After five days of incredible surfing the finals day of the Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp was filled with excitement and anticipation.
Some of the world’s best junior surfers converged on Duranbah Beach to participate in the afternoons finals in a bid to etch their names on one of the most prestigious trophies in junior surfing to date.
Arguably one of the biggest stories of the day was young gun Jay Occhilupo who claimed victory in the U/12 Boys division in his father’s event after a stellar performance.
Jay wasted no time locking in an early score of 7.83 (out of a possible 10 points) but he still needed a large score to take the lead.
Waiting until the final minutes Jay found the wave he was looking for which resulted in a needed 8.27 ride (16.10 out of possible 20 points) and the event win.
Jay defeated some tough competition in Lennox Chell (13.13, Avoca Beach, NSW), Codie Jeffery (12.13, Newhaven, VIC) and Noah Dupouy (7.80, Torquay, VIC) that placed respectively.
The youngest grommets were first to take on the epic Duranbah surf during their finals program with the U/12 Girls battling it out. Surfing well beyond her years was Nyxie Ryan (6.23, Lennox Head, NSW) who clenched victory against Summa Longbottom (6.03, Kiama, NSW), Sage Goldsbury (4.10, Cape Wooloami, VIC) and Ellie Harrison (2.80, Barwon Heads, VIC) respectively.
After a long week it was Piper Harrison (Coolangatta, QLD) who took out the U/14 Girls after a tough exchange during the final. Harrison used her local knowledge to help her claim the winner’s trophy over Zahli Kelly (7.77, Wooloowin, QLD), Kirra Belle Olsson (4.80, Avoca Beach, NSW) and Amuro Tsuzuki (3.37, Japan) respectively.
It was the Mikey McDonagh (Lennox Head, NSW) show during the U/14 Boys final with a huge display of radical manoeuvres on offer.
McDonagh was on a hot streak during the six day event and kept the momentum into the final where he defeated Bulli (NSW) local Kennu Miller.
Macy Callaghan (Avoca Beach, NSW) took home the winner’s trophy in the U/16 Girls final after leading from start to finish. Callaghan was in a league of her own after Sophia Fulton (Cabarita Beach, NSW) struggled to find rhythm in the afternoon conditions.
In the blue ribbon division Kehu Butler (Bay of Plenty, NZ) had the final of his life to win the U/16 Boys of the Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp. Butler patiently waited for a wave that could give him the score he needed until the final minutes where locked in 7.5 point ride (out of a possible 10 points) to take the lead.
As icing on the cake Butler landed one of the airs of the comp in the final minutes to put the nail in the coffin and his name on the trophy. As a fitting tribute to Kehu’s celebration his family preformed the haka for himself and Sandon Whittaker (Avoca Beach, NSW) who finished in second place.
As added value the man himself Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo will select one lucky grom to partake in a ‘money can’t buy’ surf trip experience. The winner will be announced by Occy at the presentations on Thursday afternoon.
The 2015 Billabong Occy’s Grom Comp, presented by Flight Centre will be based at Duranbah on Queensland’s Gold Coast from Saturday 27th June to Thursday 2nd July.
Results:
U/12 Girls:
1st – Nyxie Ryan (6.23, Lennox Head, NSW)
2nd – Summa Longbottom (6.03, Kiama, NSW)
3rd – Sage Goldsbury (4.10, Cape Wooloami, VIC)
4th – Ellie Harrison (2.80, Barwon Heads, VIC)
U/12 Boys:
1st – Jay Occhilupo (16.10, Elanora, QLD)
2nd – Lennox Chell (13.13, Avoca Beach, NSW)
3rd – Codie Jeffery (12.13, Newhaven, VIC)
4th – Noah Dupouy (7.80, Torquay, VIC)
U/14 Girls:
1st – Piper Harrison (10.00, Coolangatta, QLD)
2nd – Zahli Kelly (7.77, Wooloowin, QLD)
3rd – Kirra Belle Olsson (4.80, Avoca Beach, NSW)
4th – Amuro Tsuzuki (3.37, Japan)
U/14 Boys:
1st – Mikey McDonagh (16.00, Lennox Head, NSW)
2nd – Kennu Miller (10.33, Bulli, NSW)
U/16 Girls:
1st – Macy Callaghan (12.60, Avoca Beach, NSW)
2nd – Sophia Fulton (2.77, Cabarita Beach, NSW)
U/16 Boys:
1st – Kehu Butler (17.07, Bay of Plenty, NZ)
2nd – Sandon Whittaker (12.57, Avoca Beach, NSW)