LENNOX HEAD BEACH (Thursday, 6 July 2023): The opening day of the 2023 Skullcandy Oz Grom Open pres. by Vissla saw a stellar day of competition today as surfers in the age divisions got the opportunity to revel in clean and playful three-foot surf.
Fresh off a recent victory at the Occy Grom Comp on the Gold Coast, Hunter Anderson (Palm Beach, Qld) carried his same momentum into his opening Under-16 Boys heat at Lennox Head, smashing an array of gigantic backside snaps in the punchy surf to seal himself a position into the third round. Anderson showed seamless flow in his heat to post a giant 15.53 two-wave heat total (out of a possible 20 points) to move through the heat alongside Josh Kelly (Noosa Heads, Qld) who finished in the runner-up spot.
Jesse Fergusson (Noosa, Qld) also showed he would be one to watch in the Under-16 Boys, nailing a solid 15.60 two-wave heat total to earn his position straight into the third round, bypassing the do-or-die second-round requalification.
Ruby Berry (Margaret River, WA) and Milla Brown (Bungan, NSW) sent a warning shot over the head of their competitors with both surfers notching up a series of impressive scores for critical carves and snaps. As a result, both ladies finished the heat with totals in the 15-point range and earned themselves spots into the third round.
With a fresh northerly breeze popping up in the afternoon, Dane Henry (Fingal Head, NSW) managed to use the change of conditions to his advantage as he performed an array of high-flying aerial maneuvers. Henry finished the heat with a giant 16.00 heat total and as a result, booked himself a spot into the quarterfinals.
Rosie Richardson (Sunshine Beach, Qld), Savannah Rielly (Dicky Beach, Qld) and Lani Cairncross (Kiama Downs, NSW) all put on dominant performances in the Under-14 Girls with all three surfers locking in heat totals in excess of 13.00 points. All girls will make their next appearance in the quarterfinals.
The six-day event will run from 6 July –11 July 2023 and will comprise of a World Surf League (WSL) sanctioned Pro Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event as well as an elite competition for promising grommets in the 14, 16 and 18-year age divisions.
In a similar vein to preceding years – where the event has attracted surfers from ten different countries – a full international field is again expected in 2023 with surfers coming from as far away as Europe, USA, Hawaii, Indonesia and Japan to make up a field of more than 270 surfers across all divisions.
A five-person judging panel comprised of current WSL Championship Tour and Qualifying Series judges will be on-site as well as a live webcast that collectively sets this event above any other junior competition in the world.
Former event competitors include a range of current and former World Championship Tour such as, Molly Picklum, Mikey, Owen and Tyler Wright, Jack Robinson, reigning World Junior Champion Jarvis Earle and local surfers Mikey McDonagh and Nyxie Ryan.
The event will get underway by 7.30am each day.
Daily press packages will be sent out over the course of the event.
All event divisions will be broadcast live worldwide on skullcandyozgromopen.com.au from Friday, 7th July, 2023
For more information on the event, please contact info@surfingnsw.com.au or call (02) 9093 6035
