Wade Goodall : photo Surfing Australia.com

Arnette Pro Junior

ASP Australia
Dee Why, Manly, NSW
22 - 25 September 2005

Heatdraw/Results

Wade Goodall wins Arnette Pro Junior

Seasons Ratings Race On as surfers head to Bells for final 2005 event !

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 September, 2005 : - - Sunshine Coast's Wade Goodall today won an exciting final of the Arnette Pro Junior at Manly Beach in Sydney and is now positioned to challenge for the Australasian Pro Junior 2005 Ratings champion with just one event at Bells Beach next week remaining!
 
Goodall defeated Northern NSW surfer James Athorn (Woolgoolga/Coffs Harbour) in a closely fought final with multiple lead changes as both surfers called on all their small wave riding skills to extract their best scores in the 0.5m onshore waves at Queenscliff Beach (Northern end of Manly).
 
Elated with his victory as he came out of the water today Goodall said "So stoked to win, I had a shocking start to the season but I'm powering home and I now know I'm a big chance to win the season ratings and qualify for the World Pro Junior which has been the aim all year! Next weeks event at Bells is a huge one for all of us bunched at the top of the ratings but I'm ready for it!"
 
It was Goodall's second pro junior win for the season following a win in Wollongong back in Autumn and today's win has lifted him from 10th on the ratings to 6th, with all top six positions separated by very few points and all capable of winning the title for the year. Also at stake for all these six is a top four finish to the season which thereby qualifies the surfer into the Billabong World Pro Junior Final at Narrabeen early in the new year.
 
The current ratings in order are Ben Dunn (NSW), Matt Wilkinson (NSW), Dion Agius (Qld), Rhys Bombaci (NSW), Mitch Coleborn (Qld) and Goodall.
 
Goodall took control of today's final with just five minutes remaining when he used priority well to catch the best wave of the final , worked it hard with a series of fast backhand snaps and was rewarded with a strong 7.5 score which was the best score of the final.
 
Athorn held control  for most of the final after he posted a very good 6.75 at the mid point  but was unable to find a second strong score, requiring a 6.76 in the end. It is the second year in a row that he has finished second in this event and was clearly frustrated when saying  " I really want to go one better and win one of these events! Especially this one - when I saw the small waves this morning I was really confident because I generally do well in these conditions but it wasn't to be! - Hopefully next week at Bells!"
 
Today's semi finals were also very closely fought with Matt Wilkinson (Central Coast , Copacabana Beach) and Rhys Bombaci (Kiama) finishing equal third. Both have improved their position on the ratings for the season and both are well in contention to win the season title next week at Bells.
 
Wilkinson only needed to make the final today to go to number 1 position on the ratings with current ratings leader Ben Dunn presently injured with knee problems - Before his semi final Wilkinson said " It's an opportunity to go to the top for sure and I'd love to win the ratings this year but there's quite a few of us in the race and this event and Bells are serious high pressure events!"
 
No one is sure if Ben Dunn will take his place in the Billabong Pro Teen at Bells Beach which begins on Wednesday, making the final event just that little bit more amazing! Great swells are forecast for Victoria which will hopefully make for an epic finish to a great 2005 Pro Junior season!

Yadin Nicoll : photo Surfing Australia.com

Bigger Swells and Excellent Wave Scores For Day 3

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 September, 2005 : - - Having endured two very calm and small days of surf at Manly for the opening days of this years Arnette Pro Junior , today the event loaded the comprehensive contest gear and headed north, just a couple of kilometers, to Freshwater Beach to find some clean and good 1m surf!

The move was appreciated by all in the event with enthusiasm and performance levels rising as Australasia's very best 20 year and under surfers fought their way through to the quarter finals and the final 12 competitors from a field that began with 194 competitors.

Early highlight of the day was from the events youngest competitor in Owen Wright when he posted a very impressive 9.25 ride to win his round four heat with ease.

