Billabong Junior Series J-Bay

ASP Pro Junior Men's and Women's Event
Jeffreys Bay South Africa
21 - 24 September 2007

Fifth and final event in the 2007 Billabong Junior Series hits Jeffreys Bay

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 September, 2007 : - - The fifth and final event in the 2007 Billabong Junior Series. The country’s premier series of surfing events will crown champions in age divisions ranging from U/12 to U/20 for boys and U/20 for girls at this event for the 11th successive year. The contest runs Friday to Monday, 21-24 September 2007 at the Point at Jeffreys Bay. This right-breaking wave peels down a rocky point providing rides of up to 150 metres on which the competitors can execute every manoeuvre in their repertoire.

Top surfers include: Rudy Palmboom, winner of the Cape Town leg of the series, heads the Pro Junior boy’s ratings. The upgrading of the final event of 2007 to International Pro Junior status (see Status below) means all those in the top 12 on the ratings can still become the 2007 series champion.

Next in line are St Mikes and Durban event champions Brandon Jackson and Brandon Roberts respectively, followed by young guns Dale Staples and Matthew Bromley, who have been given the two sponsor’s wildcards into the top 16 seeds at this event.

Pro Junior (U20) Boys Ranking (after 4 events)
1.  Rudy Palmboom                           Bluff, KZN
2.  Brandon Jackson                        Durban North
3.  Brandon Roberts                         Sun Valley, CT
4.  Dale Staples                                St Francis Bay
5.  Matthew Bromley                        Kommetjie
6.  Josh Redman                               Durban
7.  Casey Grant                                Scottburgh, KZN    
8.  Nic Godfrey                                 Cape St Francis

Tarryn Chudleigh goes into the final event as the 2007 series champion elect after building up an unassailable ratings lead in the first four events. The battle for second and third places, and a share of the series prize-pool earnings, is between Chantelle Rautenbach and 13 year-old phenoms Bianca Buitendag and Sarah Baum, with Holly Armstrong (Kom), Alice McGregor (EL) and Faye Zoetmulder (PE) still in with a mathematical chance if other results go their way at J-Bay.

Pro Junior (U20) Girls Ranking
1.  Tarryn Chudleigh                       Kommetjie
2.  Bianca Buitendag                      George
3.  Chantelle Rautenbach               Melkbosstrand
4.  Sarah Baum                              Athlone Park, KZN

Nic Godfrey holds the box seat in the U16 boys division going into the final event and only needs to do better than 7th there to clinch the crown. Matthew Bromley can tie Godfrey on their best four results with a victory in J-Bay, but will finish runner-up if Godfrey gets fifth or better. Dale Staples can overtake Bromley for second with a top two finish and can himself be overtaken for third by Beyrick de Vries, Devin Lane, (both Umhlanga), Tyde Gatke (EL) and Blake Freegard (Umdloti). 2006 Series champ Shaun Joubert misses this event as he is on a photo shoot in the Philippines.

U16 Boys Ranking
1.  Nic Godfrey                             Cape St Francis
2.  Matthew Bromley                     Kommetjie
3.  Dale Staples                             St Francis Bay
4.  Shaun Joubert                          Mossel Bay (Withdrawn)
5. Devin Lane                                Umhlanga

Michael February has successfully defended his 2006 U14 boys series title and cannot be overtaken no matter what result he posts at J-Bay. Likewise, Dane Staples has already secured the runner-up series spot and Jarred Veldhuis needs first or second in J-Bay to make sure of third or he can be overtaken by wins from David Van Zyl (Glenashley), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff, KZN), the only girl ever to have reached the final of an U14 event, Philip Britz (Grahamstown) or Daniel Wilson (Tokai). Davey Brand (Kom), winner of the last two U14 events, is in Australia and misses this one.

U14 Boys Ranking
1.  Michael February                    Kommetjie
2.  Dane Staples                          St Francis Bay
3.  Jarred Veldhuis                       Kommetjie
|4.  Philip Britz                               Grahamstown

Slade Prestwich heads the U12 boys rankings but needs to finish first or second here to be assured of the series crown. J-Bay local Dylan Lightfoot can grab the title with a victory and Prestwich finishing third or lower. Diran Zakarian can still force his way into second place while defending U12 champ Max Armstrong and Daniel Buitendag (George), can still overtake Josh Smit for third.

U12 Boys Ranking
1.  Slade Prestwich                    Scottburgh
2.  Dylan Lightfoot                      Jeffreys Bay
3.  Josh Smit                               Athlone Park, KZN
4.  Max Armstrong                      Kommetjie

FORMAT:  All heats consist of four surfers with the top two in each heat advancing to the next round until four remain to contest the final in each division. The only exception is in the premier Pro Junior (U20) boys’ category where the last eight are scheduled to compete in man-on-man quarterfinals, semifinals and final. The finals in all divisions will be staged on Monday 24 September

Each event also features a Von Zipper Air Show on the final day where the country’s best aerial surfers demonstrate their skills in this innovative form of surfing. Competitors are judged on the manoeuvres they perform in the air after launching (boosting or punting) off the wave instead of for traditional manoeuvres performed on the face of the wave.

The Billabong Junior Series is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for surfing. The Pro Junior boy’s event at J-Bay has been upgraded to an ASP International Grade One Pro Junior event, boosting the ratings points on offer from 1 000 to 1 500.

The results of the U20 boys and U20 girls divisions also count towards the respective annual SSA Pro Surf Tour (PST) Pro Junior titles and, with the upgrade to ASP status, for the ASP Africa Pro Junior boys title also

The best four results from the five events are accumulated to determine the series champions in each division. The top five ranked Pro Junior boys and top Pro Junior girl at the end of the series receive invitations to compete in the annual Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January. The airfare for this squad is sponsored by First National Bank.

There is a total of over R30 000 in prize-money on offer at each of the five events in the series, with this amount boosted to over R50 000 for the J-Bay event due to the upgrade of the Pro Junior boys. This is shared by the top 8 finishers in the U/20 boys and U20 girls along with the top four in each of the other three divisions

An additional R35 000 in prize-pool payouts is shared by the top three finishers in each division at the end of the series. Half this amount is generously sponsored by First National Bank who use the opportunity to enhance the juniors’ awareness of the banking system by placing their winnings in six-month fixed deposit accounts.

The Von Zipper Air Show offers an R1 800 winner-takes-all purse at each event for the best successfully completed aerial manoeuvre. The Kustom Awards reward the most innovative manoeuvre by a local boy and girl at every series event with R500 each and a pair of Kustom shoes. The coveted Zigzag Performance Award presents R1 000 and a replica hand grenade trophy to the surfer who ‘blows up’ due to an outstanding performance at each event

SPONSORS: Billabong International, the multi-national manufacturers and distributors of Billabong apparel and accessories, sponsor the series. The 2007 Billabong Junior Series is proudly supported by First National Bank, Von Zipper eyewear, Kustom Purpose Built Footwear, Red Bull, Palmers and Zigzag surf magazine.

PRODUCTION: The fifth and final event in the 2007 Billabong Junior Series is produced by Billabong International. Laureen Payne is the executive producer and Cyril Nel from East London is the contest director. The 26 minute television documentary on each event, with multiple broadcasts on the SuperSport channels, is produced by Silver Bullet Productions

Previous reports:
# 1 : Billabong Junior Series South Africa scores ASP Jr rating
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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