Brighton is one of the few bone fide surf / skate cites in the UK. With strong roots in the north of both surf and skate in the UK the area has produced some great British surfers. Cliff Cox, a former English and British masters champ, learned to surf there, runs a surf school there and has helped out many of the cities groms. Robbie Mayo has produced a film about Cliffs life in an area that while is a long way from Huntingdon Beach, has quite a few similarities.
Created in Torquay, Australia, in 1999, the Rip Curl GromSearch is a competition exclusively for young surfers, boys and girls, under the age of 16 with its own unique character. It is held in various regions of the world at the same time: Brazil, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, New Zealand, USA and Europe, leading to an International Final which traditionally takes place “Somewhere” in spring. The Rip Curl GromSearch is a real hotbed of young talent, having uncovered future World Champions such as Stephanie Gilmore (7 times World Champion and current world #1 in women’s surfing), the Brazilian prodigy and WSL 2014 & 2018 World Champion Gabriel Medina, and many others.
For the 2022 edition, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese Groms will go through their National events to qualify for the European Final.
The under-16, under 14 and under 12 male and female winners from those countries will battle to qualified for the European Final at the beautiful Taghazout Bay in Morocco early 2023.
The European Final will take place in January/February 2023 where the 30 qualified Groms will battle to earn 2 tickets to the international final at Bells Beach Australia in Spring 2023. There also will be 6 wildcards to win through an online event starting in September 2022. Stay tuned! So, no matter what, this season again, all the European young surfers will have a chance to qualify to the European GromSearch Final and defend their country! This 22th edition will also stress the importance of environmentally responsible behaviour . Eco friendly actions, games and beach clean-up will be organised on each stops.
Water fountains will be available for everyone to refill their own reusable bottle thanks to our partner Hydroflask and will help the development of good habits. Recycling bins will be provided on all the events and the organisers will ensure that the ground rules of responsible behaviour are respected in each country during all the events. COME AND ENJOY OUR GROMSEARCH VILLAGE WITH SOME GREAT ACTION OUT AND IN THE WATER ! Apart from the incredible action in the water, each GromSearch stop will offer an array of fun and interactive experiences on the beach thanks to our wonderful partners! You will also meet our Rip Curl Team Riders, they will come to watch the action on the competition and will be available to share some special tips of their own with all the young competitors.
RIP CURL GROMSEARCH Partners :
• FCS
• Greenbush
• Citroen
• Hydroflask
• Smith
• Ocean 52
• Fédération Française de Surf
• FPS
• Surfing England
• Federacion Cantabra de Surf
• Federacion Galega de Surf.
EUROPEAN 2022 RIP CURL GROMSEARCH SCHEDULE: Portugal 12th and 13th of April 2022 at Costa da Caparica 18th and 19th of June 2022 at Porto UK 9th and 10th of April 2022 at Fistral Beach, Newquay 11th and 12th of June at Croyde bay, Devon Spain 22nd, 23rd and 24th of April 2022 at Playa de Razo, Galicia 3rd, 4th, and 5th of June 2022 at Somo, Cantabria France 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th of July 2022 at Seignosse 20th, 21st and 22nd of August 2022 at Anglet
Pacific Dreams 2 is the sequel to the popular surfing film Pacific Dreams. The surf film showcases the best surfing clips from 2018-2021 seasons.
Filmed/Edited by Jeff Chavolla
Surfers: Dane Reynolds, Bobby Martinez, Dillon Perrillo, Kilian Garland, Adam Lambert, Tommy Mckeown, Cory Arrambide, Trevor Gordon, Yadin Nicol, Dimitri Poulos, Jabe Swierkocki, Javi Moreno, Jake Kelley, Josiah Amico, Brett Simpson, Micky Clarke, Tristen Simon, Pat Ecker
Superbank woke up with a decent jump in swell from earlier in the week, after lunch the wind moved more offshore and cleaned up the lineup, all the local rippers were there with some sick tubes going down.
The World Surf League (WSL) announced the 2022 World Longboard Tour schedule. Manly Beach, Huntington Beach, and Malibu will host this year’s Longboard competitions for the men’s and women’s divisions. The first two events of the season in Manly Beach and Huntington Beach will be worth 5,000 points each, while the final event in Malibu will have 10,000 points on offer. The World Titles will be determined by the highest points in the best two of three competitions.
The competitions will host 20 surfers for the men's division and 20 surfers for the women's division. Each field will be made up of the Top 10 from the 2021 rankings, seven surfers selected from the regions, one WSL wildcard, and two event wildcards.
“We’re looking forward to kicking off the World Longboard Tour and crowning World Champions later this year at the iconic break of First Point, Malibu,” said Devon Howard, WSL Longboard Tour Director. “We’re also excited that this year’s Tour will start at Manly Beach then continue on at Huntington Beach. All of this Tour's breaks are steeped in longboard history spanning back to the 1960s, where champions were crowned and surf culture as we know it today entered the world stage.”
