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

Webcast   |   Scores/Results/Photos etc

FRANCE’S LEE-ANN CURREN POSTS HIGHEST WAVE SCORE AT QUIKSILVER ISA WJSC

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 May, 2006 : - - France’s Lee-Ann Curren posted the highest single wave score of competition so far, a 9 out of 10, in her Under 18 Girls win at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships today. 

Surfing in 3-4 foot (1.2m) surf at Brazil’s Maresias Beach, Curren, the daughter of three-time world professional champion Tom, linked a series of flowing turns to post the excellent score in winning her first round qualifying heat.  Ironically, her father won the first ISA World Junior Championship in France in 1980. 

After the win, Curren, 16, of Biarritz, said that she was a bit stressed and nervous before the heat. “But now I’m in the contest and I’ll see how it goes. There were good lefts and rights so I had fun, the waves are so good,” she said. 

The swell was six foot (two metres) when the teams arrived last week and during a practice session Curren was seen standing tall in a tube trailing her hand on the face, in the classic style of her famous father. “Yes, Dad taught me a bit about riding the tube,” she said with a smile. 

 
Sally Fitzgibbons, Team Australia : Photo Daniel Smorigo 

Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) posted the highest heat score of the day, 15.46 out of 20, in defeating Ametza Nichols, of Barbados (5.20 points), and Holly Donnelly, of the United Kingdom (4.46 points). 

Fitzgibbons said it was hard to get in the right position in the lineup but there were good waves on offer. “I seemed to be in the right spot at the right time when the swell pulsed and I caught a few good sets,” she said. “The event has a good atmosphere and it’s heaps of fun so I’m hoping to continue to do well as it’s my first big international competition.” 

The youngest competitor in the event, eight-year-old Iliana Aguirre, of Ecuador, showed tremendous spirit to take on both the surf and the older competitors in her heat.  Even though she placed third, behind USA’s Amy Nichol and Peru’s Brissa Malaga, Aguirre captured the hearts of everyone on the beach. 

“I caught a lot of waves but I’m not tired,” Aguirre said. “I like surfing pointbreaks, where it is easier to get out, but I’ll have to practise more in beachbreaks.” Aguirre, who has been surfing since she was four, lives two hours from the beach and can only surf on weekends, though she is in the water every day on her holidays. 

 
Bethaby Hamilton, Team Hawaii : Photo Daniel Smorigo 

“I still have 10 years to compete in this event so hopefully one day I can win the gold medal,” said Aguirre, who read the sportsmanship oath on behalf of all 251 competitors from 27 countries at the event’s opening ceremony last Saturday. 

Hawaii’s Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm in a shark attack in 2003, was another impressive winner today, defeating Ariel Engstrom (Puerto Rico) and Victoria Ventura (Argentina), even though she was called on an interference with Ventura at the beginning of the heat. 

“I was feeling nervous, especially starting with an interference,” Hamilton said. “It was a junk closeout, so I don’t know what I was thinking. But I think the competition will get harder and harder now so I definitely want to take it up a notch.” 

Hamilton’s team, Hawaii, are the defending world junior champions and they will be fighting off strong challenges from USA, Brazil, Australia, South Africa and France to defend their title in Brazil. 

Cory Arambibe, Team USA : Photo Daniel Smorigo 

American Cory Arrambide (Ventura, California) and Japan’s Kaito Sekimoto caused a major upset in the Under 18 Boys Qualifying Round Two when they defeated highly touted Australian, Matt Wilkinson (Copacabana, NSW).  

Wilkinson placed third in the heat with New Zealand’s Kerin van der Helder fourth. Wilkinson is still in the competition, but he now needs to progress through the repechage rounds to keep his medal hopes alive. 

Arrambide, 16, said he started the heat with a decent wave that allowed for a couple of outside turns before linking up on the inside. “It felt good to get a start like that,” Arrambide said. “We were battling to get the best waves and then I got another decent wave. I surfed against Wilko in Australia last year and he smoked me. He rips so I was stoked to beat him. I knew it would be tough because he’s a super-consistent surfer.” 

South Africa’s Jordy Smith posted the round’s highest heat score of 15.60 in defeating Heifara Tahutini (Tahiti), Wladimar Peres (Brazil) and Tomas Valente (Portugal). Smith’s score included an 8.27. 

 
ordy Smith, Team South Africa : Photo Daniel Smorigo 

Australia’s Julian Wilson posted the second highest score of the round with 14.17, which included an 8.0. 

New Zealand’s Richard Christie, 17, from Mahia Peninsula on the North Island, also posted a win and said he was feeling good. Christie defeated Hawaii’s Torrey Meister, Jordan Guadet (USA) and Guillermo Lobo (Spain). “I was coming second to Torrey but I got a good wave at the end.  We’ve got a strong team and we’re hoping to do better than last year when we finished seventh overall.” 

The Under 16 Boys Repechage Round One was also held today with Japan’s Tatsuki Inque posting the round’s highest score of 14.00. 

Tomorrow’s schedule is:  

MAIN PODIUM: 12 heats Qualifying 2 Under 16 Boys; 12 heats Repechage 2 Under 16 Boys.
SECOND PODIUM: 12 heats Repechage 1 Under 18 Boys; 12 heats Qualifying 2 Under 18 Girls. 

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. 

Contest site : Photo Daniel Smorigo

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.   

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 

# 5 : Brazil comes alive on Sunday for Quiksilver ISA WJSC 
# 6 : Coming soon
# 7 : Coming soon
# 8 : 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

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