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| Saturday 03rd of April 2010 |
Event Favourites On Fire At Quiksilver Pro Junior
Event favourite from Umhlanga, Beyrick De Vries advanced through day two of the Quiksilver Pro Junior. Photo - Greg Ewing
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Event Favourites On Fire At Quiksilver Pro Junior
www.quikprojunior.co.za
North Beach, Durban – With the temperature soaring by nine o’clock in the morning, the day was set for some blistering heats at the Quiksilver Pro Junior at North Beach in Durban. The surfing kicked off with the Pro Junior Boys round of 32, and the country’s best surfers got to business in the three-foot peaks. First heat of the day saw Dale Staples from St Francis Bay win convincingly, surfing against Devin Lane (2nd), brother Dane Staples in third and Kane Bennewith in 4th position. Shaun Joubert from Mossel Bay was on form to win the second heat, and Durban local Shawn Dennis carved his way to victory in the third heat. Other surfers to impress with heat victories were Chad Du Toit from Durban, event favourite Beyrick De Vries from Umhlanga, and Matthew Bromley of Kommetjie. Bromley found his rhythm amongst the right-handers to get the best two waves of the heat. “I started off with a nice wave and did a couple of turns on the outside,” said Bromley. “The judges gave me 6 points for it, and I paddled straight back out and onto the inside. Then I waited awhile as I knew that I needed a good score and that there were still some good waves coming through. When I got my second wave it just formed up so nicely on the inside and I was able to do a whole bunch of turns and scored a 7.5, so I was pretty stoked.”
The Quiksilver King Of The Groms U16 round of 16 was next in the water, and as the light easterly started puffing over the waves these surfers started started pushing their surfing to the limits. Standouts in the U16’s included the Jbay duo of Dylan Lightfoot and Steven Sawyer, as well as Justin Sykes from the KZN north coast. Then it was straight into the Quiksilver King Of the Groms U14 Boys semi finals, with Kommetjie’s Max Armstrong along with Jason Harris of Durban going through to the finals from the first semi, and Benji Brand of Kommetjie and Shane Sykes of Durban advancing from the second semi.
The final round of the day was the Pro Junior Boys round of 16. Shaun Joubert from from Mossel Bay started off strong and blitzed his heat, pushing rival Dale Staples of Cape St Francis into second. “I had just picked up a decent wave and scored 5.15, which I was happy with,” said Joubert. “I was paddling back out and I was paddling wide when a bigger set broke way on the outside. It formed up exactly where I was and I caught it, did two turns on the outside before pulling off an air on the inside. The conditions aren’t the best, but there are plenty of waves and opportunities, and everyone gets a chance out there. ”
Durban local Chad Du Toit also had a good heat, winning comfortably over Devin Lane of Umhlanga and Bertie Stuurman of J Bay. “I didn’t even get a good one in the heat,” said Chad on the beach afterwards. “I just hooked into an average one, and it opened up on the inside and I punted a double-grab and made it. The judges gave me a 6, and with my second wave a 5.15 I got the win so I’m stoked. There’s not too many good ones, but tomorrow we will be surfing man-on-man heats so hopefully there will be a bit more space and I’ll find some good ones and get a few air sections.”
All eyes were then on Beyrick De Vries , but it was Jbay’s Dylan Lightfoot who turned the tables on the Umhlanga surfer and took the heat victory on his last wave. Lightfoot has been performing well all event, and picked up two good waves in what can only be described as a wave-starved heat, but De Vries still advanced in second place and will now be even more determined for a big result tomorrow.
For all the results, video and images of today’s surfing log onto http://www.quikprojunior.co.za
Tomorrow will see the final day of surfing in the Quiksilver Pro Junior, starting off at 8:30 in the morning. The three finals and the Resolution Expression Session will get underway around 12 o’clock midday, and there will be an awards ceremony at 2:00pm.
These events are brought to you by Durban and Resolution. Other sponsors include Supersport, Nestle Pure Life Water, Joe Cools and Red Bull. ASP Africa sanctions the Pro Junior division and SSA sanctions the Quiksilver King Of The Groms and the Quiksilver Future Stars. Highlights can be viewed on www.quikprojunior.co.za
Surfing South Africa is recognized by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Body (SASCOC) and Sport and Recreation South Africa as the national governing body for surfing. Eight provincial organizations and three national associations are affiliated to Surfing South Africa, which is a member of the International Surfing Association.
About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.
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