Jason Fowler crowned King of the Groms at Jerry's Grom Bash 2010
posted by Jared Houston on 16th November 2010
Jerry's Grom Bash 2010, presented by Turbo Bodyboards, WPBA and Sixty40 Magazine
Saturday the 13th dawned cold, wet and miserable but as the mist cleared and the 2-3ft punchy shorebreak waves became visible to the 30 plus pumped Groms, it was plain to see that it would take a small natural disaster to deter them from spending the day on the beach competing and hanging out.
We kicked off the day with an Expression Session featuring some of Cape Towns finest riders, Joshua Kleve, Simon Heale, Ruan De Bruin and Jared Houston. The general thought behind this 30 minute heat was to show the Groms what could be done with the waves on offer. The guys made the most of what was on offer and the crowd on the beach was suitably impressed with what they had seen, clean, mature riding.
To say I was impressed with what followed is a massive understatement, I was blown away by the quality of riding in some of the heats and also the sheer amount of quality riders. This is the first time I have been able to really witness where the young riders of my home country are at, and I left the beach feeling confident that in the next few years we will be seeing a few more flat accented faces on the World Tour or at least in international waters.
The Grom bash was open to anyone under 20 which meant that you would have some 13yr olds going up against much older more experienced competitors, much like the way the Australian Pro tour is run. I really wanted to encourage this level of competing as I have seen its benefits in Aus, 15 yr olds taking on the greats of Australian bodyboarding, and beating them. On this note I was extremely impressed by one young man, 13 year old Ethan Koopmans from Melkbos, he surfed his way through some tough heats to find himself in the 1/4 finals where he was eventually outdone. His route to to the 1/4's was nothing short of classy and he even scored a 9 in one of his heats. He was awarded the "Best u/16 rider" and received a copy of Chout (a never seen before Australian bodyboarding dvd) and a few gift vouchers. Keep ripping Ethan!
By the time the finals rolled around the tide had dropped a whole heap but everyone was still extremely keen to get out there, and the beach was lined with support for Eugene Meyer, Bradley Moys, Jason Fowler and Mark Webster as they paddled out for final heat of the 2010 Grom Bash. I did not Judge the final, but from what I saw the guys were going for it, flips, inverts, reverse bashes. The whole schebang!
One young gun impressed more then the rest and when the dust settled it was clear who had watched that it was 16 year old Jason Fowler's day and that he had taken out the Grom Bash in spectacular style.
Jason was ecstatic with his win and vowed to defend his title should the Grom Bash become an annual event in 2011, and was quick to thank his parents and his friend and competitor Andrew Raath for all the encouragement and guidance only friends and family can provide. From my side I can honestly say that Jason has what it takes to forge himself a name in this sport, his rapid progression from a potential threat to becoming King of the groms only a few years later is testament to that aswell. The lucky bugger walked away with 2 new boards courtesy of Turbo, and a massive prize pack from Gotcha.
Mark Webster, Bradley Moys and Eugene Meyer filled up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots respectively and were fully decked out courtesy of Gotcha Clothing aswell, as well as a massive collection of Sixty40 Bodyboarding Magazines.
I would like to extend a massive thank you to firstly, the sponsors of the event, Turbo Bodyboards, Gotcha, Western Province Bodyboarding Association and Sixty40 Bodyboarding Magazine!
My family for running around like crazy for me on the day aswell as beforehand, Jen Koopmans and Alicia Williams, all the judges, Simon, Josh, Jarret, Ruan, Dave and Jamie! Cheers Boys.
Jared "Jerry" Houston
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