Jeremy Flores, Team France. Photo: Daniel Smorigo

International Surfing Association
Maresias, Brazil.
6 - 14 May 2006

Webcast   |   Scores/Results/Photos etc

BRAZIL COMES ALIVE FOR QUIKSILVER ISA WORLD JUNIOR SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 May, 2006 : - - Brazil's Maresias Beach was a sea of colour today as 27 countries descended on its sands for the first day of competition at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. From the outset the standard was high with some very strong performances in the 3-4 foot (1.2 metre) surf, which improved throughout the day.

Due to the sheer scope of the event, with more than 250 competitors, the contest is being held on two podiums, with the first qualifying round of the Under 18 and 16 Boys divisions hitting the water simultaneously today. France's Jeremy Flores top-scored the round with 16.5 points (out of 20), with his best ride being an 8.67 (out of 10). Flores defeated Billy Stairmand (New Zealand), Giovanni Perini (Italy) and Tito Navarro (Chile).

Flores's performance was especially notable considering he had to borrow a board from Brazilian friend Wiggolly Dantas after he broke his quiver of four in the six foot (two metre) surf during the week before the contest started. "Wiggolly is a good friend so I'm lucky I have his board - I have no other choice," Flores said. "But I feel all right, the waves are fun and I love Brazil."

 
Eric Geiselman: Photo: Daniel Smorigo

Dantas also won his heat today, posting an 8.67 for one of his rides. The winner of the 2005 Quiksilver King of the Groms event, Dantas lives just to the north of Maresias Beach, and he won the Brazilian national title in six foot (two metre) surf here last weekend. "I surf here a lot and there were good conditions today and I'm happy with my performance," Dantas said of the punchy beachbreak.

Fellow Brazilian Franklin Serpa was also in great form, posting a 16.43 score to defeat Portugal's Tomas Valente and Puerto Rico's Cristian Candel. Australia's Matt Wilkinson was another standout in the Under 18 Boys division, winning his heat with a 15.5 score, to defeat Reubyn Ash (United Kingdom), Diego Varga (Ecuador) and Leon Gough (Dominican Republic).

Wilkinson, 17, from Copacabana, NSW, said he was pleased with the result. "It gets the nerves off because the first heat is always a bit scary," he said. "I scored an 8.67 (out of 10) on a long left that walled up for me so I was pretty happy. Hopefully I'll fall into a rhythm and keep going."

Francisco Bello, Team Venezuela. Photo: AJ Neste, Surfing America

France's Pierre Laborde and Australia's Owen Wright were the top performers in the Under 16 division today, with Laborde scoring 15.5 for his win and Wright lodging 15.33. Each had a top wave score of 8.0. Laborde defeated Ryan Hawker (New Zealand), and Chile's Christian Gonza and Matias Ketels, while Wright defeated Juan Diaz-Teran (Spain), Stuart Campbell (United Kingdom) and Enzo Dapelo (Ecuador).

Laborde, 14, from Hossegor, France, said he was very happy with his performance today. "The waves were good. I arrived here not sure I was in the event because we had some trial heats to pick the final Under 16 French team and I luckily made it on a sudden-death heat." Wright, 16, from Culburra, NSW, said he felt he was just warming up."It was good to get the first heat out of the way. The waves are powerful and they give you a lot of speed," he said.

Bruce Mackie, from Barbados, registered the highest single wave score of the Under 16s round with an 8.67. Mackie defeated Shaun Joubert (South Africa), Teoro Tahutini (Tahiti) and Matteo Belalba (Italy).

Local Girls. Photo: Daniel Smorigo

The eight-day competition continues until Sunday 14 May when gold medals will be decided in three divisions - Under 18 and 16 Boys, and Under
18 Girls. The scores of the top three athletes per division are added to reach the final ranking to decide the World Junior Surfing Champion Team, a title currently held by Hawaii.

The 27 countries competing in the event (in order of their placing in last year's contest) are: Hawaii, Brazil, USA, Australia, South Africa, France, New Zealand, Tahiti, United Kingdom, Peru, Portugal, Japan, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Barbados, Jamaica, Chile, Canada, Italy, Germany, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay. 

Tomorrow's schedule is: Under 18 Girls Qualifying Round One, Under 18 Boys Qualifying Round Two and Under 16 Boys Repechage One.

