YALLINGUP, WA, AUSTRALIA (Monday, January 19, 2026) Day three of the 2026 edition of Taj’s Small Fries presented by Board Store delivered non-stop entertainment today as a rapidly building swell saw the waves at Smiths Beach pickup from clean two-foot walls in the morning, to heaving six-foot tubes by day’s end. While the escalating conditions were tricky for both event organisers and competitors, the nation’s best junior surfers relished the challenge and stepped up to deliver some memorable performances that will go straight into the Small Fries Hall Of Fame.
“I can’t believe how crazy this swell is,” said Taj Burrow, as he watched some of the most radical waves in the 21-year history of his event jack up over Smiths Reef. There were a lot of closeouts, there were a lot of wipeouts, but in between it all there were moments of magic.
The morning saw the Under-12 Boys in action for the first time, with Smiths Reef serving up clean and consistent lefts and rights. Zeph Bartlett (Sunshine Coast, QLD), Saxon King (Austinmer, NSW), Alessandro Dotti (Bali, Indonesia), Kyuss Rimmer (Trigg, WA), Levi Lowe (Byron Bay, NSW) and Ollie Sharpe (Coolum, QLD) set the tone early, progressing with strong performances in the perfect waves. Sharpe copped one of the wipeouts of the day on his way to the next round, falling out of the sky on a big set wave and going down hard. “It was pretty hectic,” he laughed, safely back on the beach. “I thought I was going to get drained, but I was too deep and pin dropped! It was fun though, I’ve never been to WA before and I love it over here.”
The Under-12 Girls were next to hit the water and looked comfortable from the start, despite this also being their first outing. Myra Brown (Albany, WA) and Vada Wessel (Casuarina, NSW) won their first-round heats in ominous fashion, and were joined by Callie Hull (Shellharbour, NSW) and Chloe Grainger (Newport, NSW) in the semis.
Saxon King (Austinmer, NSW) locked in the first excellent score of the day with a 9.0-point ride in the first heat of the Under-12 Boys quarterfinals, after knifing a late drop, sneaking under the lip, and flying out of the tube into a couple of turns. “It was a sick take off but I was a bit wide,” he said afterwards, “I’ll have to sit deeper next time to try and get a 10!
Zeph Bartlett (Sunshine Coast, QLD) joined him in the semis, while Alessandro Dotti (Bali, Indonesia) and Levi Lowe (Byron Bay, NSW) exchanged the lead multiple times as they progressed to the next round in an evenly contested heat.
The wind came in as the Under-12 Girls paddled out for their semifinals. Myra Brown (Albany, WA) took out the first, while Vada Wessel (Casuarina, NSW) continued her impressive run with the best wave of the round, an 8.33 that featured three strong forehand turns, linked to the inside, and a big closeout bash that locked in her excellent score, and he place in the final.
Maverick Macgugan (Avalon, NSW) burst out of the gates as the Under-14 Boys quarterfinals got underway. An 8.83 and an 8.2 saw Macguguan compile a 17.03 total and leave his opponents chasing a combination of scores as he steamrolled his way to the semifinals. “I really like Smiths,” said Macgugan, “I’m ready to go! I’m from Avalon but I love coming over to WA and staying with my Dad’s brother, it’s always fun.”
In the second quarterfinal Hayden Mee (Newcastle, NSW) carried on his run of form but although he led for most of the bout, from local hope Billy Bromfield (Dunsborough, WA), it was Clement Piellard (Bondi, NSW) who leapt from third to first in the dying minutes, with a courageous death-or-glory last turn landing him a 7.1 and the win.
In the Under-12 Boys semifinals Alessandro Dotti (Bali, Indonesia) continued to show why the nine-year-oldis the defending division champion. A 9.43 was a fair reward for clever surfing, catching a well-shaped double-up under priority, linking two big turns to the inside before blasting the end section, riding away smooth straight into the finals. Wave selection was all that separated Levi Lowe (Byron Bay, NSW) and Zeph Bartlett (Sunshine Coast, QLD) in the second semi, Lowe continually finding bigger set waves and turning them into scores to take the win.
Vada Wessel (Casuarina, NSW) became the first Taj’s Small Fries presented by Board Store champion for 2026, when she accounted for Myra Brown (Albany, WA) in a closely fought Under-12 Girls final, as the wind and swell started to come up. Although Brown had the best wave, a 5.83, she couldn’t find a backup in the tricky conditions, and Wessel, with a 5.07 and a 4.77 was thrilled to hold on for the win.
“My heart is pumping right now,” she said afterwards, “this is the biggest surf comp I’ve ever taken out. I came here last year and didn’t do as well as I hoped, but this is so good! I can’t believe I won!
The Under-12 Boys then hit the water to surf another tightly contested final as the swell continued to build. Alessandro Dotti (Bali, Indonesia) and Levi Lowe (Byron Bay, NSW) started strong, then built their scores as the heat rolled on. Dotti’s 7.67 opener signalled his intent, a few waves later he worked through a series of turns before signing off with a big closeout bash for a 9.17 to have Lowe on the ropes.
