July,” said Surfing NSW Executive Director and lifetime Maroubra local Mark Windon. “Maroubra is one of Sydney’s finest beaches with consistent waves for the majority of the year and it’s going to be thrilling to see some of the best grommets in NSW out there competing for a NSW title.”
 
The NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics will be run concurrently with the Beachbreaks Festival, which will see a range of festival activations taking place over the course of Sunday, 24th July.
 
2016 is the second year the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics and the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles have split into two different events, with the amendment designed to cater for the growing demand from younger competitor divisions.

Day 1 and Day 2 Reports from Surfing NSW plus some epic pictures by by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW run below - Day 3 added in late Sunday

SOLID PERFORMANCES ON OPENING DAY OF THE NSW GROMMET TITLES PRESENTED BY OHANA OCEAN ATHLETICS‏

MAROUBRA BEACH, SYDNEY - Friday, July 22, 2016 

Day one of the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics kicked off today as competitors in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions looked to get their campaigns off to a flying start.

Fresh off yesterday’s victory in the MR Shield division at the Ocean and Earth NSW Schools Titles, Lennox Chell (Avoca) kept the ball rolling as he dominated the clean two-foot peaks in the opening Under-14 Boys heat of the day. Chell notched up a solid 14.50 heat total (out of a possible 20 points) to take a convincing victory against his opposition. Chell will make his next appearance in the second round.

Hot on Chell’s heels in the Under-14 Boys division was Jai Glinderman (Lennox Head) who amassed an impressive 13.67 heat total for a variety of excellent snaps and carves. As a result, Glinderman bypassed the requalification rounds and sealed his position straight into round two.

Lennix Smith (Barrack Point) put on a similar display of power and prowess that won him the recent Occy Grom Comp on the Gold Coast, posting a massive 15.96 heat total - the highest of the day – in the Under-12 Boys. Smith surfed well beyond his years in the opening exchange and sent a message to his fellow competitors that he was out for victory. Smith will surf in the second round tomorrow.  

Hughie Vaughan (Bateau Bay) and Harry O’Brien (Lennox Head) also both wowed the judges for their impressive displays of power surfing in the Under-12 Boys division. Both surfers posted heat totals in excess of 13.00 to claim wins in their opening exchanges.

Following Bodhi Leigh-Jones’ (Avalon) recent success at the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles, little sister Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon) appeared to have taken a leaf out of the same book, posting an impressive 13.57 heat total in the Under-14 Girls division. Cedar smashed out an exciting array of forehand turns to post the aforementioned score and cement her position in round two.

Nyxie Ryan (Lennox Head) made it known she was also a name to watch in the Under-14 Girls posting a decent heat win with a notable 11.17 heat total. 

The NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics will be run concurrently with the Beachbreaks Festival, which will see a range of festival activations taking place over the course of Sunday, 24th July.

2016 is the second year the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics and the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles have split into two different events, with the amendment designed to cater for the growing demand from younger competitor divisions.

The daily schedule will be confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45am each day. The event hotline is 0458 247 212.

For more information, daily imagery, news and information check out surfingnsw.com.au

All qualifiers for the NSW Grommet Titles pres. by Ohana Ocean Athletics were determined by eight individual regional titles, which took place up and down the NSW coastline earlier in the year. 

The 2016 NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics are supported by Ohana Ocean Athletics, Randwick City Council, Toyota, HIF, Souths Juniors, Carve and Surfing NSW.

Report by Surfing NSW

SURFERS POWER THROUGH A DAY OF TINY WAVES AT THE NSW GROMMET TITLES PRES. BY OHANA OCEAN ATHLETICS AT MAROUBRA BEACH

MAROUBRA BEACH, SYDNEY Saturday, July 23, 2016
The second day of the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics endured a challenging day of minuscule waves as competitors attempted to secure a position in tomorrow’s final rounds.
 
Winter Vincent (Manly) didn’t let the small waves faze him, posting a near perfect 9.50 wave score (out of a possible ten points) for a healthy combination of mammoth frontside turns in the second round of the Under-12 Boys. Vincent backed up the previously mentioned score with an impressive 8.37 to bring his heat total to an excellent 17.87 (out of a possible 20 points), which left his fellow competitors chasing two-wave combinations to take away his lead.


Day 2 Under-12 Boys standout Winter Vincent (Manly) - photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW
 
Lennix Smith (Barrack Point) continued to build on the stellar performance he showed yesterday in the Under-12 Boys division, posting a stellar 14.43 heat total in the division's second round. The recent winner of the Occy Grom Comp found several diamonds in the rough to notch up the aforementioned score and book his spot into the quarterfinals.
 
