It was a good weekend for young Whangamata surfer Dylan Preston who successfully defended his title at the Rip Curl GromSearch.

Conditions were small but clean with waves under one metre for the competition that was held at Fitzroy Beach near New Plymouth in the Taranaki over Saturday and Sunday.

Whangamata surfer Dylan Photo in action earlier this year. Photo Courtesy of PhotoCPL/Surfing NZ

Dylan won the Under 14 Boys Division and was the stand out surfer throughout the event, posting a 13.3 point heat total to defeat Luke Griffin from Mount Maunganui.

Hamilton's Caleb Cutmore had to settle for third place ahead of the Mount's William Van Der Beek who also made the final held on Sunday.

The Rip Curl Grom Search is a Surfing NZ sanctioned event which gives young surfers an opportunity to compete at a national level with the support of family, friends and locals.

The weekend competition also saw Mount Maunganui surfers Kehu Butler and Raiha Ensor take out their respective Under-17 divisions and both will represent New Zealand at the International Rip Curl GromSearch final.

The global event sees Under-17 champions from regions including Australia, USA, Chile, New Zealand, Indonesia, Europe and Brazil face off for the chance to become part of GromSearch history.

The event has grown into one of the biggest in the world, with the first International final held at Bells Beach in 2005, while 2015 marks the 12th year of the Rip Curl GromSearch.

To view all the results from the Rip Curl Gromsearch click here.