Mitch Coleborn : photo Steve Robertson

Billabong Pro Jr Series Wollongong

ASP Australasia 5 Star Mens & Womens Jr Event
Wollongong NSW Australia
13 - 16 September 2007

Mitch Coleborn Suffers Scare As He Looks To Extend His Lead In ASP Australasia Pro Junior Ratings

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 September, 2007 : - - NSW’s ‘Coal Coast’ was ablaze with white-hot surfing action for day one of the $13,000 Billabong Pro Junior Series Wollongong tournament at Bulli today, despite small conditions hampering competitors. A diminishing swell wreaked havoc with surfers’ scoring potential and organisers were forced to relocate to Bulli Beach and hold the tournament in clean 0.5m waves.

The day’s running schedule saw round one (132) along with the opening eight heats of round two (96) completed. ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series ratings leader Mitchell Coleborn (Maroochydore, QLD) is one step closer to creating Australian pro junior series history after narrowly progressing through his opening round two heat behind South Australian Teale Vanner (Kangaroo Island).

After incurring an interface in the earlier stages of the heat against Tim O’Connor, Coleborn made the most of the afternoon’s deteriorating conditions to progress with a two wave score of a 9.50 to Vanner’s 10.10. Courtney Brown (Waterman, WA) and Tim O’Connor (NZ) finished third and fourth respectively.

“I was pretty lucky to progress with an interference,” said Coleborn, who only arrived back into Australia today from a magazine shoot in Japan. “I don’t think either of us should have gone the wave. There was lots of glare and I couldn’t really see that he took off.”

Following wins at the Billabong Pro Junior Series events on the Sunshine Coast and Coffs Harbour as well as on the Gold Coast and most recently in Sydney, Coleborn is on target to secure a record five pro junior series wins in a season along with his maiden junior series crown.

“I’m pretty confident about wrapping things up before the last event of the series,” he said. “Hopefully the waves will cooperate over the next few days and I’ll get a little closer to securing the crown.” Coleborn currently leads the ratings with 14,589-points, well over 1,800-points clear of Nambucca Head’s Heath Joske in second.

Amazingly, no.2 seed Joske could mathematically overtake Coleborn’s lead in the last two events of the series, even if he was to win at Wollongong. Meanwhile, New Zealand surfers set the pace for the day, notching up multiple heat wins enroute to leaving their Australian foes in their wake. Raglan ripper Morehu Roberts got the ball rolling for the ‘Kiwi’ contingent, netting the morning’s highest combined heat score in the fifth heat of the day.

Clearly in rhythm with Woonona’s peaky beach breaks, Roberts unleashed a savvy display of high performance surfing to easily defeat Shayne Sutherland (NSW), Max Tough (Wamberal, NSW) and Otis Carey (Coffs Harbour, NSW). On the back foot in the opening stages of the heat, Roberts struck back to nab a 7.50 and a 6.10 to finish with an impressive 13.60-points overall.

“I started off pretty slow as I was feeling pretty stiff before my heat,” said Roberts. “After grabbing a closeout, I jagged a set wave that walled up right through to the inside and it let me throw out some big maneouvres. Although it was small, you could still power through the flat sections of the waves. I can’t wait to get out there again.”

Another Raglan ripper Blair Stairmand was next out of the blocks, posting one of the morning’s highest individual wave scores to easily defeat Josh Bull (Bonny Hills, NSW), Daniel Savill (Woonona Beach, NSW) and Kurt King (Kingscliff, NSW).

Stairmand dominated from the onset; linking together two vertical forehand snaps along with a razor sharp roundhouse carving turn and finishing with a high-speed lip line floater, to post an excellent scoring 8.25 out of a possible 10. He backed it up with a 3.5 to finish with a two-wave total of 11.75 to Bull’s 10.55.

Not letting his ‘Kiwi’ opponents get a stranglehold over the day’s proceedings, Australian surfer Ty Watson (Currarong, NSW) evened the score with an explosive display of ‘new-school’ surfing. Opening with a high scoring 7.00 on his opening ride, Watson answered back with an even better 8.65 to finish with the day’s highest combination score, an impressive 15.65 points out of a possible 20, to blast his way through to round two.

There he’ll meet Richard Christie (NZ), Nick McMullen (Austinmer, NSW) and Cahill Bell-Warren (Bells Beach). The ‘Coal Coast’s’ best young surfers hit the water today for opening round heats. Winners included Rob Dowling (Kiama Downs) and Jesse Allen (Wombarra, NSW).

The duo won’t be able to rest on their laurels, as they will have to line-up against Australia’s top seeded junior surfers including Heath Joske (Nambucca Heads, NSW), Julian Wilson (Coolum, QLD), Brendan Leckie (Palm Beach, QLD) and Beau Atchison (Copacobana, NSW) in round two.

Wollongong title hope Parrish Byrne (Wollongong), who is currently rated sixth on the ASP Australia Pro Junior series ratings, will be in with a chance of securing a solid result when he takes to the water in tomorrow morning’s round two boys’ action.

Other big winners today included Joe Schwarz (Maroochydore, QLD), Chris Enever (Narrabeen, NSW), John Cummings (Coolangatta, QLD), Tom Allan (Bells Beach), Izaac Buckley (Nth Curl Curl), Josh Johnson-Baxter (Ocean Grove, VIC), Dan Pryor (Palm Beach), Mitch Noonan (Fingal Bay, NSW), Craig Anderson (Merewether, NSW) and Blake Ainsworth (Coolangatta, QLD).

The Wollongong Billabong Pro Junior Series event also features a 32-round girls division. Ratings leader Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) will be joined by the country’s finest female surfers including Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW), Airini Mason (Tugun, QLD), Rebecca Oakley (Burleigh Heads, QLD), Jessie Hickson (Boomerang Beach, NSW), Kirby Wright (Culburra, NSW), Kirstie Jones (Ulladulla, NSW) and Brittani Nicholls (Cabarita, NSW).

Round one and two of the girls’ division is expected to hit the water tomorrow afternoon. Sandon Point will form the main venue for the Billabong Pro Junior Series Wollongong, however the event is mobile. Men and women’s divisions will be on standby each day of the event. Please call the Surfing NSW Event Hotline on 0401 826 847 after 6.45pm each day for running schedule and contest venue.

2007 Billabong Junior Series
$13,000 Billabong Pro Junior Sunshine Coast, February 6 to 11
$13,000 Billabong Pro Junior Coffs Harbour, February 14 to 18
$13,000 Billabong Pro Junior Raglan, March 29 to 31
$13,000 Billabong Pro Junior Wollongong, September 13 to 16
$23,000 Billabong Pro Junior Bells, September 26 to 30

Previous reports:
# 1 : Billabong Pro Jr Series brings best to Wollongong NSW
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Simon Barratt
Billabong Australia
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Surfing Queensland
Jake White
jake@surfingqueensland.com.au

Surfing Australia Photography
Steve Robertson
stever@surfingaustralia.com

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