Sandend Grom Comp 2019

The competition started early on a blustery day at Sandend. Thankfully we had a few shelters, including a bell tent complete with wood-burning stove, as well as Andy with Coffee at the Kings in his airstream caravan to supply a much-needed caffeine boost – especially for the early risers there to help set up. Despite the onshore wind, there were plenty of head-high wedgy peaks, as well as lots of powerful white water to allow for a great day of surfing competition for all ages and abilities.

A strong contingent of Scotland’s youngest surfers made the journey and were eager to get in the Moray Firth surf. With such a good turnout we needed a fast turnaround between the 15 minute heats but the continuous action helped to keep everybody warm. The judging panel and spotters had their work cut out trying to identify surfers on the lower tide and bright morning light but fortunately it got easier as the tide came up.

In the under 14 mixed class it was great to see so many entering their first competition and really going for it in the tough conditions. There were strong performances throughout, but in the end most of the seasoned vets made it to the final. Consistently posting the highest heat totals and coming first in every heat, the win was convincingly secured by Thurso’s Craig MacLachlan of the North Shore Surf Club with an 8 point ride backed up by a by a 6. Sandend local, Natalie Kobedza, of the Moray Firth Surf Riders club, surfed incredibly well and even lead the first half of the final. Opting not to free surf between heats proved a wise move as she had the energy to paddle further out enabling her to select the best peeling waves to take 2nd place with 7.5 points. Craig and Natalie only caught 4 waves each in the final proving that wave selection was key. In 3rd was her younger brother, Ben Kobedza, who surfed consistently well all day but seemed to be running out of steam by the end. Another local from the same club, Luca Baltrunas surfed his way to a well-earned 4th spot.

11 females vied for the under 18 girl’s title, ranging from age 7 to 14 – having so many good younger surfers bodes well for the future of girls surfing in Scotland. In a very close final, up-and-coming talent Nadia Murray of the North Shore Surf Club placed 4th and seemed to be improving with every round. The same could be said of Annie Herd who got 3rd in her first ever surf competition. Maja Thomson managed to complete some of her manoeuvres to increase her scores and push for the top spot but Natalie Kobedza backed up her earlier performance with confident surfing on bigger set waves to clinch the win.

The last event was the Under 18 boy’s division with 14 surfers entering. The standard in the final was higher than ever with great performances throughout the rounds. Euan Lee of Lossie Surf Club did well to longboard his way to 4th place but the manoeuvrability of the short-boarders took the top spots. A very weary Ben Kobedza placed 3rd with some well-chosen inside waves. St Andrew’s ripper, Tomas Badia, gave a smooth performance to take the 2nd place. There was no surprise that top spot went to Craig MacLachlan. His excellent 8 point single wave score was too strong for the other surfers and, with a decent back up score as well, he thoroughly deserved the victory.

The micro groms were keen to enter the water for an Expression Session during the lunch break. 3 year old Ava Sutherland had eyes on the prizes and was duly awarded for some dad-assisted waves. It was also great to see competitors carrying on free-surfing after their competition had ended and the judging panel was frequently impressed with the tenacity of Riley Whyte and Ben Barclay-Evely who seemed to spend all day in the water – ones to watch for the future!

The results are below and these go towards the SSF Junior Series. It’s still all to play for at the final series event of 2019 – The Gathering of the Clans club competition which takes place at Fraserburgh on the 2nd & 3rd of November. Please enquire with your club about entering.

We must thank our sponsors – Lossie Childcare Centre, Alder, C-Skins, New Wave Surf School and Suds Surf School. Everybody appreciated the hot drinks and treats from Coffee at the Kings to keep us warm and toasty – thank you, Andy! A huge thanks must go to all of the volunteers who gave up their time to help ensure the competition ran smoothly and was enjoyed by everybody. Finally, thank you to all the competitors and parents for making such an enjoyable competition! See you at the next one!

