World class junior surfing competition returns after a two-year hiatus

The Skullcandy Oz Grom Open will be held at Lennox Head after it was cancelled twice last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The six-day event will run from July 7-12 and will comprise of a World Surf League (WSL) sanctioned Pro Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event, as well as an elite competition for promising grommets in the Under 14, 16 and 18 divisions.

It was first held in 2012 with Le-Ba aiming to fill a gap and provide a premier event for the best junior surfers in Australia.

It has grown to become one of the most popular junior events around the world with about 300 surfers attending when it was last held in 2019.

In a similar vein to preceding years, a full spectrum of some of Australia's best and most talented surfers are expected to compete in an attempt to claim a coveted title.

Skullcandy Oz Grom Open Event Director and Lennox-Ballina Boardriders president Ben Beesley is elated to see the event return after its two-year hiatus.

"The Le-Ba Boardriders is so proud to be continuing to support and grow junior surfing by presenting an event of such high calibre," he said.

"This event brings the best groms, not only from the local community but from around the world, to Lennox Head to display the best of junior high-performance surfing.

"After the crazy year that was 2020 and 2021, we are so excited to be able to support the local community and businesses with this world-class event."

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The event was scrapped last year just days before it was scheduled to run in July.

Le-Ba and the Far North Coast clubs had a stack of juniors including Ocea Curtis, Juniper Harper, Nyxie Ryan, Harry O'Brien, Max McGillivray and Leihani Zoric who were expected to perform well.

"I expect the surfing to be as good as it's ever been," Beesley said.

"It sold out in a matter of minutes, there was some people sitting on computers with multiple windows opened who missed out.

"We do our best to accommodate everyone and we'll have kids coming from right across the Far North Coast.

"Its the best of the best and holds the most amount of numbers for any junior event in the world.

"To have something like that at home is pretty special for our kids."

Expressions of interest will be taken for this year's event and competitors will be decided based on based upon state rankings and wildcards.