Jasmine Sampson surfed her heart out in the Newcastle leg of the Rip Curl GromSearch National Series at the weekend and earned herself a third placing.
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The Anna Bay teen, 16, maintained a top two spot in the under-16 girls heats and semi to land a spot in the final against Carly Shanahan (Wooli), Arabella Wilson (Jan Juc) and Lily MacDonald (Freshwater).
Shanahan executed a handful of powerful and flowing maneuvers to gain the edge in the final. A decent 13.67 two-wave heat total saw her claim the under-16 girls title followed by Wilson and Sampson.
Sampson said she was “stoked” to have placed third.
Elle Clayton-Brown, 16 from Corlette bowed out in the semi-final stage of the under-16 girls division, coming third against Shanahan and MacDonald.
Josh Stretton, 16, from Anna Bay moved through the first two rounds and quarter-final of the under-16 boys division but was knocked out in the semi by Joel Vaughan and eventual champion Jamie Thomson (Narrabeen).
The prestigious Rip Curl GromSearch National Series, celebrating 20 years in 2018, gives under-12, 14 and 16 male and female surfers a chance to compete against their nations best.
One of the longest running junior surfing series in the world, it has become a crucial stepping stone in the development of up-and-coming Australian surfers.
The national series will feature five stops in the key surfing regions of Jan Juc (VIC), Newcastle (NSW), Trigg Beach (WA), Yorke Peninsula (SA) and the Sunshine Coast (QLD).
Each result in the five-event series is awarded points that count towards a surfer’s GromSearch national rating.
This gives participants the opportunity to compare their performances against their peers.
Following the final event in Queensland, the top ranked surfers qualify for the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final (in their respective divisions).
They then compete for the chance to become the Australian GromSearch Champion.
The national champion then represents Australia at the Rip Curl GromSearch international final against the best junior surfers in each participating country.
