Junior surfers shine at Port Alfred’s GromSearch

The Rip Curl GromSearch completed the younger divisions in excellent running waves at East Beach, Port Alfred, on Saturday.

The Expression Session rewarded four surfers for innovative, progressive performances, while a Channel Islands Surfboard was awarded to the Most Outstanding Surfer of the event, presented by the Royal St Andrews Hotel and supported by Sea Harvest.

A three-foot swell with light offshore winds produced clean right-handers running along the East Beach sandbank, creating ideal high-performance conditions.

A brief morning drizzle passed quickly, with afternoon sunshine watching over a high standard of surfing for the rest of the day.

The Expression Session prize winners were: Women: 1 Max Kauffman, 2 Emma Schermbrucker; Men: 1 Kai Stubbs, 2 Sebastian Copson

The Channel Islands Surfboard for Most Outstanding Surfer went to Cody Painter.

He posted an 8.5 and a 9.5 for an 18-point semi-final heat total before going on to convincingly win the U12 Boys Final. He claimed the Channel Islands surfboard prize, valued at R13,000.

Cody Painter had a safe lead in the U12 Boys’ final, and a last-minute dash by Avethandwa Mosikare saw him leap into second place as the final drew to a close.

The U12 results were: 1 Cody Painter, 2 Avethandwa Mosikare, 3 Jonathan Pearson, 4 Roadie Boddy

Adrianna Canning (Durban) controlled the U12 Girls’ final, with Olivia Shooter (Cape St Francis) finishing second.

The U12 results were: 1 Adrianna Canning, 2 Olivia Shooter, 3 Finley Sutherland, 4 Zaliha Bhyat

An in-form Slayde Shooter won the U14 boys’ division, with Lazaro de Bruyn in second.

The U14 results were: 1 Slayde Shooter, 2 Lazaro De Bruyn, 3 Marcello Zedde, 4 Ethan Schermbrucker

The U14 Girls Final delivered a tight contest between Maya Malherbe and Tasla Belyaeva in high-tide conditions.

Malherbe secured the win by a narrow margin to become the U14 Rip Curl GromSearch champion.

The U14 girls’ final results were: 1 Maya Malherbe, 2 Tasla Belyaeva, 3 Brin Jarvis, 4 Adrianna Canning, 5 Summer Harding

“Congratulations to all the surfers and everyone who worked together to make this contest happen,” said The Royal St Andrews Hotel managing director Justin Bekker.

“It was awesome to watch these talented junior surfers at East Beach, and we are proud to be a sponsor of this event along with Rip Curl.”

The Rip Curl GromSearch Premier U16 and U18 Division Finals will run on Monday before the Royal St Andrews Hotel Rip Curl Cup QS 4,000 final heats.

The Rip Curl GromSearch is a Surfing South Africa event and remains one of the most important junior events on the South African surfing calendar, forming a key part of the Port Alfred Easter Festival lineup.