Five new state junior surfing champions have been crowned in Geraldton over the weekend, as the final event of the 2022 Woolworths State Junior Surfing Titles presented by SunSmart, wrapped up yesterday in clean and contestable wavs at Back Beach.
Geraldton proved to be a winter wonderland yet again, with competitors from across WA greeted to light offshore winds all weekend and the opportunity to surf multiple locations, with surfers having to quickly adapt from reef to beach break conditions as a quickly dropping swell forced the event to relocate from Flat Rocks for finals day.
Close to 100 of Western Australia’s newest generation of surfing superstars lit up the Batavia coastline, in hopes of representing WA at the 2022 Australian Junior Surfing Titles set to be held on North Stradbroke Island, QLD later this year.
Otis North (Yallingup) claimed an impressive victory in the blue-ribbon Under-18 Boys, after recently retuning from competing in events on the East Coast, North found his rhythm on the beach breaks early on finals and kept it running through to the end, posting an impressive two-wave combined total of 13.74 (from a possible 20).
Jesse Siedmiogrodzki (City Beach), Macklin Flynn (Cowaramup) and Sebastian Pellizzon (North Beach) were all left chasing good to very good scores to snatch victory off North, finishing in second, third and fourth place respectively.
The second place result saw Jesse Siedmiogrodzki claim his first Under-18 Boys State Title on a count back from Otis North.
“I’m stoked to be State Champion,” said Siedmiogrodzki. “All the boys were ripping and it was always going to be a tough final. Congratulations to Otis and all the boys, I can’t wait to surf with them all at Nationals.”
Denmark’s Isi Campbell was one of the standout surfers of the event, showing a new competitive edge after returning with a silver medal from the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Championships in El Salvador. Campbell claimed the Under-18 Girls State Title, backing up her win in Margaret River back in March.
Displaying a great mix of power and style, Campbell dropped a two-wave combined two-wave total of 10.83 (from a possible 20), which included a heat high 7.00 (from a possible 10), to defeat Zali Hewson (Margaret River), Ruby Berry (Augusta) and Mia Scott (Margaret River).
“It’s been two days of really contrasting conditions,” said Campbell. “But today reminds me a lot of the waves back at home and I couldn’t be happier to be back here in WA competing with my friends.”
The Under-16 Cadet Boys final was a visual spectacular, with some critical and eye-catching surfing on offer from alll four finalists. Kade Martin (Dunsborough) shone the brightest during the 25-minute final, scoring a combined total 13.74 (from a possible 20), to take down inform surfers Okie Fraser (Margaret River), Reef Lange (Margaret River) and Remy North (Yallingup).
Surfing up a division, Martin displayed the hallmarks of a future champion, dropping an excellent 8.17 and backing it up with a 5.57 for some flawless top to bottom forehand surfing.
“I learnt so much competing over East and to put some of it into my heats this weekend has been great,” said Martin. “I can’t wait to compete in my first Aussie Titles.”
Maverick Wilson (Mandurah) was already crowned Under-16 Cadet Boys State Champion for 2022 on the strength of his performances at Margaret River and Trigg earlier this year.
Ruby Berry (August) was another surfer to spend most of her holidays competing on the East Coast and she was able to back up a finals result at the Skull Candy Oz Grom Open in Lennox Heads, with a State Title in the Under-16 Cadet Girls division.
Picking off great waves and using her powerful rail game, Berry claimed her maiden Under-16 Girls State Title, by taking down Isi Campbell (Denmark), Mia Jacobs (Mandurah), and Grace Cook (Cowaramup).
“I’m so excited to have won the 16 Girls State Title, I had a bit of a shocker at Trigg,” said Berry. “Coming from Margs and reef breaks like Flat Rocks where there’s so much power behind you, sometimes it’s nice to get back onto the beach breaks and build your own speed and flow.”
Ace Flynn (Cowaramup) claimed an impressive win in the hotly contested Under-14 Grom Boys division, capturing his maiden State Title in the process. Flynn seemed to click into perfect sync with the waves at Flat Rocks and at Back Beach and was on fire in the Under-14 Boys final.
Opening with an excellent 8.50 (from a possible 10), Flynn was able to keep his competitors at bay, with Jake Scott (Swanbourne), Kade Martin (Dunsborough) and Cruz Uros (Dunsborough) rounding out an impressive top four.
“This is my first State Title and I’m so stoked,” said Flynn. “The waves have been really fun both days and well done to everyone in that final it was sick, I can’t wait for National Titles.”
Mia Jacobs (Mandurah) was another surfer who stepped it up on finals day, taking out Under-14 Grommet Girls final. Jacobs used her both backhand and forehand to extract the maximum points available and was able to edge out Indie Siedmiogrodzki (City Beach), Leila Fraser (Margaret River) and Rosie Gillett (Dunsborough).
“This is the first time I’ve won at the Woolworth State Titles,” said Jacobs. “I want to thank my friends and family for all their support and to all the girls in the final who were all surfing so well.”
