Some of the world’s best young surfers hit the lineup today at Snapper Rocks for the second day of competition at the Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp. With a slight overnight increase in swell, the opening rounds of the blue-ribbon under 16 boys and girls 16 divisions showcased their skills in the two-to-three foot walls Snapper continued to offer.
Round one of the Under 16 boys commenced in the morning before moving into the Under 16 girls and completing the day with the second round of the Under 16 boys. The day saw a mixture of local, interstate and international talent.
It was a slow start to round one of the boys, with the high tide and 10-second swell period. As the tide dropped out and the day rolled on, the competitors started posting some long rides and excellent heat totals.
Max Mcgillivray (Evans Head, NSW), Hunter Andersson (Palm Beach, QLD), Caden Francis (Palm Beach, QLD), and Ben Zanatta Creagh (Dee Why, NSW) all had standout heats in rounds one and two and will be competitors to watch as we get down to the pointy end of the competition.
Francis posted the highest single-wave score of the day (9.33) and backed it up with another excellent ride to secure the highest two-wave total of the event so far (18.00 out of a possible 20).
2022 Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp Under 14 Champion and Billabong team rider, Max Mcgillvray, looked sharp in both of his heats today. Mcgillvray said it’s a dream to surf heats out at Snapper.
“I’d love to back it up and retake the win this year but I’m just going to keep surfing my best and hopefully continue to make it through,” said Mcgillvray. “I feel so lucky to surf a world-class with only a few other guys out, it’s always been my dream.”
The Under 16 Girls opened their campaign, hitting the water after the boys round one was completed. Standouts of the division were Quincy Symonds (Tweed Heads, NSW), Kanon Takahashi (Coolangatta, QLD), Stella Green (Buddina, QLD)and Olive Hardy (Gnarabup, WA) with a mixture of frontside and backhand surfing, theyall won their heats today to progress through.
Green asserted her authority and said how much fun she had surfing a heat at Snapper for the first time. “I’m already so excited to surf my next heat,” said Green. “My goal is just to keep progressing through so I can get more opportunities to surf out there with priority.”
There is a live webcast throughout the whole four-day event window with an all-star cast comprising of Vaughan Blakey, Stace Galbraith, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew, and Lilliana Bowrey, plus special guests throughout the event.
Tomorrow will see all divisions hit the water as we get to the pointy end of the draw.
Click here to see the full results from today.
The Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp is proudly supported by Snapper Rocks Boardriders Club, Kirra Surf, JS Industries, Sun Bum, Creatures of Leisure, Surf Lakes, S&S Group, Mophie, Kustom Footwear, Rainbow Bay Surf Club & Stryker Media.
