ASP Grade 2 Mens Pro Junior
Burleigh Heads, Queensland Australia
22 - 28 January 2007

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

Queensland Surfers Dominate Day Four of Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 January, 2007 : - - BURLEIGH HEADS, Australia - Queensland surfers Brent Dorrington (Coolangatta) and Julian Wilson (Coolum) have staked a serious claim for the winner’s trophy at the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior. Both surfers, who put on indifferent performances yesterday, returned to the spotlight today in round four of the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior, jagging the morning’s highest heat scores.

The $20,000 tournament, the richest ever-professional junior surfing event in Queensland, relocated to Duranbah Beach to take full advantage of the consistent 3-4ft beach break conditions on offer.

19-year-old Dorrington lead the way, executing a flurry of razor sharp rail carves and vertical lip blasts to post a heat high 8.17 on his first ride. Backing it up with even stronger 8.17, the compact natural footer left his foe’s Nick Vasicek (10.94, Coolangatta), Tiago Camarao (8.67, Brazil) and John Davies (7.8, Margaret River) on the back foot.

“I felt alright out there,” he said. “There was this nice little right bank that was so good – It was fun!” Local knowledge proved a distinct advantage for Dorrington, who effortlessly progressed into the fifth round. “Duranbah - It’s a really good venue,” he said. “I never really get to surf Burleigh. I surf D-Bah everyday and feel right at home in its peaky waves.”

Dorrington, who has already secured a trials spot into the only World Championship Tour (WCT) event on the Gold Coast in 2007, is mindful of the opportunity to compete at the WCT event at Trestles, California in September. “I would love the opportunity to compete at Trestles,” explained Dorrington. “There are so many guys that are surfing well in the event. “Hopefully I can get the waves off them and pull off a win.”

Julian Wilson (Coolum), who is arguably the most promising junior surfer in the country, cemented his rank today with yet another blistering performance at his favourite break. Using speed and a variety of radical maneourves, 18-year-old Wilson (17.17) smashed his opponents Beau Atchison (13.50, Copacobana), Alex Chacon (12.66, Cronulla) and Kalen Schloss (11.63, Qld), to book a spot in round five.

“ I’m stoked they changed the location today,” explained Wilson. “D-Bah is one of my favourite waves to surf. It seems like there was a lot my potential for everyone to show their full range of moves, instead of groveling out at Burleigh.” If Wilson’s performance at the ISA World Junior Championships in May, 2006 is anything to go by, he will without doubt feature in tomorrow’s finals.

“It was good to get another surf under my belt,” he said. “I had a shocker yesterday, so it was really good to get that confidence back today.” Sydney surfer Nick Riley (Queenscliff) was another who impressed nearing the business end of the competition. Waiting patiently for the set waves, the lanky natural footer shut-the-gate on his opponents to easily win his round five heat.

“I didn’t want to get caught up in the whole hassling thing,” he said. “I just waited and it paid off.”Other round five winners included Craig Anderson (Newcastle), Ashley King (Culburra), Beau Atchison (Copacobana) and Jesse Adam (Newcastle) . Going to press, both Wilson and Dorrington advanced through to round six after winning their respective round 5 heats this afternoon.

Round six heats through to tomorrow’s final will feature man-on-man heats, a world first for a professional junior event. Adding to the already high stakes is the Hurley “Burleigh Battle” presented by Sony Ericsson, a new-team style event that will be unveiled tomorrow at the world-renowned Burleigh Heads. Get set to see the world’s best junior surfers fight it out on Australia Day. Will an Aussie get up? Get down to Burleigh Heads and find out!

Competition is expected to resume at Burleigh Heads tomorrow at 8am. The winner of the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior will be crowned by 1pm tomorrow! The Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior is proudly supported by Boost Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Electric Visual, ASP Australasia and Surfing Queensland.
 
www.hurley.com

More Australasian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts

New! B2B NEWS ASBE-Surf  |  Receive News-Alerts

Jake White

Contests - Surfersvillage