Olive Hardy (Margaret River) already captured the Under-14 Grom State Title with earlier wins in Margaret River and Trigg Beach.
In other results from the weekend, Cruz Macdonald (Geraldton) proved he’s a star on the rise claiming an impressive victory and the State Title in the Under-12 Micro Groms divisions. Surfing with maturity beyond his years, MacDonald was pushed all the way by a pack of energetic young frothers including Taylor Flynn (Cowaramup), Zenn Hammond (Gracetown) and Jasper Glossop (Broadwater).
“It’s been such a fun day and to have all my friends and family here supporting me made the difference,” said Macdonald. “It’s been a fun weekend and I can’t wait to do it all again.”
After an epic three event series, which traveled to Margaret River, Trigg Beach and Geraldton, Surfing WA will now focus on preparing their State Champions and State Team qualifiers for the Woolworth Australian Junior Surfing Titles scheduled to be held in Queensland later this year.
“After great events in Margaret River, Trigg and here in Geraldton, I’d like to congratulate our newly crowned WA Junior State Champions, as well as our divisional winners and finalists for an exciting title race in 2022,” said Surfing WA Events Manager Justin Majeks. “This event has not only displayed the depth of talent we have in WA at the moment, but also their ability to adapt to different locations and conditions, which is what we’ll have to deal with a lot at Nationals.”
The Woolworths State Junior Surfing Titles act as a nursery for WA talent, with many top surfers learning their craft by competing in these events as groms. The likes of Taj Burrow (Yallingup), Jack Robinson (Margaret River), Claire Bevilacqua (Yallingup), Jacob Willcox (Margaret River) and Bronte Macaulay (Gracetown), all excelled in the State Junior Titles in the past and forged a path forward for WA’s new generation of surfing stars.
The SunSmart WA School Surfing Titles will also give young WA surfers a chance to qualify for the National Titles, with competition kicking off next month and travelling right around Western Australia to unearth to best surfing talent within the WA High School system.
Surfing WA acknowledges the State Government’s support through the Road Safety Commission and reminds all our traveling competitors and families of the dangers of sending a text message or using a mobile phone while behind the wheel – Remember #NoTxtNoWrecks.
For more information on this or any other WA event, or to view the final event rankings, be sure to log onto www.surfingwa.com.au and check out all the Surfing WA social media platforms for event updates and information.
Round 3 Results – Geraldton:
Under-18 Junior Boys:
1. Otis North (Yallingup) – 13.74
2. Jesse Siedmiogrodzki (City Beach) – 13.06
3. Macklin Flynn (Cowaramup) – 11.33
4. Sebastian Pellizzon (North Beach) – 11.00
Under 18 Boys State Champion – Jesse Siedmiogrodzki
Under 18 Junior Girls:
1. Isi Campbell (Denmark) – 10.83
2. Zali Hewson (Margaret River) – 10.23
3. Ruby Berry (Augusta) – 8.87
4. Mia Scott (Margaret River) – 7.13
Under 18 Girls State Champion – Isi Campbell
Under-16 Cadet Boys:
1. Kade Martin (Dunsborough) – 13.74
2. Okie Fraser (Margaret River) – 12.94
3. Finn Lange (Margaret River) – 12.90
4. Remy North (Dunsborough) – 9.37
Under 16 Boys State Champion – Maverick Wilson
Under-16 Cadet Girls:
1. Ruby Berry (Augusta) – 12.50
2. Isi Campbell (Denmark) – 10.83
3. Mia Jacobs (Mandurah) – 7.07
4. Grace Cook (Cowaramup) – 4.10
Under 16 Girls State Champion – Ruby Berry
Under 14 Grom Boys:
1. Ace Flynn (Cowaramup) – 13.50
2. Jake Scott (Swanbourne) – 12.63
3. Kade Martin (Dunsborough) – 10.66
4. Cruz Uros (Dunsborough) – 9.73
Under 14 Boys State Champion – Ace Flynn
Under-14 Grom Girls:
1. Mia Jacobs (Mandurah) – 10.83
2. Indie Siedmiogrodzki (City Beach) – 9.90
3. Leila Fraser (Margaret River) – 8.10
4. Rosie Gillett (Dunsborough) – 5.10
Under 14 Girls State Champion – Olive Hardy
Under 12 Micro Grom:
1. Cruz Macdonald (Geraldton) – 11.83
2. Taylor Flynn (Cowaramup) – 11.04
3. Zenn Hammond (Gracetown) – 9.10
4. Jasper Glossop (Broadwater) – 7.90
Under 12 Micro Groms State Champion – Cruz Macdonald
2022 Woolworths State Junior Surfing Titles presented by SunSmart:
Round 1 – Margaret River
March 26th – 27th 2022
Round 2 – Trigg Beach
28th – 29th May 2022
Round 3 – Geraldton
16th – 17th July 2022
Divisions:
Under 18 Junior Girls
Under 18 Junior Boys
Under 16 Cadet Girls
Under 16 Cadet Boys
Under 14 Grommet Girls
Under 14 Grommet Boys
Under 12 Micro-Groms
