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Finale of Billabong Junior Series goes international in major boost for SA surfing |
| 2007 Billabong Junior Series Five-event national surfing series St Mikes, Durban, Cape Town, Victoria Bay & Jeffreys Bay February – September 2007 The finale of the five-event Billabong Junior Series will produce a major boost for South African surfing with the news that the Pro Junior boys division will be internationally rated on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Pro Junior circuit. Scheduled for Friday to Monday, 21-24 September at Jeffreys Bay, the Mecca of SA surfing, the event will crown series champions in divisions ranging from under 12 to under 20 for boys and under 20 for girls for the 11th successive year. Acknowledged as the breeding ground of future surf stars, series events are staged at venues countrywide annually and the current crop of SA surfers competing at the highest levels of internationally surfing such as Jordy Smith, Royden Bryson, Ricky Basnett, Damien Fahrenfort, David Weare, Rosanne Hodge and Nikita Robb are all former series champions. The upgrading of the final event in the U20 boy’s division to ASP Pro Junior status raises the prize-money to over R35 000 which is split between the top eight finishers with the winner earning R14 000. But it is the increase in ratings points allocation from 1 000 to 1 500 points for the winner that is going to create the greatest excitement amongst the participants. Not only does this open up the race for the prestigious series title but also the five coveted invitations to the holy grail of junior surfing, the R420 000 Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January, are now within the grasp of all those in the top 24 on the current ratings. While current No. 1 Rudy Palmboom (Bluff) will be difficult to unseat, any of a dozen opponents can overtake him if he bows out in his first heat. And Kommetjie’s Matthew Bromley, who turns 16 tomorrow (Wednesday), holds a tenuous grip on fifth place with everyone down to Peder Christensen (Somerset West) in with a mathematical chance of grabbing an invitation by winning in Jeffreys Bay. Two of the five series champions for 2007 have been determined from the results of the four completed events. They are the Kommetjie duo of Tarryn Chudleigh and Michael February who have built unassailable leads in the Pro Junior girls and U14 boys respectively. Chudleigh earns one of the two invitations for girls to the world champs in Australia, which includes airfare for the SA squad sponsored by First National Bank, and February has proved his dominance in the U14 category by successfully retaining the title he won last year. The U16 crown is a tense battle for supremacy between Nick Godfrey (Cape St Francis) and Bromley while the U12 title will go to either Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) or J-Bay local Dylan Lightfoot with the rest of the contenders fighting for the second and third places that earn payouts from the series prize-pool. The event will also feature a spectacular Von Zipper Air Show where the country’s best exponents of new-school aerial surfing really cut loose and the winner takes home R1 800 for successfully completing the single best manoeuvre in the air. The Kustom awards of R500 and a pair of Kustom footwear go to the top local boy and girl and the prized Zigzag ‘Blowing Up’ award of R1 000 and its unique replica hand grenade trophy is at stake at each series event. The Billabong Junior Series is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA) with the Pro Junior boy’s event also sanctioned by ASP Africa. The series is proudly supported by First National Bank, Palmers, Kustom, Von Zipper, Red Bull and Silver Bullet Productions The 2007 series started at St Mikes in February followed by Durban (March 29-April 1), Cape Town (May 17-20) and Victoria Bay (August 9-12). The 11th annual series champions will be crowned in the legendary surf venue of Jeffreys Bay (September 21-24). \ends |
| Date: 11 Sep 07 |