Phillip Island turns on the waves and the weather for the Rip Curl GromSearch

AS USUAL Phillip Island really turned on the waves for the visiting and local surfers who hit the Island on Tuesday for the start of Rip Curl GromSearch Phillip Island presented by the Bass Coast Shire Council.

Faces were beaming on the young surfers’ faces when they came back to shore, many of them oblivious to exactly where they finished, just stoked about getting in a great session on quality waves in the early spring sunshine.

Among them was Kai Coleman from the Sunshine Coast who placed high up in the Under 16 Boys after Round 1.

“Yeah, won my first heat. It’s pretty good out there,” said Kai Coleman as headed up to the Cape Woolamai carpark at the end of an epic day.

Kai had three scoring rides, recording 5.50, 1.17 and 6.50 for a neat total of 12, well ahead of Thorson Crawley, George Everist and Luen Stanley.

In the other Under 16 Boys heat, Locana Cullen had seven scoring waves, getting a perfect 10 for one ride, where he went full 360 degrees with plenty of air and landed it then doubled up again for a final flourish. He also had two 9s and an 8 for a huge combo of 19.43 to dominate the section.

Young Hunter Brown from the Gold Coast came out to support his sisters in the Under 14 Girls but managed to get in a couple of great sessions himself further up the beach at Cape Woolamai.

He was equally delighted with the conditions on Day 1.

Day 2, with a change in the weather on the way could be a completely different kettle of fish.

Here’s the Day 1 report from Surfing Victoria

DATE: Tuesday, 29 September 2026

PHILLIP ISLAND, VICTORIA: Day 1 of the Rip Curl GromSearch Phillip Island presented by Bass Coast Shire kicked off today at Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island, in epic conditions. The nation’s top junior surfers converged on the island for the opening rounds, making the most of the 3 ft clean waves.

This event is the final 10,000-point event in the country, meaning Australia’s best junior surfers will be decided here. Additionally, results from this event will contribute toward qualification for the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final at URBNSURF.

The standout surfer of the day was Locana “Loci” Cullen (16) from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. He posted the highest single-wave score of the morning with a 10.00 and a 9.43, putting his competitors into a combination position. As the defending champion, Cullen has every intention of going back-to-back, and with surfing like that, he will be hard to beat.

“We’re back down here at Phillip Island—won it last year,” said Cullen. “Waves are cooking right now, perfect right-hand rip bowls as usual. Woolamai Beach is always a special place, and hopefully we can go back-to-back. It’s an awesome place, can’t wait.”

In the Under 16 Girls, Maddison Kenchington (16) put together a solid performance, posting scores of 5.00 and 6.07. This puts her in a comfortable position moving into the quarter-finals.

“It’s so fun, honestly better than I was expecting, and I’m really enjoying going left,” said Maddison Kenchington (Snapper Rocks, QLD). “It’s so cool meeting up with all my friends from different spots in Australia. I’m just going to take it heat by heat, but the plan is to have some fun.”

In the Under 14 Boys, Victorian Raff Morris (14) posted multiple 6+ rides to win his heat and advance to Round 2.

“I was sitting a bit further out trying to target those medium ones,” explained Raff Morris (Mornington Peninsula, VIC) on his heat win. “On that long one, I was kind of nursing it because I knew it was such a good wave right at the start of the heat. It set me up for a score, and then I got around it for a nice little finish to do the job. It’s great to be back on Phillip Island—I love this place.”

Organisers are looking at another 2–3 days of competition at Cape Woolamai, with Conditions are expected to remain favourable for the coming days alongside consistent 2–3 ft waves.