Jerry's Grom Bash 2012 - Presented by Turbo Surf Designs and supported by Zion South Africa.
Niklas Martin and Matthew Lombard are this year's GROM KING'S.
Sunday the 9th of September dawned wet, wild and wooly. After a week of pristine spring conditions, it was only to be expected that the icy Southern Atlantic would lash us once more before going to sleep for the warm summer months approaching.
Arriving at Schaapeiland beach in Yzerfontein, one hour north of Cape Town, it soon became very apparent that the weather was not going to damper the spirits of the 40 odd contestants who showed up to have their chance at the prestigious "King of the Groms " title. While the team drew up heats on the beach, some of South Africa's best talent put on an amazing show. Almost as if to say, let's do this. We are ready.
The waves pumped early, and while the neap tides did their best to preserve the wave form throughout the day, the bitterly cold westerly wind had other plans and by the time the finals rolled around, the conditions left much to be desired. That didn't stop some massive moves going down, noteworthy punts coming from Dylan Le Roux, Niklas Martin, Andrew Raath and Tristan Roberts amongst others.
The u/16 final was led by Michael Houston for the first 10 minutes until Niklas Martin delivered two knockout blows to find himself crowned this years "King of the groms " for 2012 in the u/16 division. Nik is an amazing talent from the sleepy town of Plettenberg Bay on the East Coast and today really stepped it up in the cold water rights of Yzerfontein, boosting a massive invert in the finals to score an 8.0 ride from the Judges and claim the title. Michael Houston, Vian Oosthuizen and Dylan Le Roux picked up 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively. He was frothing on the win as in his words it is "An event which allows you to compete with some of South Africa's best groms over one day is something which only Jerry's Grom Bash can offer you. The waves are always fun, the prizes are epic and the exposure one gets from it is incredible...what more can you ask for? "
Nik is currently saving up for his virgin Hawaii Season in 2013, I for one will be watching very closely.
The u/20 final was definitely one for the books as these guys are some of the most competitive riders in the country at this stage. A mere week before the event, the National team, which will represent South Africa in Venezuela at the 2012 ISA world games was announced and I was super honored to have two of the team members competing, Matthew Lombard and Tristan Roberts. These guys are the real deal and after seeing them surf today I can honestly say that I have high hopes for our team's efforts this year. Andrew Raath had been ripping all day, going big and riding out of all his moves and Eugene Meyer really had the boys on the ropes the whole event as-well. In the end it was Matthew Lombard who took out the final, winning himself two brand new boards courtesy of Turbo and Eugene Meyer placing 2nd winning himself a 3/2 sealed steamer from Zion. Super Grom Tristan Roberts placed third and Andrew Raath couldn't find the big ramps in the final and had to settle for 4th. Matthew or "Mafoos" as he is affectionately known was clearly stoked, stating that "The year has turned out to be very positive experience with big highs and big lows . Teaching me to be successful needs a lot of dedication to succeed and hard work. I have been super fortunate to travel the coasts up and down and to surf with some of the best rippers in South Africa . "
He went on to state that "I am also traveling to Canary Islands after the world games to compete there , so the year is just ending with a Bang for me and I'm super stoked !" . So are we bro, so are we!
I would like to say a huge well done to all the Competitors, the Parents for braving the cold and rain to support their children as-well as my family and friends for all their help and support. A huge thank you to the sponsors Turbo Surf Designs and Zion SA for their true support of the sport in South Africa. Well done to our GROM KINGS - Niklas and Matthew, enjoy the title and see you next year!
P.S. Stay tuned for the highlights clip dropping tomorrow .
