In a one-two for the Illawarra, Austinmer surfer Finley McLaren has come home with a win in the U16 category of the prestigious Rip Curl GromSearch round held recently on the Sunshine Coast, scoring him a place in the National Finals- with Jed Ashton from Bulli in second place. 
The GromSearch is a worldwide series of events designed for young surfers, running in 10 different countries with over 5,000 competitors worldwide.
The Australian series is made up of five state events ahead of a National final.
Some incredible surfers have come through the series including current WSL World Tour athletes Gabriel Medina, Stephanie Gilmore, Jordy Smith, Matt Wilkinson, Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons, Kolohe Andino, Nat Young and Felipe Toledo.
Despite suffering a nasty bluebottle sting, Fin took out his category, giving him automatic entry to the National Finals where he’ll go up against the best young surfers in Australia.
In a huge boon for the local surfer, with that event is slated at Woonona on January 15-17.
