Billabong ASP World Junior Championships

Von Zipper Trials
North Narrabeen, Sydney
2 January 008

Von Zipper Trials Will Award World Junior Wildcards At Narrabeen

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 December, 2007 : - - Sydney, Australia (Tuesday 18th December)  THE 2007 Billabong ASP World Junior Championship is set to ignite the beaches of North Narrabeen on January 3rd next year, with competitors from around the world battling it out for the most prestigious crown in junior surfing.

Two places in the main event still remain, those to be filled by the winners of the Von Zipper Trials, taking place on January 2nd, 2008. The top eight Australasian circuit rating seeds, as well as two Von Zipper wildcards and six ASP-selected international surfers will go head-to-head for a world title chance.  

Australia’s surfers, who include Owen Wright (Culburra, NSW), Nick Riley (Fairlight, NSW), Brendan Leckie (Palm Beach, QLD), Blake Wilson (Maroochydore, QLD), Madison Williams (Coffs Harbour, NSW), Parrish Byrne (Wollongong, NSW), Ashley King (Ulladulla, NSW), Reuben Levitt (Palm Beach, QLD) and Laurie Towner (Angourie, NSW), will be keen to hold off the challengers on their home turf and gain entry into the main event.

Towner, 20, who has just completed a long recovery from a shoulder injury, relishes the prospect of having a shot at not only a wildcard entry, but also the World Junior Crown.

“I’m just thankful to get a chance to surf in the World Junior trials, because I didn’t get to finish the junior series, so it’s a good opportunity for me,” he said.   “It gives you a good seed for the WQS (World Qualifying Series) and just to be the World Junior Champ would feel pretty good.”

Fellow trialist Blake Wilson, 20, is equally grateful to have the chance to make his mark in the Billabong ASP World Junior Championship. “This is a great opportunity and it’s what every junior around the world sees as the most important contest of the year,” he said.  “My dream is obviously to win the world title because it has been a life-long ambition.”

Already qualified for the World Junior Championships are the cream of Australia and the World’s junior surfers, with the next best crop eager to join them through the trials. “The biggest threat in the trials, who I think has been surfing absolutely amazingly over the last couple of months, is Owen Wright,” said Wilson.  “He would probably have to be the standout guy and definitely the one that I’ll be looking out for in the trials.”

With such a wealth of talent from around the globe taking part in the trials, it is sure to be no easy passage into the World Junior Championships. Although Australia will hold a dominant presence in the Von Zipper Trials, talented individuals from six other nations will also be vying for one of the two remaining wildcard berths into the main event.

The Von Zipper Trials will comprise of three rounds of four-man heats, the top two contenders of each heat advancing to the next round, the two surfers placing first and second in the final gaining entry into the Billabong ASP World Junior Championship.

The Billabong World Junior Championship commences the following day, Thursday, January 3, 2008, climaxing on Thursday 10 January with the crowning of the boys and girls World Junior Champions.

Von Zipper Trialists:
1        Brendan Leckie (AUS)
2        Blake Wilson (AUS)
3        Madison Williams (AUS)
4        Owen Wright (AUS)
5        Parrish Byrne (AUS)
6        Ashley King (AUS)
7        Nick Riley (AUS)
8        Reuben Levitt (AUS)
9        Laurie Towner (AUS)
10        Jean Sebastian Estienne (FRA)
11        Thomas Chamula (PYF)
12        Mustafa Jensen, Indonesia
13        Ido Ksantini, Israel
14        Yonatan Klein, Israel
15        Granger Larson, Hawaii
16        Shaun Joubert, Sth Africa

www.billabongpro.com/wjc07/index.asp

www.billabong.com
www.aspworldtour.com

More Australasian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts

New! B2B News ASBE-Surf   |  Receive News-Alerts

Simon Barratt 
Steve Robertson

WJC Contests - Surfersvillage