Wild Surf Co / Billabong Pro-Teen

ASP Pro Junior Event
Newcastle Beach, Newcastle NSW
29 March - 2 April 2006

Contest Starts In Newcastle Tommorow

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 27 March, 2006 : - - More than two hundred of the planet’s hottest young male and female surfers will hit the water this week at Newcastle Beach for the Wild Surf Co/Billabong Pro-Teen being held as part of the Vodafone Surfest presented by Billabong.

Junior surfers from South Africa, Hawaii, mainland USA, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia will commence their campaigns on Wednesday March 29 in the $10000 5-star competition.  The competition is the Australasian region’s number one training ground for tomorrow’s most successful professional surfers.

After taking the ratings lead two weeks ago in New Zealand, 19-year-old Laurie Towner (Angourie) will be looking to extend the narrow lead he currently holds over Sunshine Coast surfer Mitch Coleborn.  Only 200 points separate the pair leading into the seventh event of the year, with other challengers Owen Wright (Culburra), Matt Wilkinson (Copacabana) and Julian Wilson (Noosa) not far off the pace.

“I’m stoked that I’m up the top and in with a chance to win it at the end of the year,” said Towner.  “All the guys are good surfers and they are going to be really tough to beat.  You could pull any of those names out of a hat and everyone has just got as much of a chance to win as each other.  It’s going to be really hard but hopefully luck goes my way.”

“I like competing at Newcastle, the atmosphere is really good,” said Towner.  “When I was young I used to do really well there, I haven’t had too many good results there as a pro-junior but hopefully I can change that this week.”

Old Bar’s Ben Dunn, who won a place through the trials in the World Championship Tour’s opening contest on the Gold Coast earlier this month, was the number one seed for the Pro Junior Series in 2005. 

In 2006 the talented 20 year-old has only surfed in three events in the series and comes into the contest at Newcastle sitting in 29th place, but the former world grommet champion remains the surfer many pundits claim is the one to watch. Dunn ran second behind Mick Fanning in the World Qualifying Series event at the same venue in 2005.

Thirteen year-old Ryan Callinan from Merewether has received a wildcard into the event.   The Year 8 St Pius student won the Newcastle Under 14 regional titles last year and came second in the same age group at the Maroubra Gromsearch last January.

“It’s a great thing to get into this comp,” the 44 kilogram goofy foot said. “I’m really looking forward to the chance and just after the comp Dad and I are going surfing in Papua New Guinea, so the next month is just going to be awesome,” the excited Merewether club member added. 

Other Newcastle surfers to take part in the junior men’s event include Jesse Adam, Wes Bainbridge, Craig Anderson, Mitch Resevsky, Jackson Brent and twin brothers Drew and Rhys Benton. 

After Newcastle, there are two remaining events in September that will determine the 2006 junior boys title – Manly in New South Wales and the Billabong Pro-Teen Final at Bells Beach in Victoria The $3000 3-star Wild Surf Co Billabong Pro-Teen for junior girls gets underway at Newcastle Beach next Thursday and Gold Coast based Kiwi Airini Mason will be looking for her fourth victory this season.  

Mason has emerged as the dominating force on this year’s ASP Australasian Junior Girls Circuit.  The 16 year-old relocated from New Zealand with her family a year ago to further her already promising career and the move has proven to be the right one. 

Mason, who is clearly the brightest female surfing prospect to ever emerge from New Zealand, has clinched three wins and not finished lower than third in any of the 6 events on the 2006 circuit. 

With only two events remaining on the girl’s calendar after Newcastle, Mason can wrap up the Australasian championship in Newcastle with a win. Last year’s winner of the same event at Newcastle, Bronte’s Nicola Atherton, showed she is in great form by scoring the only perfect 10 and then winning the World Qualifying Series event held at Pipeline in Hawaii last week.  

The 19-year-old, who is currently in second position behind Airini in the series, surprised everyone in Newcastle last year when she upset the 2005 series leader and fellow Bronte surfer, Jessi Miley-Dyer.

Local girls to take part in the competition include Lyndall and Tanya Garden from Stockton and Merewether’s Phillipa Anderson, who took out the Under 14 division in the Maroubra Gromsearch last January.

The Wild Surf Co/Billabong Pro-Teen Series event is supported by Panasonic, Vodafone, Coca-Cola, UV Triplegard, Clearasil, Kustom, Von Zipper, Tracks and Palmers Surf.   

Billabong Pro Teen Series Dates and Locations 

Feb 7-12                           Billabong Pro-Teen Series Gold Coast
Feb 15-19                         Billabong Pro-Teen Series Wollongong
Mar 16-19                         Billabong Pro-Teen Series Raglan NZ
Mar 29-Apr 2                     Wild Surf Co/Billabong Pro-Teen Series Newcastle
Sep 27-Oct 1                     Billabong Pro-teen Bells Beach

www.surfest.com 

Previous reports:
# 1 : Coming soon
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Paul Scott
surfestmedia@surfest.com

Simon Barratt - Billabong Media Manager
sbarratt@billabong.com.au 

Mandy McKinnon
mandy.mckinnon@bigpond.com.au 

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage