NSW’s best junior surfers went head to head in the 2022 Woolworths State Junior Surfing Titles at Sandon Point last week.

The six day event was full of surprises with two huge wins for Hunter region surfers in the Under 18 and Under 16 Boys divisions.

Four to six foot swell made for an amazing opportunity for the NSW Junior Title surfers to put on a show, and Surfing NSW Judge Talina Wilson was impressed by the standard they showed.

“There were standouts across all divisions and they were charging, it was epic to watch.

“There were a number of really impressive waves,” she said.

“The top-range excellent scores were based on fast vertical top turns combined with critical manoeuvres starting from the point and finishing at the boat ramp, that’s about a 250-metre ride.”

Dom Thomas of Newcastle charged ahead in the Under 18 semi-final, eliminating world junior athlete Eden Hasson of Port Stephens and the Northern Beaches’ Xavier Bryce, before a near-perfect 9.9 opening wave in the final gave him the early advantage.

The finalists worked hard in the lineup to find waves of opportunity but Thomas’ backup wave of 5.45 kept him well ahead of the field, including Harley Walters from Angourie, Harry O’Brien of Lennox Head and Hughie Vaughan from the Central Coast who had excellent scores throughout each round but didn’t have the waves in his favour for the final.

In the Under 16 Boys it was fellow Hunter athlete Felix Byrnes from Merewether, son of shaper Joe Byrnes, who has returned home from a trip to Indonesia with renewed energy and confidence in the water.

Due to the demand for junior surfing in NSW, the State Titles are split into two events; the Junior Titles for Under 18’s and Under 16’s and the Grommet Titles for Under 14’s and Under 12’s, held at Maroubra from 22 to 25 July.

The State Junior Surfing Titles is a junior sport pathway event.

Entries and seeding of the event is drawn from the NSW Regional Titles held within the eleven regional areas as well as the rankings from the Occy Grom Comp and Billabong Oz Grom Cup earlier in the year.

The winners of the State Junior Titles are seeded into the Australian Junior Titles at Stradbroke Island, Queensland in November.

By Marian SAMPSON