By Jeff Mull

Event: 11th Annual T&C Surf Grom Contest
Date: July 12–13, 2008
Location: Kuhio Beach, Queen’s
Conditions: 3-foot peaks


Below an open-ended blue sky and a scorchingly hot Waikiki sun, July 12 and 13 saw hundreds of towheaded groms take over the lineup at Queen’s and the surrounding beaches at Waikiki like a nomadic pigmy hunting party setting up camp. But for this camp and hunting party, there would be no kills (that I am aware of) and a sacrifice was not in order. The gods were clearly happy and smiled upon the groms with 3-foot peaks dotting the coast of Honolulu for the much anticipated T&C Gromfest. With the luck of being able to surf picture-perfect Queen’s with only a handful of friends, the weekend felt like a surf fantasy had just run head on into Christmas morning.

First and foremost the T&C Gromfest is about giving the kids whose boards aren’t covered in stickers a venue to mix it up with their counterparts. When the heat horns blew, more than 200 groms adorned in soaking wet oversized jerseys took to Queen’s with a vengeance in the two-day long event. In the end, the groms duked it out and put on a progressive display of surfing in the picturesque lineup that left as many smiles with the competitors as there are grains of sand on the beach.

T&C founder Craig Sugihara summed up the mentality behind hosting such a good-natured and wholesome event, “This whole contest is for the kids. It’s for the kids who want to compete and have fun and go out there and get a trophy without all of the pressure.”

Other highlights of the event included the much-anticipated Airshow with Kalani David, Isaiah Moniz, Alessa Quizon, and Keanu Asing boosting their way towards cash prizes in the final. The Airshow was a clear crowd favorite with parents and spectators hooting and hollering every time fins were set free. In the end, Hale‘iwa’s uber-grom Kalani David would go on to take the win a cool $1,000 oversized paycheck. For Kalani, the cashola was great, but the deal he had just won with his dad was even better. “…I’m super psyched to have won the Air Show. Feels good…my dad said that if I won the event, he would quit smoking! So that’s good. Now he’s got to quit.”

With such a unique event giving so many groms a chance to surf in a contest, the T&C Gromfest is truly a treasure for Hawai‘i’s surfing youth. Here’s to another decade of the Gromfest.




11th ANNUAL T&C SURF GROM CONTEST RESULTS:


BODYBOARD GIRLS & BOYS 9 & UNDER
1. Honolua Bloomfield
2. Kainehe Hunt
3. Noah Bradbury
4. Dylan Ellis
5. Devin Brueggemann
6. Nahe Apo

BODYBOARD GIRLS & BOYS 10-14
1. Titus Lafradez
2. Kalei Akiona
3. Brandon Lee Amaya
4. Keone Bloomfield
5. Renesh Wainscoat
6. Kawena Akiona

SHORTBOARD BOYS 7 & UNDER
1. Keola Auwae
2. Makana Pang
3. Kaniela Stewart
4. Reef Tsutsui
5. Isaac Blake
6. Riece Myers

SHORTBOARD BOYS 8-11
1. Dane Rust
2. Keone Bloomfield
3. Finn Mcgill
4. Wendell Leong Titcomb
5. Barron Mamiya
6. D`Arman Notoa

SHORTBOARD BOYS 12-14
1. Cole Yamakawa
2. Connor Jensen
3. Lucas Godfreu
4. Tyler Mccoy
5. Gen Asano
6. Thomas Williams

SHORTBOARD GIRLS 9 & UNDER
1. Moana Jones
2. Kahanu Delovio
3. Kailee Graf
4. Honolua Bloomfield
5. Namika Courtois
6. Gabriela Yester

SHORTBOARD GIRLS 10-14
1. CAYLA MOORE
2. J-SEA PALIRACIO
3. AMBER BADE
4. MAKANI ANDRIC
5. KINI SHARPNICK
6. KELLY GRAF

LONGBOARD BOYS & GIRLS 9 & UNDER
1. Finn Mcgill
2. Honolua Bloomfield
3. Kainehe Hunt
4. Kaniela Stewart
5. Gabriela Yester
6. Keola Auwae

LONGBOARD BOYS & GIRLS 10-14
1. Eala Stewart
2. Seth Moniz
3. Josh Moniz
4. Mo Freitas
5. Elijah Gates
6. Ej Mitsui

T&C SURF/SURFER MAGAZINE HOT 100 AIR INVITATIONAL
1. Kalani David ($1,000)
2. Isaiah Moniz ($750)
3. Keanu Asing ($500)
4. Alessa Quizon ($250)


BOARD STORIES QUALITY TIME
EXPRESSION SESSION
1. Makana and Kahanu Denovio
2. Bouvey and Noah Bradbury
3. Duane, Puamakamae And Keanuenue Desoto