Lowe fought back and pushed the defending champ with a beautiful wave in the dying minutes, but although superbly surfed it lacked the high notes of his Italian adversary, with an 8.4 read out. With Dotti looking right at home his last wave, featuring a strong of searing, on rail turns, sealed the deal. Although he couldn’t ride out of the end section, it would have been a 10 if so, an 8.37 put the result beyond doubt.
“I’m so happy,” said Dotti, after the final. “I got pretty smashed at the end but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rights were a bit like at home in Canggu, so fun. I love it in WA, of course, and I really like the waves here at Smith Reef. There is going to be swell tomorrow too, so hopefully I can go surf The Box!”
As competition rolled on, the Under-14 Girls quarterfinals bore the brunt of the swell’s arrival. Not that it phased Estella Carbonelli (Torquay, VIC) however, an8.33 and 7.83 for last year’s U12 champ saw her easily moving through.
Things got serious after that, as the swell continued to mount in the second quarterfinal and one particularly big set bulldozed the lineup, before washing into the event tent, leaving contest staff scrambling. A pair of sixes in amongst some huge wipeouts was enough to see Ily Fraser (Margaret River, WA) through, but it was Stevie O’Day (Torquay, VIC) who stole the show with some wildly committed take offs, some monstrous wipeouts, and some even bigger smiles afterwards.
An 8.50 saw O’Day claim the Creatures Cash Lock for the day’s highest score, a 7.97 guaranteed her the heat win, and her post-heat interview gained her no shortage of new fans. “That was probably the biggest waves I’ve ever surfed in competition,” she smiled, “but I wasn’t scared. I’m so happy to be here and so happy to be through to the next round.
At the conclusion of the round the event was put on hold, as the tents were now getting inundated with water every time a set hit, and a move was needed. Competitors swarmed the lineup with some incredible tubes ensuing across the impromptu 15-minute jam, and a spark was lit for the afternoon.
Highlights are too many to mention, but across the day’s remaining nine heats, some of the most extraordinary surfing seen at this level ensued. In the Under-16 Boys, Joakim Bjork scored the first perfect 10 of his life after just hanging onto one of the biggest end section turns you’ll ever see. In the next heat Lucas Deffenti (Miami, QLD) put together a third straight day of high scores, with some bossy surfing over massive sections bagging him a pair of nines, before Jaggar Philipps (Narrabeen, NSW) added some excellent surfing of his own in the final heat of the round.
In the Under-16 Girls bothMiller-May Berg (Miami, QLD) and Evie Wilson (Noosa, QLD) locked in 15.00 point two-wave totals to win their respective quarterfinals, and then the Under-18 Boys put on an expression session. Caden Francis (Coolangatta, QLD) tore apart one of the biggest waves of the day to lock in a 9.2 and take the win, progressing along with Hunter Andersson (Palm Beach, QLD) in the first heat of Round 2. Ace Flynn (Cowaramup, WA) flew the goofy foot flag high to win Heat Two, before Henry Dowling (Sunshine Beach, QLD) put together one of the performances of his life in Heat Three, flying through an enormous tube for a 9.57, before backing it up with a 8.13, to win with a massive 17.70 total.
To close a spectacular day, 2024 U-16 Boys champion Jesse Ferguson (Sunshine Beach, QLD) opened the final heat with a super late air drop. He then got thoroughly tubed before coming out and rifling off a number of heavy turns, including a massive end section hammer, to lock in the second perfect 10 of the day. As well as then winning the heat with a 17.83 total, he also equalled the highest scoring boys’ ride of the day. Given there were two 10s in the round, the legends at Creatures Of Leisure were happy to double down and giveaway two Creatures Cash Locks, much to the delight of Ferguson and Joakim Bjork, to ice the cake on an incredible day of competition in Western Australia’s South West.
With finals now locked in across multiple divisions, anticipation is building ahead of Finals Day, where champions will be crowned and names added to the event’s proud 21-year-history. Competition will resume tomorrow at 7am, with the continuation of this swell leading to an exciting forecast for the final day of Taj’s Small Fries Presented By Board Store for 2026.
For daily results, imagery and media updates, follow Surfing WA’s social media channels or visit the event mini site at: www.surfingwa.com.au/events/smallfries/
About Taj’s Small Fries
Since 2006, Taj’s Small Fries has been Western Australia’s premier junior surfing event, providing a springboard for aspiring surfing stars. Hosted by Taj Burrow, the event has been pivotal in nurturing surfing talent, with past champions including Felicity Palmateer, Jack Robinson, Bronte Macaulay, and Jacob Willcox. This 21st edition celebrates more than two decades of surf culture, community, and grommet stoke along WA’s iconic Yallingup coastline.
Events
