Midwest Surf School and Christian Surfers Geraldton hosted the
2nd Geraldton Grommets Surf Competition and Beach Games day on Sunday 1st April at Back Beach.

150 spectators including over 50 registered participants were astonished by the three divisions and beach games that unfolded on the day as a culmination to the 8 week Vegemite Surf Groms program.

The event began with an all-ages fancy dress expression session that saw 35 participants dressed as super heroes tackle waves from two foot (0.6m) reforming waves to six foot (1.8m) bomb set waves out the back.

Champions and Runner Ups for the expression session included:

Best Outfit:
- Chonnie Bellottie (30) was costumed in a magnificent purple and black wetsuit disguise, complete with a sequinned cape and blonde wig;
- Imogen Vince (10) dressed in a shimmering gold Wonder Woman masquerade.

Most Committed Surfer:
- Francois Beukes (16) completed a massive drop into a heavy closeout;
- Ben Warr (7), snapped his softboard.

Best Trick:
-Isaac (6) Harrington and Declan Wilson (8) completed an amazing tandem surfboard ride to impress the judges;
- Sarah Sibson (9) completed the splits while riding a wave.

Best Super Hero Feat:
- Kelly Harrington (21) surfed with gusto and superhero rigging in an amazing display of skill and agility;
- Jye Doherty (9) caught an astounding amount of waves in his batman outfit proving his prowess.

Best Wave:
- Neil Plumber (33) could of had any of his waves count as best wave of the competition.  He surfed three big barrel pull-ins, an amazing backhand lip attack combination and finished the expression session with a big aerial attempt;
- Judah Leet (14) found a great reforming bank about 60 metres out that consistently provided him with waves of high scoring potential.

Many other novelty prizes were also awarded during the expression session.  Video footage of the expression session recorded by Chris Lewis can be viewed at http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/wa-mid-west-35nL7oA .

The next two divisions catered for 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds with parents allowed to tow their child into the waves on softboards if they wished.

The final placings are as follows (all scores are out of 20):

5-8 Year Olds
1st    Ben Warr            14.3 points
2nd    Alec Gregory-Smith    13.3 points
3rd    Ava Williams        12.6 points
4th    Issac Harrington        10.3 points

Due to a tied heat in the 9-12 semi-finals, six surfers took to the water in the grand final.

1st    Tye Jolley            12.6 points
2nd    Jack Delane            13.3 points
3rd    Seth Nugen            10.0 points
4th    Sam Conley            9.6 points
5th    Ella Proudlove        8.3 points
6th    Ethan Drown            7.0 points

Dimitra Massaros said a highlight for her family was how well organised and welcoming the organising team from Christian Surfers were in her children’s first surfing competition.  “We all had a ball and look forward to coming to the next Geraldton Grommets Surf Comp.”

Contest Director Keith Roffman said “God provided the perfect condition that we had prayed for.”

“A majority of the competitors have only been surfing for a very short period of time and all of them need to be congratulated on their willingness and improvement.”

Mr Roffman went on to say, “the local surf community has pulled together to provide huge support to make this event more successful than the last event in November.”

Trophies, medallions and prizes for the surfing, beach games and the expression session were supplied by Midwest Surf School, Christian Surfers Geraldton, McDonalds, Corner Surf, Geraldton Surf and Sail, BM Surf and Sticky Feet.

Strathalbyn Christian College sponsored the event through supply of a huge shade area and Opus generously provided a PA so the marvellous activities could be commentated.

The organisers will continue to discuss and implement innovated methods to build relationships with Geraldton youth who are surf and skate motivated throughout this year.

The annual Girls Go Surfing Day – the world’s longest running female learn-to-surf program – returns to Australian beaches in January.

In its 22nd year, the Girls Go Surfing Day encourages female non-surfers and beginners of all ages to experience the thrill of surfing with their friends and family.

The day will promote the benefits surfing provides for the fitness and well-being to females of all ages.

To be run on January 21-22, the program is held nationally at more than 40 schools through the Surfing Australia Surf Schools Network ensuring the lessons are conducted professionally in a safe and enjoyable environment. The event will take place across a vast selection of Australia’s beautiful beaches at the perfect time of year to introduce new participants to the iconic Australian pastime of surfing.

Seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley encouraged all females who are thinking about giving surfing a go to participate in the Girls Go Surfing Day.

“It’s beneficial for girls to learn to surf in a safe, fun and inclusive environment,” Layne said.

“This is a fabulous initiative and I’m proud to see Surfing Australia support the growth and development of women’s surfing.”

ASP World Tour Rookie of the Year Tyler Wright said the Girls Go Surfing Day was a great introduction to surfing.

“Surfing is such a fantastic sport to get involved in and a program like the Girls Go Surfing Day is a great way to meet new people,” Tyler said.

“All you have to do is turn up with a bunch of friends and you’re guaranteed a good time.”

Australian female teenage sensation Nikki van Dijk said the Girls Go Surfing Day was the perfect environment for girls to experience surfing for the first time.

“It’s such a fun program for girls to get into, especially young ones,” Nikki said. “It’s the right program to allow the girls to get together with their friends, have fun and learn in a safe environment and also not worry about what the boys have to say.”

In addition to their learn to surf experience, all the girls will walk away with a great participant pack which includes a Rip Curl beach bag, $20 Rip Curl voucher, GGSD t-shirt, sunscreen and a Dolly Magazine.

For entry details and a full list of participating surf schools please visit www.surf2skool.com .

The Girls Go Surfing Day is proudly supported by Surfing Australia, Rip Curl and DOLLY Magazine.

Keith Roffman (contest director) from Midwest Surf School wants to thank the support team in particular Geraldton Christian Surfers that supplied ten volunteers from 5am and were integral in the planning, Surfing Mums, Geraldton’s Surf and Sail, Opus Music, Strathalbyn Christian College, Jack van Eck Woodwork,  McDonald’s on the Hwy and a range of ever handy helpers including parents.

The event included many children that participated in the eight week Geraldton Vegemite SurfGroms Program.  These 5-12 year olds have progressed through various levels of surf instruction, fun fitness and beach awareness. 

The competition ran three mixed divisions with the following groms reaching the finals:

-  Microgroms 5-8yr olds:

Note: less than a point separating 1st and 4th:

1- Jake Williams 8.6 points
2- Sam Pepper 8.3
3- Jai Plumber 8.1
4- West Broad 7.8

Less than one point separated first and fourth place.

- Supergroms 9-12yr olds:

1- Tye Jolley   9.1 Points
2- Alex Riemers 7.3
3- Jack Delane  7.1
4- Jai Rock 5.3

- Cadetgroms 13-15yr olds:

1- Freya Thompson 10.5 points.(note:  She only decided to compete on the morning of the event and was a clear stand out all day maneuvering her board to find the perfect trim position on the greenface and completing  re-entries and floaters before the waves closed out.
2- Cassia Haegele   6.3
3- Bryson Smith.    5.3
4- Josh Keys.         4.1

The modified rules allowed parents to drag grommets into waves and grommets use softboards if they wished.  Some groms chose to persist standard equipment and paddling technique despite difficult small conditions.

Champions were given a Vegemite SurfGroms Trophy designed by Jack van Eck Woodwork, a $25 Geraldton Surf and Sail Gift Certificate, Surf Bible and DVD from Christian Surfers Geraldton and a variety of Wahu Beach Toys supplied by Midwest Surf School.

The remaining finalists received an array of the above prizes.

All competitors received an entry pack that included a variety  of goodies including wax.

Many McDonald’s Vouchers and Wahu Beach Toys were given for the beach games including beach flag sprints, Indian scalp, hippo bumpo, rob the nest, follow the leader, and an all ages sandcastle building competition.  

It was a God blessed day with parents, volunteers and Groms are looking forward the next comp.

We will continue to seek local sponsorship and parent assistance in running these competitions.

Keith Roffman (contest director) from Midwest Surf School wants to thank the support team in particular Geraldton Christian Surfers that supplied ten volunteers from 5am and were integral in the planning, Surfing Mums, Geraldton’s Surf and Sail, Opus Music, Strathalbyn Christian College, Jack van Eck Woodwork,  McDonald’s on the Hwy and a range of ever handy helpers including parents.

The event included many children that participated in the eight week Geraldton Vegemite SurfGroms Program.  These 5-12 year olds have progressed through various levels of surf instruction, fun fitness and beach awareness. 

The competition ran three mixed divisions with the following groms reaching the finals:

-  Microgroms 5-8yr olds:

Note: less than a point separating 1st and 4th:

1- Jake Williams 8.6 points
2- Sam Pepper 8.3
3- Jai Plumber 8.1
4- West Broad 7.8

Less than one point separated first and fourth place.

- Supergroms 9-12yr olds:

1- Tye Jolley   9.1 Points
2- Alex Riemers 7.3
3- Jack Delane  7.1
4- Jai Rock 5.3

- Cadetgroms 13-15yr olds:

1- Freya Thompson 10.5 points.(note:  She only decided to compete on the morning of the event and was a clear stand out all day maneuvering her board to find the perfect trim position on the greenface and completing  re-entries and floaters before the waves closed out.
2- Cassia Haegele   6.3
3- Bryson Smith.    5.3
4- Josh Keys.         4.1

The modified rules allowed parents to drag grommets into waves and grommets use softboards if they wished.  Some groms chose to persist standard equipment and paddling technique despite difficult small conditions.

Champions were given a Vegemite SurfGroms Trophy designed by Jack van Eck Woodwork, a $25 Geraldton Surf and Sail Gift Certificate, Surf Bible and DVD from Christian Surfers Geraldton and a variety of Wahu Beach Toys supplied by Midwest Surf School.

The remaining finalists received an array of the above prizes.

All competitors received an entry pack that included a variety  of goodies including wax.

Many McDonald’s Vouchers and Wahu Beach Toys were given for the beach games including beach flag sprints, Indian scalp, hippo bumpo, rob the nest, follow the leader, and an all ages sandcastle building competition.  

It was a God blessed day with parents, volunteers and Groms are looking forward the next comp.

We will continue to seek local sponsorship and parent assistance in running the day.

Cheers
Keith
Midwest Surf School
0419988756 
kroffman@scc.wa.edu.au

Midwest Surf School in colaboration with Geraldton Christian Surfers, Surfing Mums and Geraldton’s Surf and Sail @ the Homemaker Centre we are hosting the inaugural Geraldton Vegemite Surf Groms Competition and Beach Games Day at Back Beach on the 4th of December, 2011.

The event coincides with the conclusion of the eight week Geraldton Vegemite SurfGroms Program where 5-12 year olds have progressed through various levels of surf instruction and beach awareness. 

The competition is OPEN TO ALL grommets (even if they have not done the SurfGroms Program) in the following 3 divisions:
-  microgroms 5-8yr olds
- supergroms 9-12yr olds
- cadetgroms 13-15yr olds

Modified rules include parents can drag grommets into waves and grommets can use softboards if they wish or they can use standard equipment.

To register, parents need to supply grommet details to Keith at Midwest Surf School on 0419 988 756 or email kroffman@scc.wa.edu.au .

Cost $5.

Cheers
Keith

Midwest Surf School is going to be a delivery centre for Surfing Australia’s innovative government funded grassroots surfing program called SurfGroms. SurfGroms will be providing instruction for some of the 10,000 five to twelve year olds in the next 5 months.
Owner/operator of Midwest Surf School, Keith Roffman notes “the immediate benefits of SurfGroms include exposing kids to a safe and healthy beach activity that will inspire them to respect the ocean and keep fit. The long term payoff of SurfGroms will be in a few years time when participants progress past the grassroots level of involvement into competition ranks at Geraldton Boardriders (GBR) and then continue to let Australia dominate the worlds at surfing elite.”
An introductory cost of $190 puts SurfGroms as the best value for money surf instruction ever run in Geraldton. The 8 qualified lessons will include 12 hours of coaching, a Quiksilver backpack that includes a rashie, towel, shirt, cap and Wahu beach toys. Midwest Surf School will also provide links to local surf industry and other incentives. He also wants to reintroduce a Junior competition day with GBR.
The SurfGroms website, http://www.surfgroms.com will go live on September 7th, 2011. Registration for SurfGroms is completely online with Surfing Australia setting up an amazing national website to deal with the huge volume of traffic that expected to be 300,000 unique hits daily for the first week.
For more information, go to the website or call Keith at Midwest Surf School on 0419 988 756.