Owen Wright, Team Australia : Photo Daniel Smorigo.

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

Webcast   |   Scores/Results/Photos etc

(Scroll down for team reports)

USA Gets Beat Up; Australian Owen Wright Sets New Record

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 May, 2006 : - - The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships hit crunch-time today with the top-rated USA being knocked out of world teams title contention when they lost two Under 16 surfers, Kris Wiernicki and Andrew Doheny, in sudden-death repechage heats. 

Defending world champions Hawaii still have all their 12 surfers in the event, along with hosts Brazil, Australia and France. Even though South Africa and New Zealand have lost one surfer each, they can still vie for the overall title with the best three results counting in each division of Under 18 and 16 Boys and Under 18 Girls. 

Event director Marcos Bukao said that France has been the big surprise in this year’s event, which is at the half-way mark: “We are heading towards the finals on Sunday and France hasn’t lost a surfer, which is great for their chance to win medals.”  

The surf continued to pump consistently at four-to-five feet (1.5 metres) as if it was coming from a machine in the Atlantic Ocean - and the forecast is for the swell to increase. On a day of high performances, Australia’s Owen Wright was a standout, setting a new heat total record of 17.17 (out of 20 points). 

 
Marc Lacomare, Team France : Photo Daniel Smorigo

Wright, 16, of Culburra, NSW, was in blistering form to defeat France’s Pierre Laborde, fellow Australian Christopher Friend and New Zealand’s Paco Divers in an Under 16 round three qualifying heat. Friend and Divers now have to contest the repechages to stay alive in the event. 

“Every time I paddled out a good wave would come through so I got lucky I guess,” Wright said modestly. “Everyone is starting to step up and I expect there will be more big scores in the next few rounds. I’m always looking to better my performance so I’ll see how it goes.” 

France’s Marc Lacomare (15.94) and Germany’s Nicolas Von Rupp (15.26) also put up big scores in winning their heats to continue their threat for the Under 16 title. 

In the blue ribbon Under 18 Boys division, France’s Jeremy Flores continued his brilliant form on a borrowed surfboard, and he again posted the round’s highest score, 15.67. Flores defeated Tahiti’s Heifara Tahutin (13.00), with USA’s Eric Geiselmann (10.77) third and Uruguay’s Marco Giorgi (7.04) fourth. 

Other top performers in the Under 18 Boys included Australia’s Julian Wilson (15.5) and USA’s Cory Arrambide (14.23). 

 
Jeremy Flores, Team France : Photo Daniel Smorigo

Flores’s French team-mates Pauline Ado (15.10) and Lee-Ann Curren (14.17) also had strong victories in the Under 18 Girls round three qualifying heats. 

Flores, originally from Reunion Island but now based in New Caledonia, said he was still unsure about the board, which he borrowed from Brazilian friend and competitor, Wiggolly Dantas, who also won his heat today. “I don’t know it (the board) very well so I really have to get the best waves to make the difference,” Flores said. 

Flores said the French team was doing very well and, referring to Curren, he said: “She always gets the best waves, she probably has it in her genes. She’s really fit too so I think she’s confident.” 

Australia’s Jessica Hickson posted the highest heat score, 15.17, of the Under 18 Girls round three qualifying today. 

 
Julian Wilson, Team Australia : Photo Daniel Smorigo

Hickson, 18, from Boomerang Beach, NSW, said the score was a confidence booster going into the next round.  “There is a lot of good competition so it’s definitely getting harder as we progress through the event,” Hickson said. “The team is really supportive – managers, coaches, parents and peers – so that’s a big help.”    

Tomorrow’s schedule (Thursday 11 May, 2006) is:

Main Podium (Live webcast on www.quiksilver.com/isa):

8:30am 3 Heats Qualifying 4 Under 18 Boys
9:30am 3 Heats Qual 4 Under 16 Boys
10:30am 3 Heats Qual 4 Under 18 Girls
11:30am 6 Heats Repechage 4 Under 16 Boys
1:30pm 2 Heats Qual 5 Under 18 Boys
2:10pm 2 Heats Qual 5 Boys Under 16
2:50pm 2 Heats Qual 5 Under 18 Girls

Second Podium (Not webcast)
8:30am 6 Heats Rep 3 Under 18 Boys
10:30am 6 Heats Rep 3 Under 18 Girls
12:30pm 6 Heats Rep 4 Boys Under 18 

Competition starts at 8.30am Brazil time and the main podium will be webcast live on www.quiksilver.com/isa 

Lee-Ann Curren, Team France : 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, Guatemala, 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 : Granger Larsen & Lee Ann Curren standouts at WJSC.
# 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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