The best grommets awarded at the Billabong Parko Grom Stomp

As the beach thickened and competition got underway, Joel Parkinson made his way down to the event, trading his duties on the WSL World Tour to keep an eye on all the up and coming junior talent and host the event in his name.

Early in the piece saw the micro groms return to settle the scores after opening their accounts on day one of competition. The 10’s and 11’s Boys and Girls divisions showcased a caliber of surfing well beyond their years reiterating the weight that events within Billabong's Bloodlines Series carry, which focuses on junior development surfing. 

Among those surfing well beyond their years was Harley Walters (Angourie, NSW) who has been in form from day one and carried his dominance all the way through to the dying seconds of the all important 10 and Under Boys Championship final finishing first with a 17.50 (Out of a possible 20) heat total making it the highest combined total of the event.

The 11 and Under Girls division saw a close contention between hot favorites California Barrett (Banora Point, NSW) and Lilliana Bowrey (Tewantin, QLD) with the two going blow for blow in the 20 minute final. In the end it was California getting the better of the exchange with a combination score of 13.50 over Lilliana’s near 12.50 to take out the overall 11 and Under Girls final.

Closely followed by California’s victory were the 11 and Under Boys where they hit the water for their final with a similar exchange from the previous final going down between Lennix Smith (Barrack Point, NSW) and Ty Richardson (Currumbin, QLD).

Lennix was early to secure an excellent scoring 8.67 as his opening wave, which played into his favor applying pressure against fellow finalists. Not to be outdone was young Ty Richardson who fought hard to move back into first but in the final stages of their final, Lennix secured an 8.23 back up scoring ride, pushing Richardson back into second and in doing so took out the 11 and Under Boys Championship final.

Eager to get there finals heats underway and keep the ball rolling were those in the 12’s and 14’s divisions after finishing their respective semi-final heats yesterday afternoon. From the 12 and Under divisions (Boys and Girls), it was none other than crowd favorites Marlon Harrison (Coolangatta, QLD) and Lucy Tandler (Coolangatta, QLD) who emerged victorious in their respective heats, fighting their way through a strong field of competitors right through day one to claim top spots.

The 14 and Under Boys and Girls finals saw an all exciting match-up with Archer Curtis (Palm Beach, QLD), Josh Grange (Burleigh Heads, QLD), Jamie Thomson (Narrabeen, NSW) and Taj Stokes (Buddina, QLD) converging in the boys final while Raya Campbell (Coolangatta, QLD), Ellia Smith (Coolum Beach, QLD), Konatsu Ido and Shaye Leeuwendal (Currumbin, QLD) matched-up in the girls.

While both divisions showcased nail-biting finals, which went right down to the wire, it was Archer Curtis and Raya Campbell who were victorious in defeating those respectively walking home with the coveted 2016 Billabong Parko Grom Stomp Championships in their corresponding divisions.

Deteriorating conditions didn’t stop those in the blue-ribbon 16 and Under Boys and Girls finals from hindering their abilities to perform with near excellent scores still being rewarded across the board. 

An impressive performance was seen from Amber Dods (Sunrise Beach, QLD) in the 16 and Under Girls division who unleashed a number of forehand wrapping cutbacks and was able to stronghold her field of opponents to take out first place but it wasn’t until the final heat of the day, the blue-ribbon Under 16 Boys division that spectators witnessed one of the most dominating performances throughout the event.

That domination was seen from Hinata Aizawa (Burleigh Heads, QLD) who in his first two waves, scored a 7.33 and a 9.27 for a 16.60 heat total (Out of a possible 20) relegating fellow competitors into a combination situation where they were left chasing near excellent scores to break the two wave total.

Hinata’s efforts and his victory not only earned him the coveted Parko Grom Stomp Championship, but also a Surfing World Photo-Shoot with the man himself, Joel ‘Parko’ Parkinson.

The Billabong Parko Grom Stomp presented by Flight Centre is the first of its kind within Billabong’s Blood Lines Series, which focuses on junior development aimed directly towards the next crop of emerging surfers and future World Champions. The flagship event runs alongside Taj’s Small fries (Yallingup, WA), The Oz Grom Cup (Coffs Harbour) and the Occy’s Grom Comp (Gold Coast, QLD) and attracts grommets from all over the nation in hope of having their name etched to the famed perpetual trophy as well as a jump start to their professional surfing careers.

The event caters for boys and girls from 10 and under divisions through to the blue-ribbon 16 and under and is fast becoming one of the biggest junior events on any grommet’s calendar. 

Furthermore, Taj, Joel and Occy will choose one lucky grom from each event to partake in a ‘money can’t buy’ experience, a Surfing World photo-shoot adding kudos amongst competitors competing in these events.

The 2016 Billabong Parko Grom Stomp presented by Flight Centre is proudly supported by The Naturally Refreshing Sunshine Coast, official destination partner for the event.

The Billabong Parko Grom Stomp presented by Flight Centre is proudly supported by Surf Dive n’ Ski, Surfing World, Kustom Footwear, Von Zipper, Telstra Store Caloundra, Sun Bum, Blue Dinosaur, Stryker Media, 91.9 SeaFM, JS Industries, Sunshine Coast Daily, Fast Proof Press, North Caloundra Surf School and Currimundi Primary School and Surfing Queensland.

Check out photos from this event here & follow this link for full results. Also, why not visit Surfing Queensland to see what else they are up to.