For generations the marketing slogan that got the most traction for being believable was the promotion of Disneyland as ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’. Gauging the pure joy in real time of participants during recent grom events held at Snapper Rocks and Lennox I would ascertain that Disneyland has been eclipsed.
Or maybe the new slogan should be “Only a grommet knows the feeling”. In its 19th edition the Billabong Occy Grom Comp was a cracker. It has always been a fun event, held in the winter school holidays, however since its upgrade from Dbah to Snapper, the prestige has elevated to dream tour status for the mighty mites.
Globally parents have passed on the joy of surfing to their offspring, introducing their kids to surfboard riding at an increasingly younger age. This in large parts is why there are nearly 40 million surfers worldwide. With so much negative and threatening news circulating around the world, surfing could be one of the last bastions of the truly free world.
The great Nat Young has given me some sage words over the decades, my favourite being; ‘surf your brains out.’ The kids certainly are and they are getting good very young. From my day right up until the mid 90’s, the under 14 division in competition, also known as the Cadets, was the youngest. I watched Peter Drouyn win the 1968 Queensland Title at Snapper Rocks, yes it was a surf break before the Sand Bypass, and the Cadet division seemed so young. At 13 I didn’t think I was good enough to even enter so I just watched and studied the champions.
In 1991, 11-year-old Dean Morrison approached me at a club round and said ‘excuse me Mr Rabbit, can I surf in the comp?’ I honestly thought he was too young and said come back next year kid. Next month there he was again tugging on my board shorts; ‘Hey Rabbit…’
I relented. Deano put on a singlet that needed a big knot in the back and paddled out into the Under 14’s and won it easily.
To my knowledge Mick, Joel and Dean had their starts in the Under 14 category, maybe Mick even a bit later. Nowadays the Under 6 is a hotly contested division, particularly so for the dads trying to get the inside position for parent assistance.
Those who got their big breaks from a young now also put on a number of their own junior events. Taj Burrow hosts Taj’s Small Fry’s at his beloved Yallingup, Joel Parkinson has the Parko Grom Stomp in and around Caloundra, Bede Durbidge hosts an extraordinary event on North Stradbroke that is often staged in powerful Point Lookout bombs, Barton Lynch has his BL Blastoff, an event that many 8-year-olds get their big time debut in and of course there is the aforementioned Occy Grom Comp.
There is also the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open which is now in its 21st year and takes place on the beach breaks of the iconic Lennox Head.
A few years ago I referred to the Oz Grom Open as the Wimbledon of junior surfing. LE-BA Boardriders put on a first class event, with daily fun activities such as treasure hunts, pie eating comps, beach races and ice cream eating comps. The kids are running wild in the best possible way.
The feature that sets this event apart is the athlete amenities and no, I am not talking about the portaloos. However, you can only imagine the state they were in with 150 groms involved over seven days.
The athlete area is like a mini CT, the LE-BA club provides a snapshot of what life is like on the big stage. Stationary bikes, massage tables, hydration stations, snacks, coaches and trainers. A top service for young apprising professionals who all dream of becoming the next Ethan Ewing, Jack Robinson, John John Florence, Griffin Colapinto or Gabriel Medina.
It’s incredible how well these young kids surf. It is mind blowing how mature their manoeuvres are, how fluently they transition from rail to air to carve, even their tube riding skills on the bigger days were so advanced for such tender years.
There were standouts across the event but each division had depth and substance. From the quarter-finals onwards it often came down to wave selection.
Surfing Australia has strung together all these events in a national series, which in turn converts to the cream rising to the top over the course of a season.
Until recently making the Australian team for ISA World Juniors came down to one event. You had to make the final of the Aussie Titles to get a green and gold jersey. Considered tough but fair for about 50 years, this system has now been overhauled.
Now it’s based over a series of grom events and surfers even get to throwaway a couple bad results. The national team is selected by strong performances across varied conditions, plus the traditional Aussie Titles pathway.
As Vaughan Deadly Blakey mentioned, there is something special about this generation of Australian surfers coming through. They have seen the Brazilian Storm, who in turn shone the light for another generation emerging on the world stage from San Clemente, California.
All the way through to the end of the 90’s Australian teams consistently came home draped in Gold medals, then, the well didn’t go dry but it did become more sporadic. The gold standard became exclusive for those at the top of the pyramid with Mick, Joel, Layne, Taj and others all shining. Taking a leaf out of Brazil and California, the young Aussies who recently competed in the ISA World Junior supported each other with pride and passion, and guess what, they left El Salvador with the Gold.
The children of the grom dream tour were watching with eyes open.
