Why Weren’t Comp Waves This Fun When We Were Kids?

I surfed in a lot of competitions in my youth. Well into the hundreds.

They were all over the country, too — from my home state of New Jersey, up and down the eastern seaboard, and occasionally over to California for national events. Across all that time, and all those places, I can probably count on one hand the number of contests that had waves as fun as the ones seen in the recent Rip Curl Grom Search National Final.

Held at Churches, which is widely considered one of the worst waves along the Trestles-San Onofre stretch, the event scored some of the most playful yet rippable chest-high walls a 16-and-under (or 28-and-envious) surfer could ask for. Naturally, the kids flared up, adding a sense of inadequacy to our envy.

The winners included: Lucas Cassidy Senkbeil, Ryland Tide Beavers, Stab High Ladybird champ Erin Brooks (that backhand!), and Kai Martin.