Granger Larsen, Team Hawaii. Photo: Daniel Smorigo.

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

Webcast   |   Scores/Results/Photos etc

HAWAII’S GRANGER LARSEN POSTS HIGHEST HEAT SCORE ON DAY THREE OF THE QUIKSILVER ISA WJSC.

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 9 May, 2006 : - - Hawaii’s Granger Larsen posted the highest heat score on day three of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships at Brazil’s Maresias Beach today. The surf increased to four to five feet (1.5 metres) but the swell was broken up by a fierce overnight tropical storm, which made wave selection critical on the shallow, shifting sandbars. 

In a high-scoring heat in the second round of the Under 16 Boys Qualifiers, Larsen scored 16.27 (out of 20 points) to narrowly defeat Australian Owen Wright (15.40), with New Zealand’s Ryan Hawker (9.27) third and USA’s Kalohe Andino (8.34) fourth. Other high scores of the round came from France’s Charles Martin (15.44), New Zealand’s Paco Divers (15.27), Brazil’s Johnny Max (15.10) and Germany’s Nicolas Von Rupp (15.00).

Larsen, from Lahaina on the island of Maui, looked at ease in the tricky conditions and he caught numerous high-scoring rides, including a day’s competition best of 8.67 points (out of 10). “I was pretty warmed up before I went out, I felt good and my board felt good,” Larsen said. “There’s a beachbreak right by my house that I surf a lot and I found it to be pretty similar here today.”  

Larsen said he was enjoying the event and felt at ease. “It’s good that you get two chances with the double-elimination format,” he said. “Hawaii are defending world junior champions and our team is pretty solid again this year so I just hope to keep progressing and doing my bit for the team.” 

 
Piero Delucchi, Team Peru. Photo: Tony Fleury

Larsen and Wright move on through the top qualifying rounds while Hawker and Andino had to face sudden-death repechage heats later in the day, which they each won to continue in the event. (A third or fourth placing in the second-chance repechage rounds means you become a team supporter, not a competitor.) 

Germany’s Nicolas Von Rupp was another happy winner, winning his Under 16 Boys Round Two Qualifier with 15 points, defeating Dillan Perillo (USA, 12.77), with Johnny Hicks (New Zealand, 5.23) third and Taiki Kurokoshi (Japan, 5.00) fourth.  

Von Rupp, 15, who is in his third ISA World Junior title campaign (after Tahiti in 2004 and USA in 2005) said he thought he was lucky today: “I got a really long right-hander just three seconds before the end of the heat and that gave me the win. I was feeling a bit ill and not strong at the start of the day but I’m surfing good boards and feeling confident.”  

Johnny Hicks was later eliminated from the competition after a last-second ride by Uruguay’s Santiago Madrid that pushed Hicks into third place in a Round Two Repechage. Madrid placed second to Hawaii’s Dylan Malamed and, as the score was announced, it was elation for Team Uruguay on the edge of the shore, while Team New Zealand could only drop their heads. 

Lee Ann Curren, Team France. Photo: Daniel Smorigo

“I can’t describe how I feel,” Madrid said. “I knew I had to win otherwise I was out of the event and the wave I caught was enough. I’m very happy.” Bruce Mackie, from Barbados, was another last-second survivor when he got the score he needed to finish runner-up to Tahiti’s Tamaroa McComb in another Under 16 sudden-death repechage heat. 

France’s Lee-Ann Curren was again the standout in the Under 18 Girls Round Two Qualifying, posting the highest heat score of 15.00 points. Other heat winners were: Courtney Colongue (USA, 14.43), Pauline Ado (France, 13.33) and Suza Leal (Brazil, 13.26).  

Tahitian Heremoana Luciani scored the highest points, 14.33, in the Under 18 Boys Repechage Round One.  

USA coach Peter Townend started to feel the pressure today when some of his youngest team members, the “groms”, fell to more experienced opponents. “It was a disastrous day for Team USA – ‘gromitis’ set in,” Townend said. “I knew we had a young team and today the big boys did the big boy turns and my groms did the grom turns – and there’s a two-point difference in that.” 

Peter Townend, Coach of Team USA. Photo: AJ Neste, Surfing America

Townend said his team particularly felt the pressure from the Australians and the Hawaiians today. “I think we can contend in the top three, it’s not a question, but it depends on your big guns. We have two strong ones in Eric Geiselman and Cory Arrambide in the Under 18s. If two of them are in the finals, it makes a big difference to your pointscore, but we’re a long way from that.” 

In fact, today is only the third day of an eight-day competition and there’s a lot of gruelling competition remaining before coaches can even think of the podium.  The key to overall team victory is keeping as many of your 12-man team alive – that’s four in each division of Under 18 and Under 16 Boys and Under 18 Girls. 

Echoing all the top coaches, Townend said: “We’ve got five days to go, and a lot can happen in five days. Even though I got head-slapped around today, technically I haven’t lost anyone.” 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 here in Brazil. 

Photographers lining up at the competition site. Photo AJ Neste, Surfing America

Tomorrow’s schedule is:  

MAIN PODIUM: 6 heats Qualify 3 U18 Boys; 6 heats Qualify 3 U16 Boys; 6 heats Qualify 3 U18 Girls; 6 heats Repechage 3 U16 Boys.

SECOND PODIUM: 12 heats Repechage 2 U18 Boys; 12 heats Repechage 2 U18 Girls. 

Competition starts at 8.15am Brazil time and the main podium will be webcast live on www.quiksilver.com/isa 

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.   

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 : Lee Ann Curren posts highest wave score at ISA WJSC
# 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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