Alongside the best of New Zealand’s surfers, the competitors of the GromSearch International Final dominated Manu Bay during Day One of the Rip Curl Pro Raglan
New Zealand’s premiere surf event, The Rip Curl Pro Raglan, kicked off today in two-to-three-foot peelers at Manu Bay in Raglan, North Island – hosting the very best of New Zealand’s homegrown surfing talent, alongside the competitors of the GromSearch International Final.
The 16 junior surfers competing in the International Final opted in to also surf in the Rip Curl Pro Raglan, therefore having their seed for Rd 1 of the International Final determined by their score in Rd 1 of the Rip Curl Pro Raglan. A good move on behalf of the competitors it turns out, with 10 of the 16 groms making it through to the second and final day of competition.
In between heats, surfers snuck off to drive around the corner – which, in Raglan, is down a dirt road – searching for waves and finding stunning vistas. A part of the GromSearch experience is learning about the country and the land, and learning how to really “travel” while competing.
Tomorrow the groms will compete in the final day of the Rip Curl Pro Raglan, their last chance to get some practice surfs in on the long left of Manu Bay… before the show begins.
#GromSearch
