Grommet semi-finalists decided in Ballina
Semi-finalists have been decided in surfing’s Quiksilver Australian Grommet Titles being held at Ballina.
Day three of competition was again re-located north to the peaky head-high (1m) beach break waves of Sharps Beach where all states but Tasmania advanced within one heat of finals representation.
Favourites include NSW duo Jesse Adam (Merewether) and Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head) who are on track to repeat the winning performance of last year’s NSW U/19 Boys All-Stars champions Matt Wilkinson (Copacabana) and Heath Joske (Valla Beach).
U/19 Girls All-Stars Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) and Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW) proved to everyone yesterday that they will be tough to beat following their show-stopping performance that saw Fitzgibbons lock in a perfect 10 and Enever amass a near-perfect 9.40 ride of her own — together the pair hold the highest combined heat-scores of the tournament thus far.
While in the U/19 Boys MR Shield Schools division, Newhaven College (Victoria) pair Mitchell Baker and Jackson Collins are a good chance to retain the title won by the Victorian institution in 2005. But across the draw, all States will definitely have to remain on their toes to make the cut in the various divisions.
“We’ve been keeping a close eye on all the teams,” explained West Australian coach Mark Clift. “Our girls, Jaala (Baldock) and Felicity (Palmateer) are on track for two in a row, they’re surfing for St Marks College in the U/19 Girls MR Shield.“
Western Australia is also defending title holders in the U/16 Boys MR Shield with Halls Head Communtity College winning last year, and we have a good chance to make it two in a row with Matt Baldock and Jethro (Hedstrom) surfing for Margaret River High School. We’ll have to wait and see, but so far so good.”
Perhaps the biggest surprise of competition thus far saw the upset elimination of Queensland’s U/19 Boys All-Stars from the first round.
Since the division’s inception in 1992, Queensland has at least made the semi-final stage and gone on to claim overall victory an impressive seven times, highlighting the incredible talent that has emerged year-upon-year from the State.
Team coach Phil McNamara said his team riders performed well, but conceded the depth of competition from the other States continues to improve.
West Australian duo Dave Delroy-Carr (Mosman Park) and Shaun Howe (Kalbarri) were responsible for the first dent in Queensland’s arsenal with the sandgropers defeating cockroaches Harrison Roach (Sunshine Beach) and Jason Blissett (Mooloolabah) 26.17 points to 22.19 on day one.
Then Vanner and Adam Barley (Noarlunga) completely dashed their hopes with a second defeat yesterday with a winning total of 23.73 for South Australia to Queensland’s 19.97.
Only Tasmania is without hope of a finals berth in the MR Shield Schools and All-Stars divisions, despite the best efforts of surfers like Will Bakker, James Eaves (Clifton), Zak Grey (Marrawah), Sammi Faulkner (Clifton) and Matt Kennedy (Seven Mile) who among others, competed across the various age disciplines.
The last time Tasmania reached the semi-final stage was in the U/19 All-Stars Boys division in Victoria in 1999.
Red-hot action is expected from the quarter finalists of the Quiksilver Australian Grommet Titles as the nation’s best U/18 and U/16 surfers vie for the high surfing stakes of national crowns. The U/18 Boy’s is lining up as a surfing showdown between the top seeds from each State with U/18 champions from New South Wales, Queensland, West Australia, Victoria and South Australia all included in the qualifying side of the draw.NSW champion Chris Salisbury (Newport) will contest one of the tougher U/18 heats against WA. champion Jack Bestall (Triggs Beach), wildcard entrant Owen Wright (Culburra, NSW) and talented Blake Ainsworth (Coolangatta, Qld).
U/18 Queensland champion Harrison Roach (Sunshine Coast), South Australia’s champion, Vanner, and Victoria’s champion Jackson Collins (Phillip Island) will all be hoping to take home the crown from the highly contested division.
The U/18 Girl’s quarter finals are also brimming with talent. NSW State Champion, Fitzgibbons, has thrown down a major challenge by posting the tournament’s only 10-point ride while contesting the All-Stars division.
The Gerroa surfer won’t have it all her way though up against in-form surfers such as Victoria’s state champion Melissa Burt (Phillip Island) and Queensland’s champion Tiana McNeven (Tugun).
The U/16 boys have impressed all with the depth of talent within their ranks, many already possessing the full arsenal for a competitive career.
NSW U/16 State Champion Garrett Parkes (Byron Bay), Queensland champion James Woods (Coolangatta), Tom Myers (Freshwater, NSW), Dean Bowen (Gerroa, NSW), Davey Cathels (Narrabeen, NSW) will contest an explosive quarter-final round.
Australia’s domination of women’s world surfing looks set to continue with the talent on offer in the U/16 girls division. NSW champion Laura Enever (Narrabeen) has emerged as an early favourite for the crown but will have to fight of some strong challenges from her interstate rivals.
The Quiksilver Australian Grommet Titles presented by Samsung features nearly 200 competitors vying for 10 national titles and runs over seven days. The competition is proudly supported by Surfing Australia, Surfing NSW, Roxy, Ballina Shire Council and the Australian School Surfing Association. Winners of the U/18 boys, U/18 girls and U/16 boys divisions are automatically selected to represent Australia at the 2007 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships to be held in Portugal next May.
