This weekend, Fistral Beach played host to one of the highlights of the junior surfing calendar — the Rip Curl GromSearch, presented by Citroën. Young surfers travelled from across the UK and beyond, with competitors arriving from Wales, Scotland, Portugal and the Channel Islands to take on the iconic Newquay peaks.

With fun conditions and plenty of action throughout the weekend, the event delivered standout performances across every division and showcased the incredible depth of talent coming through the next generation of surfing.

Day one focused predominantly on the U16 divisions, capitalising on the most powerful part of the swell. By 10am, the U16 girls were in the water for one of the most fiercely competitive divisions of the event. The standard was high throughout, but Coco Arthur and Lila Skinner quickly established themselves as the surfers to beat.

The U16 girls title went to Coco Arthur, who surfed consistently and confidently throughout the entire day, winning every one of her heats with a comfortable lead. Composed under pressure, Coco selected the right waves and delivered excellent scores throughout the competition before taking the win in the final with a combined total of 13.86.

The boys were in the water from 7:30am as the tide pushed in, with clean sets rolling through and little to no wind despite the drizzle. There were strong performances across the board, with standout surfing from Cairo Garcia Plartus and Aleks Blampied. Samson Houghton posted the highest-scoring wave of the heat, laying down powerful turns that set him apart from the rest of the field.

The U16 boys final proved equally nail-biting. Jensen Martin led for most of the 25-minute heat before Aleks Blampied surged into contention late on with a wave that rocketed him from fourth to first place. The pair ultimately ended on a tiebreak, with the winner crowned as the surfer with the highest single wave score. After exceptional performances from both surfers throughout the contest, it was Jersey's Aleks Blampied who claimed the win with his single wave score of 5.50. Jack Strutt posted the highest single wave score of the final with an impressive 5.60, delivering a standout performance to secure third place.

Day 2 kicked off with glorious sunshine and good-sized sets on the pushing tide. The U14 girls division began with the semi-finals, where Mila Barber impressed with stylish surfing, linking her turns smoothly and looking confident in the water. Despite a strong performance, she missed out on the final to Ellie Hickie and Betsie Reay, who battled right to the very end of their heat.

Joining them in the final were Summer Marie Moore and Bella Llewellyn. Bella dominated her semi-final, winning by six points with an impressive combined total of 14.24 to claim her place comfortably in the final. The girls final featured three members of the Surfing England junior squad alongside Welsh surfer Summer Marie Moore.

The U14 boys final brought together a mix of English, Welsh and Channel Islands surfers. Albie Gould opened strongly with a 5.43 on his first wave, immediately setting the tone for the high standard of surfing on display. Cassius Woudberg responded quickly, posting a 6.50 on his second wave before earning the highest score of the final — a 6.53 — on his fourth. While Teijo Bolletta and Ollie Phillips both pushed hard throughout the heat, nobody could wrestle the lead away from Cassius Woudberg, who was crowned champion on home turf.

The U12 division closed out the event, creating a fast-paced running order on the high-tide push and an epic atmosphere on the beach with huge support for the surfers. The opening rounds were held in clean high-tide peelers that allowed for some excellent scores, with Ted Davies posting a 13.40 combined total and Katarina Roth Gale earning an 11.90.

An equally dominant performance came from Monty Cole in the U12 boys final. Fired up from his opening heat of the morning, Monty faced tough competition from Xavier Le Moignan, who briefly moved into the lead with a series of powerful turns. Casper Kershaw also remained firmly in contention alongside Xavier and Cassius, making his performance even more impressive given he was surfing with an injured arm.