“We’re very excited to bring back the World Longboard Tour in 2022,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. “The Longboard community is very passionate, and we appreciate all the feedback we got from them as we were planning the future of this important division in professional surfing. This year, the World Longboard Tour will have three events, and we can’t wait to crown World Champions at the iconic First Point, in Malibu.”
2022 WSL Longboard Tour Schedule:
Manly Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: May 16 - 24, 2022
Vans Duct Tape Invitational, Huntington Beach, California, USA: August 3 - 7, 2022
WSL Longboard Championships, Malibu, California, USA: October 3 - 13, 2022
The 2022 World Longboard Tour will kick off at Manly Beach, Australia as part of the Sydney Surf Pro Challenger Series event from May 16 - 24, 2022. Considered by many as Sydney's most popular surfing beaches, Manly Beach has a very long and celebrated history with surfing. Not only was it on the next beach over that Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to Australia, but it was in Manly Beach in 1964 that Phyliss O’Donnell and Midget Farrelly were crowned the first surfing World Champions. Manly Beach will host the world’s best longboarders as they try to earn as many points as possible to establish their World Title campaigns early in the season.
Competitors will then head to California, where the next two events of the 2022 season will take place. The Vans Duct Tape Invitational in Huntington Beach will host the first California event from August 3 - 7. Huntington Beach has served as the stage of several professional surfing competitions throughout the years. The break is also set to host the Vans US Open of Surfing, the fourth stop of the Challenger Series, from July 30 to August 7. The World Longboard Tour will conclude at one of the sport's proving grounds, the iconic First Point in Malibu, California from October 3 - 13. Surfers’ two best results will be used to determine the Longboard World Titles and final 2022 Rankings.
Watch LIVE
The World Longboard Tour will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and WSL’s YouTube channel, as well as the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners.
The sun shone brightly along the North Devonshire coastline on Saturday 26th March, as the first event of Surfing England’s Junior surf series kicked off in Croyde Bay. The single-day event was hosted by Croyde Surf Club and served as the first of 5 stops across the UK, with a final competition that will see the best young athletes from each event compete to crown winners in each category.
33 young athletes who came from as far north as Tyneside and as far south as Cornwall to enter the competition. Participants were separated into four shortboard divisions: Under 12 Girls & Boys, and Under 14 Girls & Boys, following the International Surfing Association’s guidelines on age categories. The offshore winds had some hefty gusts, and the surf was relatively small but still contestable and the young athletes certainly made the most of the conditions they were given.
12 athletes competed in the under 14 boys shortboard division, with Lukas Skinner coming in first place with a total of 11.27 points, followed by Heath Gillespie in second with 6.57 points, Reuben Joseph Wakely in third with 5.10 points and Sebastian Connolly in fourth place with 3.93 points.
11 athletes competed in the under 12 boys shortboard division, with Joshi James earning first place with 8.53 points, Wilbur Prisk in second with 5.70 points. George Moy was the only North-Devon based contestant to place in the competition - and came third with 2.67 points, followed by Harvey James Waters in fourth with 2.46 points. Rafael French, from Braunton also participated in his first-ever competition. He was ranked third best in heat 3 of the quarterfinal.
4 athletes competed in the under 14 girls shortboard division, with Sunny Ingram placing first with 5.27 points, Bethan Davies in second with 4.67 points, Harlyn Sykes in third with 3.83 points and Lilly Issberner in fourth with 2.47 points.
6 athletes competed in the under 12 girls shortboard division. Hazel Bennett came first with 3.83 points, Summer-Marie Moore in second with 2.93 points, Lila Skinner in third with 2.73 points and Betsie Reay in fourth with 2.17 points.
The next stop in the series will take place in Newquay with Newquay Boardriders, and the third at Widemouth Bay with Bude Waveriders in June. The fourth in September with West Cornwall Global Boarders, the fifth in October with Tynemouth Surf club, and the finals are scheduled to take place in late October 2022, where the winners from each competition stop will be invited to compete.
“The key thing for me was seeing the smiles on everyone's faces at the end,” says Phil Williams, the Junior Surf Series contest director for Surfing England. “We want events like the Junior Series to help young athletes hone their competitive skills and also give an opportunity for some to begin their journey into competitive surfing.”
“We had people compete from across the country to compete, and Croyde Surf Club helped to host a brilliant start to our surf series,” adds Williams.
Surfing England hopes that the Junior Series will contribute to their wider goal of running more national surfing contests to cultivate top-tier British surfing talent. The series is sponsored by Eola, a brand that provides booking systems for activity providers and surf schools throughout the UK, and Animal, a Southwest based sustainable clothing brand.
Congratulations to all of the young surfers who made it into the top four rankings of each category. It’s certain that the future of British surfing looks bright, and we hope to see athletes like Lukas Skinner, Joshi James, Sunny Ingram and Hazel Bennett flourishing into top-tier-level competitions in the future.
For more information on the upcoming event and how to attend to support our young athletes, please visit surfingengland.org/