Moray Firth Surf Riders and Lossie Surf Club

Sandend Grom Comp 2019 Results

Sandend Grom Comp 2019 U14 Mixed
    QUALIFY ROUND ONE                          
    HEAT#1   1     HEAT # 2   2     HEAT #3   3  
Red   Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1     Ebon Parkin DSC 2     Luca Baltrunas MFSR 1  
White   Rosie Rothney MFSR 4     Ollie Peace LSC 4     Natalie Kobedza MFSR 2  
Yellow   Rhys Banfield LSC 3     Riley Whyte BSC 3     Emily Duncan MFSR 4  
Blue   Euan Lee LSC 2     Annie Herd MFSR 1     Sean Wood NSSC 3  
    HEAT#4   4     HEAT # 5   5     HEAT #6   6  
Red   Maja Thomson MFSR 4     Lois Thomson MFSR 3     Ben Kobedza MFSR 1  
White   Emily Rothney MFSR 1     Ansel Parkin DSC 2     Finn Askew MFSR 2  
Yellow   Nadia Murray NSSC 3     Neel Cowie MFSR 1     Maya Kobedza MFSR 4  
Blue   Voe Brock NSSC 2     Ben Barclay-Evely MFSR 4     Olivia Sutherland NSSC 3  
    QUARTER FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   7     HEAT # 2   8     HEAT #3   9  
Red 1.1 Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1   1.4 Emily Rothney MFSR 3   1.6 Ben Kobedza MFSR 1  
White 1.2 Annie Herd MFSR 2   1.3 Luca Baltrunas MFSR 1   1.5 Neel Cowie MFSR 3  
Yellow 2.1 Euan Lee LSC 3   2.3 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 2   2.5 Ansel Parkin DSC 2  
Blue 2.2 Ebon Parkin DSC 4   2.4 Voe Brock NSSC 4   2.6 Finn Askew MFSR 4  
    SEMI FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   10     HEAT # 2   11            
Red 1.7 Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1   1.8 Luca Baltrunas MFSR 2            
White 2.8 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 2   1.9 Ben Kobedza MFSR 1            
Yellow 2.9 Ansel Parkin DSC 3   2.7 Annie Herd MFSR 3            
    FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   12                      
Red 1.10 Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1                      
White 1.11 Ben Kobedza MFSR 3                      
Yellow 2.10 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 2                      
Blue 2.11 Luca Baltrunas MFSR 4                    
Sandend Grom Comp 2019 Girls U18
    QUARTER FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   1     HEAT # 2   2     HEAT #3   3  
Red 0 Maja Thomson MFSR 1   0 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 2   0 Lois Thomson MFSR 2  
White 0 Nadia Murray NSSC 2   0 Emily Rothney MFSR 1   0 Rosie Rothney MFSR 4  
Yellow 0 Voe Brock NSSC 3   0 Olivia Sutherland NSSC 3   0 Annie Herd MFSR 1  
Blue 0 Emily Duncan MFSR 4   0         0 Maya Kobedza MFSR 3  
    SEMI FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   4     HEAT # 2   5            
Red 1.1 Maja Thomson MFSR 2   1.2 Emily Rothney MFSR 3            
White 2.2 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 1   1.3 Annie Herd MFSR 2            
Yellow 2.3 Lois Thomson MFSR 3   2.1 Nadia Murray NSSC 1            
           
    FINAL                          
    HEAT#1   6                      
Red 1.4 Maja Thomson MFSR 2                      
White 1.5 Nadia Murray NSSC 4                      
Yellow 2.4 Natalie Kobedza MFSR 1                      
Blue 2.5 Annie Herd MFSR 3                    
  Sandend Grom Comp 2019 U18 Boys
      QUARTER FINAL                                    
      HEAT#1   1     HEAT # 2   2     HEAT #3   3     HEAT # 4   4  
  Red   Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1     Hayden Peace LSC 3     Tomas Badia MFSR 1     Ben Kobedza MSFR 1  
  White   Finn Askew MFSR 3     Luca Baltrunas MFSR 1     Ollie Peace LSC 2     Ansel Parkin DSC 3  
  Yellow   Rhys Banfield LSC 2     Ebon Parkin DSC 4     Ben Barclay-Evely MFSR 3     Neel Cowie MFSR 2  
  Blue             Euan Lee LSC 2     Sean Wood NSSC 4            
      SEMI FINAL                                    
      HEAT#1   5     HEAT # 2   6                      
  Red 1.1 Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1   1.3 Tomas Badia MFSR 2                      
  White 1.2 Luca Baltrunas MFSR 3   1.4 Ben Kobedza MFSR 1                      
  Yellow 2.1 Rhys Banfield LSC 4   2.3 Ollie Peace LSC 3                      
  Blue 2.2 Euan Lee LSC 2   2.4 Neel Cowie MFSR 4                      
      FINAL                                    
      HEAT#1   7                                
  Red 1.5 Craig MacLachlan NSSC 1                                
  White 1.6 Ben Kobedza MFSR 3                                
  Yellow 2.5 Euan Lee LSC 4                                
  Blue 2.6 Tomas Badia MFSR 2                                
                                         

