The Skullcandy Oz Grom Open pres. by O'Neill saw a fairytale finish to competition with a day of huge stories, massive scores, local wins and big upsets in picturesque three-foot conditions.

2024 ISA World Junior Champion Dane Henry (Fingal Head, NSW) achieved a major milestone he set for himself earlier this year, nailing a backflip in a heat of an event. Already holding a solid single score in the Pro Junior final, Henry put it all on the line when he nailed a lofty backflip on a three-foot righthander. As a result, Dane was rewarded with a perfect 10-point ride - the only perfect score of the event - which left fellow finalist Ben Lorentson (Noosa, Qld) needing a combination of two scores in excess of 18.43.

“It was a goal for me to make a backflip in competition,” said Henry. “I was talking with my coach Pete Duncan about wanting to attempt one if the section was right and thankfully the perfect section to do one turned up in the final. I knew I had to do something solid as Ben is such a good surfer and he’d been on fire all event. I am pretty stoked with the results I’ve managed to get this year and I hope I can continue them in the next few events and make the WSL World Juniors early next year.”

New Zealand sisters, Tayla and Stellar Green fought what seemed to be the first of more finals to come, when they met each other in the final of the Pro Junior. After a nerve-filled morning for the sisters, both siblings exchanged a variety of solid turns over the course of the heat in an attempt to gain the upper hand, however it was the elder sister Tayla who got the nod thanks to an 11.90 two-wave total.

“I had a bit of a sleepless night last night thinking that I had to get the win over my little sister,” said Tayla. “I’m so stoked to get the win as I’m sure this final will be one that we will laugh about in the years to come. I knew we had a bit of a sprint back out the back for priority at one point and they gave it to Stella and when I said something to her out there, she just looked at me and gave me the bird (laughs).”

Local surfers Max Mcgillvray (Evans Head, NSW) and Leihani Zoric (Byron Bay, NSW) ensured some titles remained on the NSW north coast, taking out the Under-16 Boys and Under-14 Girls respectively. Both surfers showed an intimate knowledge of the Lennox Head beach breaks to take victory in their respective divisions. For McGillvray, it’s the second time he’s won this prestigious event, while 2024 was Zoric's first victory after finishing in the runner-up spot in 2022.

The iconic six-day event ran from 4 July – 9 July 2024 and comprised of a World Surf League (WSL) sanctioned Pro Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event as well as an elite competition for promising grommets in the 14, 16 and 18 year age divisions.

Former event competitors include a range of current and former World Championship Tour and Challenger Series surfers, such as Macy Callaghan, Molly Picklum, Mikey Wright, Ethan Ewing, Jack Robinson and local surfers Ocea Curtis and Nyxie Ryan.

Watch the best moments from Day 2 of the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open presented by O'Neill. Video Produced and Directed by Value Imagery. Marketing and Distribution by Always Keen Productions. All event divisions will be broadcast live worldwide on skullcandyozgromopen.com.au. #SOGO2024 Like SkullcandyOzGromOpen on Facebook & Instagram or Visit our website: skullcandyozgromopen.com.au - Links In Bio!

For more information on the event, please contact skullcandy24info@gmail.com

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