Barwon Heads surfer Ellie Harrison won the under 16 GromSearch National Championship at URBNSURF Melbourne on Monday.
Harrison was dominant across the event having spent countless hours surfing the facility’s artificial break over the past 12 months.
She consistently scored excellent rides in the final, with the exception of her left barrel wave, finishing with a heat total of 29.07 (out of a possible 40).
“I’m super happy to win the Rip Curl GromSearch at URBNSURF,”Harrison said.
“We had perfect waves all day and I got to surf with all my friends. It was epic.
“I’ve been lucky to spend lots of time here. It’s such a fun wave.
“Competing in the pool is super different to the ocean – there is a lot of pressure on you to make the waves count. I’m just happy to get a few good scores and win.”
The win adds to a host of trophies for the 15-year-old.
Harrison won the under 14s at the 2018 GromSearch after taking out the same age division at the Australian Junior Surfing Titles in 2017.
She narrowly missed the final of the under 16s GromSearch last year, her first time competing in the older division.
Jan Juc’s Mia Huppatz scored 19.29 points in the under 16s final, finishing behind Harrison in fourth place.
Fellow Jan Juc local Willis Droomer scored 26.34, falling four points short of New South Welshman Fletcher Kelleher to come runner-up in the under 14 boys.
This was the first time in the GromSearch’s 20-year history that the national final has taken place at URBNSURF.
URBNSURF ran an exclusive high-performance GromSearch wave setting, currently unavailable to the public, for the event.
