The Rip Curl GromSearch series is primed to hit the water over the September school holidays, providing the best junior surfers in the country with the opportunity to surf with friends and gain valuable experience and points.

This year the event will see stops in Torquay and Newcastle, with a National final at URBNSURF Melbourne. Rip Curl event manager Mark Flanagan commented on the schedule of events for 2023: “The Rip Curl GromSearch is run all over the surfing world. We are working to take the GromSearch International final to new heights in 2024 and are aligning all GromSearch dates to finish before December to bring all countries on the same timeline. This means a more compact season in Australia for 2023. We look forward to welcoming competitors from all over the country to the Newcastle and Torquay events!”

National Final competitors will be selected from the 2023 GromSearch events, with the top 4 competitors from each location to gain automatic entry.

RIP CURL GROMSEARCH SERIES – 2023
EVENT 1 – Jan Juc, Vic – Sept 16-17, 2023
EVENT 2 – Newcastle, NSW – Sept 28- Oct 1, 2023
Further dates TBC

Age divisions in the GromSearch Series are:
Under 16 Girls and Boys
Under 14 Girls and Boys
Under 12 Girls and Boys

Entry for event in Victoria opens on August 1st with entry in NSW opens on

All entries will be done via a waitlist as per other major Junior surfing events in Australia.

Overview
The Rip Curl GromSearch series began as a single day event in 1999 and has developed into a world-wide series providing groms with the opportunity to surf with friends and test their skills against the best junior talent in their country. The impressive list of previous GromSearch competitors currently competing on the elite WSL world tour is testament to the quality of the series. (*Note: 9 out the top 10 surfer competing in the 2022 WSL finals were former GromSearch finalists, including both world Champions).

Former GromSearch finalists competing on the 2023 WSL World Tour include:
Tyler Wright, Steph Gilmore*, Carissa Moore*, Molly Picklum, Tatiana Weston-Webb*, Caroline Marks, Brisa Hennessy* & Isabella Nichols. (Note: GromSearch competitors have won the last 14 WSL women’s World Titles).

Former GromSearch finalists competing on the 2023 WSL World Tour include:
Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo*, Italo Ferreira*, Jack Robinson*, Kanoa Igarashi*, Ethan Ewing*, Leonardo Fioravanti, Connor O’Leary, Seth Moniz, Griffin Colapinto, & Sammy Pupo. (*Note: 9 out the to 10 surfer competing in the 2022 WSL finals were former GromSearch finalists, including both world Champions).