Young grommets thrived in perfect conditions as the Albany Boardriders’ junior wavefest returned with a bang

Young Grommets Zephyr Simmons and Kleo Proudfoot thrived in perfect conditions at this year’s Junior Wavefest at Muttonbird on Saturday, as the next wave of young surfers impressed. Albany Boardriders’ major junior event on the calendar attracted a strong field across multiple divisions, ranging from rookie and push-in through to the under-18 boys and girls. Thirty-eight young surfers from between Bremer Bay and Denmark took part in event eager to get back involved after the cancellation of last year’s event because of COVID-19. Surfers were presented with a small but faultless right-hand bank with light offshore winds. Zephyr Simmons proved too strong in the under-16 and under-18 boys’ category while Proudfoot took out the under-16 girls’ division. In the under-18s, Zephyr Simmons was named champion over Zen Shepherd while he defeated his brother, Jethro Simmons, in the highly competitive under-16 boys’ category. Proudfoot won in the under-16 girls category over Keilarni Lloyd. Two heats of the under-14 boys held back-to-back when the conditions were at their best were very entertaining and Luke Anderson won the category over Jack Williams while Matilda Reddington defeated Maisey Mitchell in the under-14 girls’ event. Williams was dominant in the waves as he cruised to victory over Freddie Creek in the under-12 boys division while Annabelle Reddington followed in her sister’s footsteps taking out the under-12 girls’ category over Keeley Durrant. Isla Shuttleworth was crowned champion girl of the under-10 girls’ category over Jade Thomas. Rio Hepworth won the push-in division over Shuttleworth while Kye Lloyd was crowned champion over Lewin Marshall in the rookie division. Albany Boardriders president Dave Beeck said it was pleasing to run the event this year. “We only hold two major events in the year so it’s hard to keep your act polished,” he said. “We are a relatively new committee so our first event went off extremely well. “We couldn’t have wished for more, perfect offshore breeze, great sized waves for kids, nice weather and lots of participants. “After the event was cancelled last year but still lots of surfing going on there were a few grommets wanting to make a statement. “Over the last 10 years the event has been dominated by a strong representation of girls surfing at an elite level, now the guard has changed and there is some real strength in the under-12, 14 and 16 boys.”