The 2-3 foot waves were lined up much better, so the more proficient groms were finding longer and steeper walls to race down before taking deep bottom turns and lining up to blast a big hack or try to punt an air. There were still some 4-foot closeouts to dodge, but overall the conditions were very close to perfect for the 16 and under grommets.
Continuing their high level of performance from yesterday's Trial heats were the dynamic duo from the Philippines, Paul John Alipayo and Azor Joseph Laudes, who both won their Round 1 and Round 2 heats after advancing from the Trials yesterday. Paul John nabbed one of the biggest set waves of the day in his Round 2 heat and took it apart all the way into the beach, impressing the judges so much that they gave him a 7.5, the highest single wave score of the day.
Young Matt Lindsay from Australia also narrowly nabbed a Round 3 berth after making it through the trials yesterday, getting a buzzer beating 6.8 score in the final seconds to best Ryan Hidayat from West Java.
Surya Atmaja was the fourth and final grom of the eight trialists from yesterday that made it into Round 3. He continued his run and smashed his way into a Round 3 spot, with his fast and aggressive surfing and impressive mix of maneuvers getting him big cheers from the crowd and big points from the judges.
Rounding out the list of top performing young groms was Jeren, who was surfing beyond his years with power and style, getting a 6.0 and a 6.75 in his Round 1 heat and blowing away his rivals. He had little trouble repeating his performance in Round 2, winning this heat as well, so is solidly in the driver's seat for Round 3 tomorrow.
Of special mention today was the participation 11 year old Annissa Flynn from Thailand, the only girl surfer in the event. She came to Bali through a special invitation from Quiksilver, who after seeing her perform in the recent Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series event in Phuket, winning the Junior Division and placing second in the Women's division, thought she deserved to come surf in Bali for a few days! Though she didn't make it through her heat, she showed off her courage and ability by chasing the biggest waves all over the lineup and taking off without hesitation.
Round 3 is scheduled to get underway tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. Attached is the heat draw for the Round 3 lineup.
The Quiksilver King of the Groms is a Grade 2 Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour Junior Division sanctioned event, presented by Coke Zero and Sprite Zero, and sponsored-supported by The Haven, Harris Hotels, Aroma, Bapak Bakery, GUS, SurfTime, Trax, Cosmo Girl, Men's Fitness, Spicey, Gadis, Seventeen and Cinta-Cinta.
Photos and text : Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Thanks,
Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC
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