Brazilian garota: The boys competitors from around the world gave this local surfing fan a
well-deserved round of applause when she walked past them. 
Photo: Bow Edwards, Team Australia 

For detailed results, news and photos, please visit www.quiksilver.com/isa 

Previous reports:
# 1 : Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships '06
# 2 : Quiksilver WJSC sets new 28 team attendance record 
# 3 : Quiksilver to sponsor ISA WJSC for three more years..  
# 4 : Quiksilver ISA WJSC declared open in Maresias Brazil 

INDIVIDUAL TEAM REPORTS:

Team Australia reports:
# 1 : Team Australia announced for World Junior Champs 06 
# 2 : Team Australia primed for World Jr. Championships
# 3 : Team Australia arrive in Brasil for ISA World Jr Champs
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team Brazil reports:
# 1 : Quiksilver WJSC Equipe brasileira treina em Maresias
# 2 : Surfistas brasileiros prontos para o Quiksilver WJSC..
# 3 : Brasileiros fazem bonito em Maresias ISA Quiksilver..
# 4 : Brasil segue na briga em Maresias Quiksilver ISA WJ..

Team France reports:
# 1 : Preparation de l'equipe de France Espoir pour WJSC 06
# 2 : L’équipe de France est bien arrivée à Marésias, Brazil..
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon   

Team Great Britain reports:
# 1 : British surf team fly to Brazil for World Championships
# 2 : Junior Brits complete first day of competition in Brazil
# 3 : The British girls shine in stormy weather at ISA WJSC
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team Hawaii reports:
# 1 : Hawaii Team off to World Championships with aloha!
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team Jamaica reports:
# 1 : Jamaica's team arrive in Brazil for Quiksilver ISA WJSC 
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team New Zealand Reports
# 1 : New Zealand Juniors set to take on the world in Brazil 
# 2 : Captain Christie leads the way for team New Zealand
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team South Africa
# 1 : SA Juniors arrive in Brazil for World Jr. Championships
# 2 : Team SA off to good start at the Quiksilver ISA WJSC
# 3 : South Africa continue good run on Day 2 of ISA WJSC
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team Spain reports:                                        
# 1 : La selección Española de Surf Junior en el ISA WJSC
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

Team USA reports:
# 1 : Surfing America to hold special US Surf Team selection 
# 2 : Coming Soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

ABOUT THE ISA:
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing, Bodyboarding and Surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964, and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries in six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA’s four Vice Presidents are from South Africa, Australia, Hawaii and the USA.

Inspired by the Olympic spirit, the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships showcases athletes competing on behalf of their country. The top four finalists will be awarded gold, silver, bronze and copper medals. Like in the Olympics, cultural identity, team spirit and moments of great personal triumph are hallmarks of the event. For more information, visit: www.isasurf.org.

ABOUT QUIKSILVER, INC.
Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK) is the world's leading outdoor sports company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports and golf equipment, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company's apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage, while its wintersports and golf brands symbolize a long standing commitment to technical expertise and competitive success on the mountains and on the links.

The reputation of Quiksilver's brands is based on different outdoor sports. The Company's Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes and Hawk brands are synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji, Leilani and Island Soul. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC Shoes, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels. The Company's golf business includes Cleveland Golf, as well as Never Compromise putters and Fidra apparel by John Ashworth. Gotcha is the Company's surf-based European brand addressing street fashion.

The Company's products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, ski shops, skateboard shops, snowboard shops, proprietary Boardriders Club shops, other specialty stores and select department stores. The European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz and Voiron, France; and the Asia/Pacific headquarters are in Torquay, Australia. Quiksilver's corporate and Americas' headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California.

NOTE: For further information about Quiksilver, Inc., you are invited to visit our corporate website at www.quiksilverinc.com and the websites of our brands at www.quiksilver.com, www.roxy.com, www.dcshoecousa.com, www.fidragolf.com, www.quiksilveredition.com, www.hawkclothing.com, www.rossignol.com, www.dynastar.com, and www.clevelandgolf.com.

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Kirk Willcox
Quiksilver International 
kirk.willcox@quiksilver.com.au

Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships 2006
João Carvalho
joaocarvalho@matrix.com.br

Confederação Brasileira de Surf (CBS):
Serginho Laus 
cbsassessoria@uol.com.br

Ader Oliveira 
ader@cbsurf.com.br

Confederação Brasileira de Surf (CBS):
www.cbsurf.com.br
Tel: 55 (041) 3023-4169
cbsurf@terra.com.br

Kate Herber
ISA Operations Manager
International Surfing Association
www.isasurf.org
Tel: 858-551-5292

ISA Contests - Surfersvillage