24 August, 2020 – Kuta, Bali: The fourth and final Grom Patrol Camp and Comp was celebrated last evening at the Kosta Hostel Berawa as parents, friends, crew and sponsors gathered together to see which of the frothing groms would be going home with goody bags full of cool prizes from event sponsors and new surfboards, as the Grom Patrol’s own Tipi Jabrik announced the winners and finalists in five divisions, as well as four special awards, to end the night and the 2nd annual Grom Patrol series.
Held over four weekends in July and August at the beaches of Legian, Kuta, and Canggu, the Grom Patrol was an unparalleled success given the unprecedented pandemic currently ravaging not not only Bali but most of the world this year.
“Even though we’re in the middle of something we don’t know how or when it will end, the most important thing is to look after the kids and keep giving them constructive things to do,” said Grom Patrol creator Tipi Jabrik. “I have two kids and they love to go surfing with their friends, so that’s really how the Grom Patrol started last year. This year was completely different and Bali completely different due to COVID-19, which made me feel even stronger that we had to find a way to keep this going, so we made some adjustments and made it work.”
The primary difference was that due to current protocols, big gatherings are not allowed on the beach so videographers instead filmed the groms essentially free surfing in order to get clips of their best waves, which were then judged and tabulated to get the winning scores rather than having a typical contest setup at the beach.
For the groms that attended the Grom Patrol Camp each weekend it was business as usual, where their mornings were spend surfing and training with some of Bali’s best pro surfers like Rio Waida, Ketut Agus, and Kailani Johnson, and then reviewing video clips of their performance and doing analysis with the Bali Elite Surf Coaching team, Water Safety and Breath training by the Bali Lifeguards (Balawista), and even Social Media training by WeLikeBali.
2019 WSL Asia Region Women’s Qualifying Series Champion Kailani Johnson was delighted to be invited to help out in the Grom Patrol. “The Grom Patrol was such a fun program to be a part of and it was great because it felt like I could give back to the young surfing community of Bali. For these kids, being in a bit of a competitive environment is a great way for them to push themselves, and things like watching video replay really improves their technique. I was happy to see all the kids surfing and coming out of the water with big smiles on their faces. After lots of losses and wins myself, I’ve realized that in life, success comes from learning from experience, so things like joining in the Grom Patrol competing and surfing will benefit them in many ways in their future.”
To truly get the feeling of what the Grom Patrol is all about, just click on the links below for video clips filmed and edited by Bali’s best:
Sean Gilhooley- Indo Inc: https://youtu.be/3KMg8hBAyWo
Federico Vanno-Liquid Barrel: https://youtu.be/kDd9KGRs6i4
Made Ropik -Uluwatu: https://youtu.be/DlUnCxFx7po
Here are the Final Grom Patrol Results:
Girls Under 14
1. Lidia Kato
2. Georgie May
3. Maya Vitts/Jasmine Studer
4. Suri Jabrik
Girls Under 17
1. Ketut Tia
2. Kayla Martin
3. Airu Nagata
4. Raziel Shiren
Boys Under 10
1. Jasper Glossop
2. Kieran Watts
3. Sinar Tandjung
4. Shia Jabrik
Boys Under 14
1. Teddy Bille
2. Westen Hirst
3. Natan Bontje
4. Oscar Glossop/Manu’a Hugon
Boys Under 17
1. Made Joy
2. Made Dera
3. Gana Pranata
4. Ramone Nugraha
Special Awards
Bravest Grom – Zio Jeksen
Most Talented Grom – Phillip Duke
Grom with the Best Style – Kahea Isshiki
Best Up and Coming Grom – Kiran Vitt
For digital photos (for social media use only please) from Tipi’s Grom Patrol Camp and Comp’s 1-4, 2020 by Federico Vanno @Liquid Barrel and Tim Hain @tim_asc :
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4dao7fktiv4ehuk/AABMTJ6pSH0s8NHBo2lRql8Ka?dl=0
Thanks so much to all the sponsors of the Grom Patrol who generously provided:
Surfboards for the grand final winners in the Under 10 Boys and Girls and Under 14 Boys and Girls Division from
Chilli Surfboards https://instagram.com/chilli_surfboards_bali = 1 Surfboard
Warner Surfboards https://instagram.com/warnersurfboards = 1 Surfboard
PSI (Primal Surfboards Indonesia) https://instagram.com/psisurfboards = 1 Surfboard
Dahlberg Surfboard https://instagram.com/dahlbergsurfboards = 1 Surfboard
Meal Vouchers for the grand final winners in the Under 17 Boys and Girls Divisions from
Made’s Warung https://instagram.com/madeswarung
Single Fin https://instagram.com/singlefinbali
The Lawn https://instagram.com/thelawncanggu
La Baraca https://instagram.com/labaraccabali
Sunscreen
Sunzapper https://instagram.com/sunzapperindo
Sandals
Swallow https://instagram.com/swallowfootwear
Surfwear and Accessories
Billabong https://www.instagram.com/billabong
Quiksilver https://www.instagram.com/quiksilver
Roxy https://www.instagram.com/roxy
DaKine https://www.instagram.com/dakine
Vissla https://instagram.com/visslasurf
Rip Curl https://www.instagram.com/ripcurlasia/
Cool T’s
Zephyr Blue https://instagram.com/zephyr_blues
Hats
Little Fella https://instagram.com/littlefellarebels
Gift Pack – Healthy Snacks
Drifter https://instagram.com/drifterbali
Coaching by BESC (Bali Elite Surf Coaching) https://instagram.com/bali_elite_surfing_coach
Supported by PSOI (Persatuan Selancar Ombak Indonesia) https://instagram.com/psoi.surfingindonesia
and KONI (Komite Olahraga Nasional Indonesia https://instagram.com/konipusat
Media Support by
BaliBelly https://instagram.com/balibelly
Surfing Indonesia https://instagram.com/surfingindonesia_org
SurfTime Magazine https://instagram.com/surftime_magazine
Liquid Barrel https://instagram.com/liquidbarrel
IndoInc https://instagram.com/indoinc