ASP Grade 1 Pro Junior Mens Event
Merewether Newcastle, NSW
8 - 11 March 2007

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

LOCAL WES BAINBRIDGE BLASTS OUT OF THE BLOCKS

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 March, 2007 : - -  AFTER months of poor to average surf the Gods have smiled upon Merewether beach and delivered the goods on the first day of the Newcastle Pro Junior at the Maitland Toyota Surfest.  One hundred and twenty surfers hit the break locals call Poggos today for the fifth event on the Australasian Pro Junior tour.

Offshore winds fanned perfect 3-4 foot (1-1.5metre) waves, predominantly left-handers, and provided ideal conditions for the eight heats of the round of 160 and the 20 rounds of the round of 144.   Local lad Wes Bainbridge impressed the judges early, racking up the highest score of the morning in heat three of the round of 144, scoring 17 out of a possible 20 points.  

The 15-year-old natural footer, a cadet champion from the Merewether Boardriders Club, found the conditions in his backyard ideal for his backhand lip smashes and confident vertical attacks. "The surf has been pretty bad for awhile, but it was great this morning to see summer's north east winds had left some decent banks," said Bainbridge, who is currently sitting just outside the top 50 junior boardriders in Australia.

But with another five years left as a junior, Bainbridge has already been given big wraps by locals including Merewether legend and four time world champion, Mark Richards. Bainbridge, a Year 10 Newcastle High student, says he would love to be able to follow in the footsteps of MR - who incidentally lives just across the road from Poggos, where he celebrated his 50 th birthday yesterday.

"Of course everyone from Merewether would love to be able to do what MR has done, he's such a great bloke and great surfer," the youngster beamed. Other surfers  to progress from today's opening rounds included internationals Matt Hewitt (NZ), Vincent Duvignac (FRA) and Jenson Hassett (HAW).

Today's first round winners will be vying for the chance to come up against the dominance of Mitch Coleborn (Maroochydore, QLD). As the current ratings leader of the Australasian Pro Junior Series, Coleborn holds the trumps as the top ranked surfer in this event. Coleborn will compete in the opening heat of the round of 96 tomorrow, which will commence just before 9am following the completion of the last four heats of the round of 144.  

Beau Atchison (Copocobana, NSW) ranked number two in the competition, is set to compete in the last heat of the same round. Big wave rider Laurie Towner (Angourie, NSW), ranked number nine on the Pro Junior tour, will take to the water in heat 8. Ranked one place ahead of Towner, the Sunshine Coast's Julian Wilson will undoubtedly  attract the interest of spectators when he takes to the water in heat 12.

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Wilson, (Coolum, QLD) caused an upset just last week when he beat eight-time and current world champion Kelly Slater in round one of the Quicksilver Pro at Queensland's Snapper Rocks. While the famous Floridian defeated Wilson in the round 3 rematch, the gutsy Queenslander announced his impending arrival on the world stage and demonstrated he will be a future threat to those cruising in the world's elite competition.

Drew McPherson (Nords Wharf, NSW) ranked number 38 in the Pro Junior ratings, is the highest ranked surfer from the Hunter area and will compete in heat 10 in tomorrow's round of 96.

The Newcastle Pro Junior has attracted a field resembling a United Nations convention, with surfers from Japan, Hawaii, France, South Africa , Israel and New Zealand all prepared to do what it takes to grab the $10 000 prize money on offer and gain valuable ratings points.
 
Tomorrow sees the introduction of a double banking system, with bank A at Merewether holding the Pro Junior and Bank B at Bar Beach providing the venue for the Sanbah Cadet Cup and the opening round of the girls' competition.  

Forty girls have entered the competition and all eyes will be looking at Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW). The pint sized youngster also has a wildcard into the 5 star Midori Pro, which gets underway on Sunday after the completion of the Pro Junior.

Another girl worth watching will be Kiwi import and defending 2006 ASP Australasian series champion Airini Mason (Tugun, QLD). Mason won the Billabong Pro Junior Series event at Coffs Harbor on the NSW Mid North Coast last month, securing her first elite junior title win in over 12 months when she defeated   French surfer Alize Arnaud in the final.

Friday's forecast is for a east-northeast swell in the morning of around 3ft (1 metre) with a southerly change mid morning when the swell will also swing to the south  Action recommences tomorrow at 7.30am.

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