Braeden hit the road in mid August for four major events. Starting in New Smyrna at the highly competitive Rip Curl Grom Search Braeden took second place in 14u and also podiumed for 12u. With his second place finish he earned one of only 16 coveted invites to the Rip Curl Grom Search National Championships to be held in Vertura this fall. Braeden was also awarded the Banzai Bowls “Maneuver of the Event” at the New Smyrna stop. The Rip Curl Grom Search Tour stops in California, Hawaii, Florida and North Carolina and attracts some of the very best 18 and under talent from all over the nation and beyond as surfers compete for a top four finish and an invite as one of only sixteen in the nation to the National Championships.
Just five days after New Smyrna Braeden won the Nags Head tour stop in 12u, gaining yet another sought after invite to California, along with a second podium finish for 14u. The competition is fierce at the Rip Curl Grom Search which attracts a field of competitors from Hawaii, California, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Panama and more! The rounds to the podiums definitely were not easy! Surfline chose a photo of Braeden’s finishing layback maneuver as one of the two “top action shots” from the Nags Head event.
From Nags Head Braeden headed to Wrightsville, NC where made an appearance at the O’Neill Sweetwater Pro-Am and competed with some of the best from New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and more in the 14u division where he finished 5th overall. Braeden also made an impressive appearance in the Pro event taking on some of the hottest names on the JQS and QS.
After a quick three day break it was off to Virginia Beach for the VANS/Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships fueled by Monster. Braeden won this event twice previously. After impressive first place finishes in all of his preliminary rounds, even comboing the field, and consistently dropping scores in the 7’s Braeden found himself in the final but also in a sleepy ocean with conditions deteriorating in his heat. Open face waves from the outside were infrequent and left only a few opportunities to get that needed score for the finalists to put on a display that was reminiscent of the prior days. The final had competitors from Florida, Panama, Hawaii and North Carolina. Braeden, the youngest of the finalists, put up a heck of a show but when the horn blew he fell just a little short to the surfer from Panama to take the win.
Braeden’s results at four major events over 14 days builds momentum going into the fall contest season. Braeden used a combination of boards from his Channel Islands quiver to compete at the events. “I’ve got my entire quiver really dialed in now with a nice mix of five different CI models in various configurations. I feel really great on all of them. All of the guys at Channel Islands have done such an awesome job with the boards and helping me get dialed in. I’m so stoked to be riding CI’s!”
