World’s best young windsurfers approve of Geraldton following action-packed world and Oceania finals

Some of the world’s best young windsurfers have given Geraldton’s windsurfing hotspots the tick of approval after a competitive day of action in the World Wave Tour.

Competitors from Japan, Germany and Spain headed Down Under to compete against several Australian talents in the 2025 Under-18s Youth Wave Grand Final and 2026’s The Jaffle Shack Under-21s Oceania Wave titles on Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday’s event was the first time the U18 Youth Wave Grand final had been held in WA, and for international contestants, it was the first time they had travelled to Geraldton to windsurf.

Spain’s Javier Escribano Toribio claimed the World Final win and overall junior boys’ world championship, with an unblemished record of three wins at qualifying events counting towards his overall ranking points.

“I’m so happy to win the world title here with my dad,” he said.

“He’s my biggest fan, my dad and my mum. I’m just really happy to make new friends here. The atmosphere, everything here is perfect.”

Oakajee’s Spot X delivered perfect conditions for the day’s action, with strong gusts and wild waves which picked up as the competition heated up under the scorching sunshine.

Hailing from Tarifa, a town on Spain’s southern coast renowned for being a windsport hotspot, Escribano Toribio said the conditions were “epic”.

“I prefer this spot (Spot X) to Geraldton, but its good in both places,” he said.

“In the finals, the conditions were picking up perfectly. I could throw in back loops, push loops, everything you want in surfing. It was just epic.”

Escribano Toribio faced tough competition from Japan’s Ryoma Sugi, who finished second in the world final, before coming away victorious in the Oceania final.

The 2025 Asian boys’ champion gave an unreal performance in the final, showing off some impressive forward and backwards loops, and rode the waves with style.

“I’m pretty happy that I won it. I got to ride here against the best competitors in the world, and it’s been a good experience,” Sugi said.

“I enjoyed it. The host family has been so kind to me and I made a lot of friends. I’m so happy.”

There was an eye-catching scrap on the waves between the top three junior boys all day, with Oceania boys’ champion and Albany product Tyler Wallrodt also in the mix, coming third.

Isaac Gill, 12, of Perth, also showed his potential after blitzing through the repechage to qualify for the World Final.

Margaret River product and Under-21 World Wave champion Jake Ghiretti also looked a favourite heading into the Oceania final, giving a strong performance early on, but was ruled out of the final after sustaining a concussion.

Wallrodt said the experience of competing against the world’s best on home soil would fuel him moving forward.

“To think that I can compete against the best in the world against my age and I still finished third, it’s pretty unreal,” he said.

“It’s definitely motivated me to go a lot harder. I’ve also made a lot of new friends and that’s probably the biggest part — making friends from all around the world.”

A fired-up Sarah Kenyon of Geraldton was crowned the junior girls’ world champion, having scored 37,000 points throughout the season to pip Japan’s Natsuki Wasaka in the overall standings by 115 points.

Wasaka sewed up the World Final earlier in the day, but Kenyon regrouped and gave a superb ride to win the Oceania final.

The Asian junior girls’ champion said she was “happy” with her win, and thanked her family for the opportunity to come to Australia and compete.