Despite the lacklustre conditions, Carly Shanahan (Wooli) put on a dominant display of surfing to post a notable 14.34 heat total in the Under-14 Requalification rounds. Shanahan performed a barrage of decent frontside and backside turns to avoid elimination and book herself a position into the quarterfinals. 

FOUR NEW NSW CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT THE NSW GROMMET TITLES PRES. BY OHANA OCEAN ATHLETICS AT MAROUBRA BEACH

MAROUBRA BEACH, SYDNEY Sunday, July 24, 2016
The final day of the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics saw an action-packed day of surfing with four new NSW junior champions crowned across the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions.
 
Fresh off a recent victory at the MR Shield division at the Ocean and Earth NSW Schools Titles at Port Macquarie, Lennox Chell (Avoca) continued his red-hot form in the Under-14 Boys final, posting a series of excellent scores, including a near-perfect 9.33 (out of a possible ten points) for a massive flurry of backside snaps. After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Australian Junior Titles in 2015, Chell set himself the goal of making the event in 2016. The Central Coast goofy-footer will be joined in the team by fellow Central Coast surfer Joel Vaughan (Bateau Bay), who claimed the runner-up spot.
 
Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon) will be joining older sister Bodhi in the NSW Team for the upcoming Australian Junior Titles, taking out the Under-14 Girls Title. The Northern Beaches native notched up a handful of stellar scores over the entirety of the competition and took a stranglehold of the final with a respectable 10.00 heat total (out of a possible 20 points). Runner-up Carly Shanahan (Wooli) put up a valiant fight but was unable to muster up the 6.18 wave score required to claim Leigh-Jones’ winning position.
 
Winter Vincent (Manly) was unstoppable over the duration of the Under-12 Boys final, posting an excellent 17.10 heat total to claim the win. The lightening fast natural-footer posted two wave scores in the excellent range (eight and above) to form the aforementioned total and claim the victory ahead of fellow event standout Lennix Smith (Barrack Point).
 
Zahlia Short (Austinmer) surfed well beyond her years to claim the Under-12 Girls final with a heat total of 10.00 – the same as Leigh-Jones. The Illawarra surfer fought a tight heat with California Barrett (Banora Point) who fell into the runner-up position by a slender 0.57 margin.
 
The NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics will be run concurrently with the Beachbreaks Festival, which will see a range of festival activations taking place over the course of Sunday, 24th July.
 
2016 is the second year the NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics and the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles have split into two different events, with the amendment designed to cater for the growing demand from younger competitor divisions.
 
The daily schedule will be confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45am each day. The event hotline is 0458 247 212.
  
All qualifiers for the NSW Grommet Titles pres. by Ohana Ocean Athletics were determined by eight individual regional titles, which took place up and down the NSW coastline earlier in the year.
 
The 2016 NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics are supported by Ohana Ocean Athletics, Randwick City Council, Toyota, HIF, Souths Juniors, Carve and Surfing NSW.
 
RESULTS:
Under-14 Boys
1 – Lennox Chell (Avoca)
2 – Joel Vaughan (Bateau Bay)
3 – Kobi Clements (Narrabeen)
4 – Logan Steinwede (Wagstaffe)

Under-14 Girls
1 – Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon)
2 – Carly Shanahan (Wooli)
3 – Charli Hurst (Port Kembla)
4 – Gabi Spake (Collaroy)

Under-12 Boys
1 – Winter Vincent (Manly)
2 – Lennix Smith (Barrack Point)
3 – Nate Hopkins (Noraville)
4 – Jett Secomb (Norah Head)

Under-12 Girls
1 – Zahlia Short (Austinmer)
2 – California Barrett (Banora Point)
3 – Oceanna Rogers (Shell Cove)
4 – Rosie Smart (Sawtell)
Under-12 Boys champion Winter Vincent (Manly) - photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW 
Day 2: Dane Dujic (Avalon)  - photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW
Day 2: Jasmine Riggs (Curl Curl) - photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW

Day 1: Jai Glinderman (Lennox Head)– photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Jarvis Earle (Cronulla)– photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Kobi Clements (Narrabeen) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Koda Killorn (Maroubra) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Logan Steinwede (Central Coast) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Masato Leishman (Byron Bay) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Michael Clayton-Brown (Corlette) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Nyxie Ryan (Lennox Head) – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Sunny-Jack Whitby-Otto (The Junction)  – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.

Day 1: Winter Vincent (Manly)  – photo by Glenn Duffus / Surfing NSW.