Ryuki Waida Wins 2018 Rip Curl GromSearch And A Ticket To The International Final.

Hundreds of ripping young surfers from Bali, Java, Sumbawa, Malaysia, Australia and America dedcended on Halfway Kuta Beach, Bali, last weekend, 20-21 October, to compete in the 15th annual Rip Curl GromSearch. Competing in an exciting, safe and friendly competition environment the best Indonesia Surfers put thier skills to the test against some red hot travelling competitors in all divisions, including Under 16’s, Under 14’s and under 12’s, with the addition of the Super Groms division (under 10 years old).

Ryuki Waida (16, Bali) and Summer Simon (16, Australia) emerged victorious at the end of a huge weekend of amazing performances from all competitors. The idylic and beautiful Kuta beach Halfway offered competitors the perfect canvas to show their best skills with consistent 3 to 4 foot left and right breaking peaks being served up from the Bali Gods all weekend long. Kuta Beach has been the heart of the sport in Indonesia for over 2 generations and arguably remains the biggest hotbed of surfing talent in the whole of the achiepelego.

Waida who was on form all weekend saved his best for last and scored an impressive 16.83 in the finals of the under 16’S Boys, surfing against his arch rivals and good friend’s Bronson Meidi, Made Joy and Tenshi Ishii, who were all in excellent form. It was Padma local Made Joy’s power surfing that turned the heads of the judges and gave him the lead from the start of the final. However, Waida came back at the 15 minute mark finding two of the best waves of the day hammering a long walled right and following up with a left to push his fellow competitors into a combo situation to take 1st place. Made Joy followed in second place in front of Bronson Meidi (3rd) and Tensi Ishii (4th)

"I’m so happy I can win this competition and get ticket to GromSearch International Final. Thank you Rip Curl, Halfway Kuta Boardriders and all my sponsors,” Waida said after received the trophy on the winner's podium. "To all my competitors, just don’t give up and keep ripping."

In the Girls Final, travelling Aussie Surfer - Summer Simon put together a dominant performance impressing everyone, scoring a 14.17 over runner-up Indonesia’s Lim yu Yung (Iin) who produced a 7.00 heat total in the final. "The Indonesian girls were very ripping and I’m very happy I can surf with them and win the contest,” said Simon.

Even though runner-up Iin only posted 7.00 in the final she made it count by making it through to her first-ever GromSearch International Final. “I’m so stoked and can’t believe I got the ticket to GromSearch International Final,” Iin said. “For all groms, keep your spirit up!”

With their victories, Ryuki and Iin have earned their tickets to represent Indonesia at the Rip Curl International Research, where the top performing under-16 surfers from around the globe will face off at a top-secret location to be announced early next year.

During the semi-finals of the U-14’s, all the judges were impressed by Made Dera’s and Febri Anggriawan’s epic surfing skills. They matched up against in form surfers Taz Simon Eru and Made Arya Sugawa. At the end of the day it was Made Dera who claimed first place honours with a total heat score of (13.60), Febri came in 2nd place (11.07), Taz in 3rd place (8,23) and Made Arya Sugawa took 4th place with a total of (4.67).

Some of the most impressive surfing of the weekend also came from the Under 12’s division boys and Under 10’s division. First class surfing was on offer from Westen Hirst, Teddy Bille, Surya Ratif and Phillip Duke in the Under 12’s division boys who all ended up in the finals showing that they are the next generation of pro surfers coming from Indonesia. Lakey Peak’s Westen Hirst showed that training at his home break in heavy conditions gave him the edge over his rivals to take the win in his age category. In the Under 10’s divison, there was Kahea Isshiki, Malu’a Hugon, Anissa Rei Martin and Jesper Glossop who were also ripping during the event.

Rip Curl partnered with DHD Surfboards for the 2018 series with a ‘Breakthrough Performer of the Year’ award for the best upcoming, unsponsored rider. A very special prize of a custom DHD high performance surfboard was awarded to Febri Anggriawan of Medewi, Bali, who took down some big names on his way to placing 2nd overall in the Boys Under 14 division of the competition. Well-done Febri!

Rip Curl GromSearch 2018 Contest Results:

Under 16 Boys Division:

1st. Ryuki Waida (Ind)

2nd. Made Joy (Ind)

3rd. Bronson Meidy (Ind)

4th. Tenshi Ishii (Ind)

Under 16 Girls Division:

1st. Summer Simon (Aus)

2nd. Iin (Ind)

3rd. Kayla Tani Martin (USA)

4th. Ketut Tia (Bali)

Under 14 Division:

1st. Made Dera (Ind)

2nd. Febri Anggriawan (Ind)

3rd. Taz Simon (Aus)

4th. Made Arya Sugawa Nesa (Ind)

Under 12 Division:

1st. Western Hirst (Ind)

2nd. Teddy Bille (Ind)

3rd. Surya Ratif (Ind)

4th. Philip Duke (Ind)

Under 10 Division:

1st. Kahea Isshiki (Ind)

2nd. Malu’a Hugon (Tahiti)

3rd. Anissa Rei Martin (China)

4th. Jesper Glossop (Ind)

This event was supported by

Creatures, XPS Link, Agility, Sun Zapper with offical media partner from Bali Belly, Surftime Magazine and Pemburu Ombak.