"Grommet" ("grom") is a term used to describe a young participant in extreme sports. The term originally was used in the sport of surfing for anyone under the age of 16. However in recent years, the term has been expanded to include other extreme sports, most notably skateboarding and snowboarding. [1]
The first contextual use of the word appears in a 1964 article by the journalist, Nicholas Tomalin, who on a visit to Newquay in Cornwall noted that: "A surfer who is no good or just beginning is a 'gremmie'."[2]
The word "Gremmie", which was used in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, was derived from the word "Gremlin".[3]
The term "grommet" was used in Lockie Leonard, Legend by Tim Winton: "Things are never as simple as they seem, not even for grommets".
The word was originally a derogatory term for an inexperienced surfer, but has become an accepted term for all young participants. For example, the British Surfing Association offers a Grommet Surf Club for young surfers.[4]