The Ripcurl GromSearch hits the water this holidays

The Rip Curl GromSearch series is hitting the water this weekend, kicking off the September school holidays with first event of series at Bells Beach on Saturday, September 17 to Monday, September 19.

The RipCurl GromSearch Qualifier Series, which started in 1999 with a single-day event at Jan Juc for surfers 16 years and under, gives young surfing “groms” the opportunity to surf with friends and test their skills against the best junior talent in the country while developing their competitive game.

 

Bells Beach is the first event of the Rip Curl Gromsearch series and will be followed by event 2 in Newcastle from September 29-October 2 and event 3 in Coolum from December 12-14.

After two years of interrupted events, organisers of the series are stoked to be back at Bells.

“After the uncertainty of the past few years we’re looking forward to putting on some epic events for the next generation of talent in Australia,” Rip Curl event manager Mark Flanagan said.

This year the series will host three divisions for boys and girls, 16 and Under, 14 and Under and 12 and Under.

The top-ranked surfers at the end of the three-event series will qualify for the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final, which will be hosted at URBNSURF Melbourne in March 2023.

 

The impressive list of previous GromSearch competitors and past winners who went on to become WSL World Tour athletes is testament to the quality of the series, including incumbent WSL competitors Gabriel Medina, Stephanie Gilmore, Italo Ferreira, Carissa Moore, Jordy Smith, Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons, Kolohe Andino, and Filipe Toledo.