Buck Nasty Takes It To Raw Rob At The Smith Optics Grom Grudge Match By Jon Coen; Photos by Ray Hallgreen
TURF: 2009 Smith Optics Grom Grudge Match Presented By Dakine; Meters, Seaside Park, NJ; August 24th, 2009
ENERGY: As Surfline
East Coast Forecaster Kurt Korte likes to say, “The biggest day of the swell
isn’t necessarily the best day.” This year’s Grom Grudge Match was held two
days after Hurricane Bill barged past the New Jersey coastline. The 20-foot
swell that some outlets were calling for never actually materialized, but there
was some double-overhead shackin’ going on. As with all hurricanes, the minute
we hear about a solid eyewall, we immediately picture 12-foot Sunset. What we often
get is more like Waimea Shorebreak. Sunday was plenty large, but few places
could handle Bill’s wrath. Monday was the day — offshore to light onshore
winds, chest-high to three-foot-overhead bombs.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: The Grom Grudge Match is now open to all comers, East
Coast or not. Huntington Beach, CA’s, Kyle Kennelly, who was featured last year
in Quiksilver’s Chasing The Dream documentary, happened to be around for the Bill swell, and came out schralping.
Also, this was the first year that there wasn’t a kiddie division. Everyone
fought in the same ring.
SLIDE: Events
like the Grom Grudge Match have fostered a solid Junior Pro scene in the Garden
State. Pumping swell and a very “now” field made for some of the best surfing
in any Jersey pro event... ever. Who was ripping? How about who wasn’t? Tommy
Ihnken, Ian Bloch, Ben Graeff, Mikey Ciaramella, Rob Kelly... And how about
Brendan Buckley, combining 12:00 hacks with his own traveling airshow?
Rob Kelly struck back at the Empire State’s Balaram Stack in
the quarters, exacting revenge for his narrow loss in last year’s final. Raw
Rob then dealt with Manasquan standout PJ Raia, who earned his berth in the Main
Event at July’s Grudge Match Qualifier. Buckley’s journey to the final was no
tiptoe through a field of daisies, though. In man-on-man heats, he trumped
Mikey Ciaramella, who navigated the best barrel of the morning, and Ian Bloch,
who regularly notched five moves on a single wave.
Bloch seemed to have his final berth in the bag, but with
seven seconds left in the semifinal, Buckley found a chest-high wave on the
inside, popped out, and did a small version of a Superman air (he landed a
legit one earlier in the event for a 7). Upon further review, it was decided
that Buckley was above the wave, and the maneuver clearly warranted the 4 he
was given to defeat Bloch by half a point.
Ocean City’s Rob Kelly and Belmar’s Buck Nasty meeting in
the final wasn’t just some South vs. North Jersey face-off. It was Calculator
vs. Wildman, the professional competitor vs. the kid who hucks without regard. In
short, it was a classic Grom Grudge match-up. Even with Rob’s deadly smash/
air-reverse/ floater routine, Buckley’s air raid strategy narrowly won out,
11.5 to 10.0.
THE PAIN: Clearly Ian
Bloch losing to Buckley with seven seconds remaining. “It was like seeing the
heavyweight contender get knocked down in the 12th round,” said Event Director
Rob Cloupe. But young I-Bloch has a few years left — he will eventually
hold the Grom Belt.
THE MAN: When the
first Garden State Grudge Match went off in 2002, a buzz surrounded the judging
criteria. The “standard” three-to-the-beach wasn’t going to cut it, as judges
were looking to reward that one massive maneuver or mental barrel. Some say
that philosophy has wavered in the past years, but it’s still the basis of the
Main Event, the Grudge Qualifier, and the Grom Grudge.
This year’s victor Brendan Buckley isn’t even capable of completing
three-to-the-beach turns. Sitting the kid down and trying to coach him through
an ASP heat would be pointless. He surfs like he’s going to surf; his high score
of the day was an 8.5 for man-sized backside hits and an air. The Belmar kid knows
how to keep it interesting. Just consider
the fact that he needed a 4 to advance into the finals. A solid one-hitter or a
standard air can get you a 4, but instead the kid goes for a Superman. “They
kept reminding us that they were rewarding high risk maneuvers,” Buckley
explained. “But I still would have surfed the way I did. I don’t like to surf
like a bitch.”
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “I told the judges that I thought it was pretty
gay.” –Grom Grudge Match champion Brendan Buckley, regarding the controversy
around his smallish Superman air“
“After being robbed blind by a half-foot Superman hop at the Grom
Grudge, we decided to give Ian Bloch some props for maintaining his cool when
everyone on the beach knew he dominated his semifinal heat. Good on ya, Ian.” –Caption
posted yesterday on the Heritage Surf & Sport website
“It was a Superman! Who does two
Supermans in one event? What were we supposed to give him, a 2? Actually, there
was more solid surfing than in some of the Main Events. Things are going to get
interesting, as there were several guys really on rail and on the level of Sam,
Gleason, and Frankie.”
–Event Director Rob Cloupe, on the escalating
talent level of the Grom Grudge Match
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2009 SMITH OPTICS GROM GRUDGE MATCH PRESENTED BY DAKINE
1. Brendan Buckley, $1500 (winner take all)
2. Rob Kelly
3. Ian Bloch, PJ Raia
5. Balaram Stack, Kyle Kennelly, Mikey Ciaramella, Tommy Ihnken
