Jordy Smith (ZAF) 2006 World Champion  : photo ASP Covered Imgaes

Billabong ASP World Junior Championships

North Narrabeen, Sydney, Australia
2 - 10 January 2008

THE NEXT WAVE PREPARE FOR BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 December, 2007 : - - The world’s foremost junior surfers aged 20 and under will have one New Year’s resolution in common come 2 January 2008; to become the 2007 ASP World Junior Champion. 

The US $60 000 Billabong ASP World Junior Championship takes place at Sydney, Australia’s North Narrabeen Beach, from January 2- 10, 2008 and will see a select field from eight surfing regions (Africa, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, Japan, North America, South America and an ASP International emerging region) invited to compete. 

Only the top six Under 20 male and top two Under 20 female surfers from each region, plus four wildcards and two trialists, gain entry to contest the coveted World Junior Champion crowns.

The event, now in its ninth year, is the most difficult on the Junior circuit to qualify for and the hardest to win. Surfers must reach the top of their respective regional junior series tours, a feat in itself, in order to qualify for the international competition. The highest seeded Men’s U20 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) surfer from each region is also invited to compete. 

Last year saw Jordy Smith (ZAF) add his name to the prestigious honour roll, which includes 3X ASP World Champion Andy Irons (HAW), World No. 4 Joel Parkinson (AUS) and World No. 28 Adriano de Souza (BRA), making the Billabong ASP World Juniors an accurate gauge for future world beaters.  

Parkinson burst onto the international stage during his junior career, winning the ASP World Junior crown in 1999 and again in 2001, becoming the only surfer to win the event twice. 

“It is probably the biggest achievement for an U20 surfer,” Parkinson explained. “You can win a lot of junior events but this is the hardest; especially these days when the whole junior world is competing. It’s like a checking point, time to decide whether to turn pro and go on tour. I think it is one of the most important junior events today.” 

The girls division, while only in its third year, has crowned the likes of 2005 ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie of the Year Jessi Miley Dyer (AUS) and Nicola Atherton (AUS), who went on to qualify for the ASP Women’s World Tour in 2007,  and continues to reveal the depth of talent in the female ranks. 

This year’s heat draw is brimming with fresh faces with wildcard Pablo Paulino (BRA) being the only returning former World Junior Champion. 

Leading their respective regions into battle are regional Billabong Junior Series Champions, Charlie Brown (BRA), Mitchell Coleborn (AUS), Casey Brown (HAW), Rudy Palmboom (ZAF), Adrien Valero (FRA), Noboyuki Osawa (JPN), Adam Wickwire (USA) and Angelo Lozano (MEX) in the guys division and Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Alessa Cuizon (HAW), Tarryn Chudleigh (ZAF), Lee Ann Curren (FRA), Nao Omura (JPN) and Courtney Conlogue (USA) in the girls division. 

The four event wildcards have been awarded to Paulino, Tonino Benson (HAW), Torrey Meister (HAW) and Tamaroa McComb (TAH) while the two Billabong wildcards in the girls will be Paige Hareb (NZ) and Kirby Wright (Aus). 

The ASP Africa squad comprises Palmboom (Bluff), Brandon Roberts and Brett Shearer (both Cape Town), Brandon Jackson (Durban North) and Josh Redman (Umdloti), with Clinton Gravett (East London) filling the slot reserved for the highest rated WQS surfer who did not qualify via the regional ratings. Chudleigh, the regional champion, will be joined by Nikita Robb (East London), who finished 2007 rated No. 19 on the women’s WQS, in the girls’ event. 

In addition, rising star 16 year-old Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) has been invited to contest the 16-man Von Zipper Trials that will determine the final two wildcards in the boys’ event, the first time a South African has been included in the trials line-up. 

South America leads the team ratings based on the four best scores from each region and has a history of dominance at this event. Three former Billabong World Junior Champions including Paulino (2004), De Souza (2003) and Pedro Henrique (2000) hail from Brazil.

 The event format mirrors elite ASP World Tour specifications, meaning junior surfers must compete in man-on-man heats, utilizing a priority system as if already competing on the prestigious ASP World Tour.  

In addition, surfers will compete before an ASP International Judging Panel, the same panel which judges their surfing heroes on the ASP Men’s and Women’s World Tours. 

Former ASP World Tour campaigner Luke Egan (AUS) will be the contest director for the fifth consecutive year, presiding over surf conditions and offering valuable insight into ASP World Tour format.  

The Billabong World Junior Championship requires six full days of surfing to be completed (four for the boys and two for the girls) and is considered the best preparation for junior surfers hoping to one day compete on the top tier tour. 

Former Champions:
2006: Jordy Smith (Saf)
2005: Kekoa Becalso (Haw)
2004: Pablo Paulino (Brz)
2003- Adriano De Souza (Brz)
2002- Non Event
2001 - Joel Parkinson (Aus)
2000 - Pedro Henrique (Brz)
1999 - Joel Parkinson (Aus)
1998 - Andy Irons (Haw)

Girls

2006: Nicola Atherton (Aus)
2005: Jessi Miley-Dyer (Aus)

The event will be broadcast live on the web at www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com

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Billabong South Africa
Peter Nicholson
peter.nicholson@billabong.co.za

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