At just 15 years of age Wright is already attracting an enormous amount of attention within the surfing world and when he competes it's easy to see why! Power, precision and a competitive drive that already already sees him a regular in the quarter and semi finals on the Australasian Pro Junior Circuit. it is Wright's first season on this circuit which is regarded by many as the world's toughest developing circuit for future professional surfers.

Quietly content after his round four win and his 9.25 ride, Wright said " When I saw Matt Wilkinson (Central Coast NSW and current World Junior Champion), post an 8.25 ride earlier I knew the excellent wave scores were there to be picked up and it was just a matter of finding the right waves with longer walls!" I'm confident I could win one of these events although I'm not pressured at this stage as it's just my first year and I'm sort of feeling my way"

Fellow south coast NSW surfer Rhys Bombaci ( Kiama) was the other standout of the morning posting a strong win which included an excellent 8.25 ride. Bombaci has spent the last two months in Europe on the Open World Qualifying Tour and is clearly in excellent form for this event.

After qualifying for the quarter finals, a confident Bombaci said " Competing in Europe on what is probably the toughest and most grueling open fields anywhere has really helped me and I'm feeling the benefits today! The waves throughout Europe were also very similar to what we have here in Sydney at present so I'm feeling good for tomorrows finals day for sure!"

Australian surfers weren't the only ones excelling today. Japanese surfer Osawa Nobuyuki, unknown to most surfers at this event before today, posted some great wave scores, the highest being a 9.25 to equal Owen Wrights score when he won his way through to the quarter finals.

New Zealand surfers were also well represented with Matt Scorringe from NZ's North Island winning through to the quarter finals.

The swell built all day providing the best waves of the event so far and young Queensland surfer Dion Agius lifted his levels to take the highest winning heat score of the day, 17.25 for his top two scoring rides which included a nine point final ride.

Sunshine Coast surfers Wade Goodall and Lee Wilson both qualified for the quarter finals along with highly rated local surfer Sam Page (Manly).

The building swell has organizers optimistic that tomorrows finals will enjoy some excellent waves with the event likely to relocate back to the main site at Queenscliff/ Manly.

The quarter finals are expected to start around 8am with the final expected to hit the water around midday.

Hideyoshi Tanaka : photo Surfing Australia.com

Wildcard Leigh Mc Mahon joins a list of locals in the round of 48

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 234 September, 2005 : - - It was a day of high drama at the Arnette Pro Junior with a number of highly ranked surfers falling during an action packed main event round. It was a day when luck was going to play a major part and some big names just couldn’t buy a wave in the small conditions. The morning saw some big scores posted but by mid afternoon it was a lot tougher and the light weights of the event excelled in the 1-2 feet North East peaks.

Local wildcard Leigh Mc Mahon caused the biggest upset by taking out current #4 Mitchell Coleborn (Qld) in what was an ultra close call. With the tide running out the light weight Mc Mahon swooped on a couple of smaller inside waves late in the heat to claim a spot in the round of 48. The Curl Curl surfer had plenty of support on the beach with big cheers going up after his every turn. For Coleborn it wasn’t a case of him surfing badly, it was he just couldn’t find a wave that opened up for him. He would have been disappointed but he is a class competitor and you can bet he will be out to redeem himself when the tour hits Bells Beach next week. For Mc Mahon it was another impressive scalp he has taking out in 2005 with the youngster a real standout during his first year on the junior series. The quietly spoken goofy-footer has had to battle from round one in every event this year and it was a real luxury that he got a start in the main event round. He has had a rapid rise up the ratings this year sitting in 55th spot going into the Arnette Pro and another solid performance will see him reach into the top 50th and that would be an amazing achievement in his rookie year.

Arnette Team rider Shane Carroll was another standout blasting out a solid first up win. Carroll was in great rhythm during his early morning heats posting two solid scores beating former Brazilian junior Alex Chacon. The Avalon surfer is desperate to finish his junior career on a high note and it was a relieved Carroll who I caught up with after his heat.