SSF Junior Series 2019 Results

U14   EVENT 1 EVENT 2 EVENT 3 TOTAL POINTS
Place Scottish National Surfing Championships Sandend Grom Comp Gathering of the Clans
1st Craig McLachlan (NSSC) 1000 1000   2000
2nd Ben Kobedza (MFSR) 860 730   1590
3rd Natalie Kobedza (MFSR) 610 860   1470
4th Luca Baltrunas (MFSR) 730 670   1400
5th Ollie Peace (LSC) 610 350   960
6th Robyn Larg (TSC) 670     670
7th Annie Herd (MFSR)   610   610
7th Ansel Parkin (DSC)   610   610
8th Neel Cowie (MFSR)   555   555
8th Ryan Henderson (NSSC)   555   555
8th Euan Lee (LSC)   555   555
8th Emily Rothney (MFSR)   555   555
9th Finn Askew (MFSR)   488   488
9th Voe Brock (NSSC)   488   488
9th Ebon Parkin (DSC)   488   488
10th Rhys Banfield (MFSR)   450   450
10th Nadia Murray (NSSC)   450   450
10th Olivia Sutherland (NSSC)   450   450
10th Lois Thomson (MFSR)   450   450
10th Riley Whyte (BSC)   450   450
10th Sean Wood (NSSC)   450   450
11th Ben Barclay-Evely (MFSR)   390   390
11th Emily Duncan (MFSR)   390   390
11th Maya Kobedza (MFSR)   390   390
11th Rosie Rothney (MFSR)   390   390
11th Maja Thomson (MFSR)   390   390

U18 Girls   EVENT 1 EVENT 2 EVENT 3 TOTAL POINTS
Place Scottish National Surfing Championships Sandend Grom Comp Gathering of the Clans
1st Natalie Kobedza (MFSR) 1000 1000   2000
2nd Nadia Murray (NSSC) 670 670   1340
3rd Maja Thomson (MFSR)   860   860
3rd Robyn Larg (TSC) 860     860
5th Jessica Simmons (NSSC) 730     730
5th Annie Herd (MFSR)   730   730
7th Lois Thomson (MFSR)   610   610
7th Emily Rothney (MFSR)   610   610
9th Voe Brock (NSSC)   555   555
9th Maya Kobedza (MFSR)   555   555
9th Olivia Sutherland (NSSC)   555   555
12th Emily Duncan (MFSR)   488   488
12th Rosie Rothney (MFSR)   488   488

U18 Boys   EVENT 1 EVENT 2 EVENT 3 TOTAL POINTS
Place Scottish National Surfing Championships Sandend Grom Comp Gathering of the Clans
1st Craig McLachlan (NSSC) 730 1000   1730
2nd Luca Baltrunas (MFSR) 610 555   1165
3rd Hayden Peace (LSC) 670 450   1120
4th Ben Larg (TSC) 1000     1000
5th Tomas Badia (MFSR)   860   860
5th Finn MacDonald (TSC) 860     860
6th Ben Kobedza (MFSR)   730   730
7th Euan Lee (LSC)   670   670
8th Owen McQueenie (EBSC) 610     610
8th Ollie Peace (LSC)   610   610
9th Rhys Banfield (LSC)   555   555
9th Neel Cowie (MFSR)   555   555
10th Finn Askew (MFSR)   488   488
10th Ben Barclay-Everly (MFSR)   488   488
10th Ansel Parkin (DSC)   488   488
11th Ebon Parkin (DSC)   450   450
11th Sean Wood (NSSC)   450   450

 

Points per place  
1st 1000
2nd 860
3rd 730
4th 670
5th 610
6th 555
7th 488
8th 450
9th 390
10th 350
11th 315
12th 285
13th 245