“All’s well that ends well” says an Italian proverb. The Italian event of the European Rip Curl Gromsearch was also the start of the 2016 FISURF Italian Junior Circuit. The local organizers in Levanto, one of the most famous Italian waves, called the contest on due to a 3 to 4 feet swell from south-west, set to arrive on march 28th.
Unfortunately, the day after, the forecast changed and reduced the swell to 1-2 feet, but was too late to change the decision. So the first day of the event, the sea was flat like a lake! The initial disappointment was somehow mitigated on the white 12 meters long “skate wave”, where the fifty-five groms unloaded their energy. At sunset, the first surfable waves started to hit the bay of Levanto.
Tuesday morning the surf was small but more than enough to start the contest. A 2 foot right-hander was peeling off the jetty on the right corner of the bay. It took one hour to prepare the judges’ tower, originally set up in front of the casino, on the left side of the beach.
The judging panel was formed by some of the most famous icons of the Italian surfing scene, with Andrea “X” D’Angelo, Jacopo Migliorini, Patrizio Jacobacci, the head judge Federico Zaltron and Alessandro Dini as the contest director.
The winner of the Under 16 division was Mattia Migliorini from Viareggio, who repeated last year’s result. The winner of Under 18 was Thomas Alfonso from Rapallo. Edoardo Spadoni from Viterbo won Under 14. Great performances were put on display by the youngest competitors of the Under 12 division, dominated by the surfers from Versilia area who got the first five places.
The U12 winner was Brando Giovannoni from Viareggio. A big battle in the water for the Under 10 division was won by the Sardinian surfer Francesco Melis. Vittoria Banchieri from Viareggio was the winner of the Girls division. The award ceremony was held in the Rip Curl Store of Levanto, owned by local surfer Gabriele Raso, a good kick-off for the Italian Junior Circuit.
FINAL UNDER 18
1° THOMAS ALFONSO
2° LEONARDO DI FAZIO
3° VALERIO BARBAROSSA
4° ANDREA DE MARIA
5° ALESSIO DE ANGELIS
5° FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE IOURIO
FINAL UNDER 16
1° MATTIA MIGLIORINI
2° MAURO PACITTO
3° GIOVANNI DELL’OVO
4° GIULIO CARUSO
5° DAVIDE GIANNONE
5° NICOLO’ ILARDO
7° ANDREA COSTA
7° GIACOMO CONSIGLIO
UNDER 14
1° EDOARDO SPADONI
2° MATTEO CALATRI
3° IAN CATANZARITI
4° JACOPO FOLEGANI
5° FERDINANDO ZANONE
5° LORENZO DELLA PINA
7° SAMUEL MARABICI
UNDER 12
1° BRANDO GIOVANNONI
2° GIORGIO SANTUCCI
3° FRANCESCO LAZZARINI
4° FILIPPO MARULLO
5° MATTIA CIPRIANI
5° GIOVANNI CARDINALI
7° LUCA FRANCHI
7° PIERLUIGI PEZZINI
9° VALERIO FUNARI
FINAL UNDER 10
1° FEDERICO MELIS
2° SAMUELE MANFREDI
3° SAMUELE RICCI
4° SEBASTIANO CONSIGLIO
FINAL GIRLS > 12
1° VITTORIA BANCHIERI
2° ONDA PACITTO
3° EMMA IACOPONI
Photos: Marcello Rugai and Alessandro Dini