‘’It’s really small but they run down the peak if you get the right one. I’m stoked to get through that one and hopefully there will be more swell tomorrow’’.

The highest heat win of the day belong to Japanese surfer Hideyoshi Tanaka who racked up a massive 8 point ride on his way to victory. This kid is all class and the incredible thing about the performance was he only caught two waves on his way to a 14.25 combination. He showed great nerve and only ever looked at waves that looked like having scoring potential. He has been in great touch lately having just competed in the Quiksilver Pro WCT in Japan. If the conditions stay small over the next couple of day his fast fluent attack will be well suited to the conditions.

A lot of the fancied surfers hit the water today with Yadin Nicol (WA), Paul Fisher (QLD), Sam Page (NSW), Wade Goodall (QLD), Beau Walker (NSW) and Blake Thornton all carving out impressive heat wins.

With a tiny swell predicted for tomorrow it will be interesting to see how the event takes hold with the lighter surfers having an advantage. but will they be able to stop our elite surfers. Tom Salveson is one to watch with the Gerringong youngster in sensational form defeating both Tom Rudd and Dean Brady. The youngster progressed through the round of 96 with North Steyne junior Heath Irving.

The event will be starting early tomorrow to take advantage of the low tide bank and organizers are expecting a big crowd on the beach for day three of the event.

The Arnette pro Junior is proudly brought to you by Arnette Sunglasses, Xcel Wetsuits, Dakine, 41 Steyne Hotel, Dripping Wet Surf, Manly, Cancer Council, Surfection, Manly Council, ASP Australasia and Surfing Australia. 

Blake Thornton : photo Surfing Australia.com 

Arnette Pro Junior - International Contingent Star On Day One

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 22 September, 2005 : - - The 2005 Arnette PRO Junior got off to a great start today with a small clean swell running into the famous manly beach break. Perfect blue sky greeted competitors and their was plenty to like about the surfing with some amazing heat scores going down during what was a long day at the beach.

The Arnette Pro Junior is the second last event of this years ASP Junior Circuit and with spots at the world junior championship up for grabs the pressure was on from the opening exchanges. The star of day one was Japanese surfer Osawa Nobuyuki who posted a massive two wave combination score of 16.05. The lightweight Japanese surfer smashed a series of high performance moves on his opening ride with the judges rewarding his electric attack with a 8.25 out of 10. He than went to work looking to close down the heat and he did just that, blasting out a couple of vertical turns in the pocket on a tasty right hand peak. It was a performance that made the Australians sit up and take note.

Also on fire in the small waves was Tom Salveson with the pocket rocket from Gerringong getting through two tough heats during the opening day. He really took advantage of the conditions posting some great heat scores. The youngster was really enjoying the opportunity to surf against the pro juniors and he didn’t look out of place in fact he looked the goods out there. He is a really switched on kid who always studies the conditions leading into his heats and that was evident during the afternoon session with the natural-footer choosing to surf the left hand bank on his own. It paid off big time with Tom getting the pick of the waves in his round of 144 heat.

I caught up with a very happy Salveson after day one ‘’I’m so stoked to get through another heat, I decided to hit the bank down the beach and it worked for me. The waves were a little small but they still were running on the bank enough to get scores. It’s a great experience surfing against the older guys and I’m just happy to have got into the main event in one of my first pro juniors.

I also asked him about his next heat where he will surf against Volcom Team mate Tom Rudd It’s the first time I have had him in a heat so it should be interesting. I’m just going to try and do my best and we will see what happens.

Also in fire on day one were Owen Wright (NSW), Ashley King (NSW), Genji Pitt (NSW), Julian Wilson (QLD), Tim Taplin (NSW), Heath Irving (NSW) and John Cummings with all posting impressive heat wins.

The shock of the event came with the withdrawal of top seed Dun Dunn who had minor surgery prior to the event. Dunn is leading the 2005 series and his withdrawal has opened the door for is opponents.

The event continues tomorrow but with a dropping swell the event could use other beaches on the peninsula.

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Steve Robertson

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage