Droomer lauded as a surfing Rising Star

REIGNING U/16 Boys ISA World Junior Surfing Champion Willis Droomer has capped off a fantastic year of personal accolades by winning the Male Rising Star Award at this year’s Australian Surfing Awards.

Held on the Gold Coast on Thursday last week, the event brought together top surfing athletes from across the country to celebrate all things surfing, including the behind-the-scenes work that went into events, business, media and photography.

Droomer was thrilled to not only personally attend the event but also win the award and toast a 12-month period that had brought him plenty of success.

“It came as a big surprise to win the award, Jarvis (Earle) has won it the past three years, so I thought I wasn’t really a chance,” the Jan Juc resident said.

“There was a huge crowd there and it was very cool to be around all the top surf industry people from around the country.

“The Rising Star award is a great achievement and something that I’ll certainly remember for a long time.”

The 16-year-old said he aimed to surf in a suite of professional junior events over the next few years and also have a crack at qualifying for the Rip Curl Pro through the Trials.

“I’ll be competing in the Rip Curl Pro Trials at the start of April and am really excited.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for Victorians to surf against the world’s best and something that everyone will be fighting for.

“It would definitely be an absolute dream of mine to get there one day, but I can’t get my hopes too high, there’s still lots of work to do to get to that point.”

Eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and 2023 Billabong Pro champion Jack Robinson received top honours at the Australian Surfing Awards, winning Female and Male Surfer of the Year respectively.

For more, head to surfingaustralia.com