Taj's Small Fries

Yallingup Western Australia
18 - 20 January 2008

FREDRICKS, BANTING, MACAULEY CROWNED BILLABONG TAJ’S SMALL FRIES CHAMPS

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 January, 2008 : - - Yallingup – Fifteen-year-old Regan Fredricks (Cabarita, NSW) shot into the limelight at Shallows Beach, Yallingup this morning, capturing his first major pro junior surfing title in the U16 boys division of the Billabong Taj’s Small Fries.

Competing in excellent 1-meter waves, 500-meters North of the event’s original location of Yallingup Beach, Fredricks proved the most deserved winner of the premier U16 boys division, defeating Matt Banting (NSW), Jack Freestone (QLD) and local surfer Nathan Kikiros (WA).

“That sure was a good win,” glowed Fredricks after his heat. “It was intense out there and I was lucky to get a good one from the very start. I managed to hang onto the lead the whole time and I was lucky to get the scores.” Outsmarting his competitors by sitting deeper and paddling harder, Fredricks seemed perfectly in-tune with the ocean, despite never having surfed in Western Australia prior to this trip.

“I surfed this spot a few days before the contest and I’ve been surfing here between heats, so it was good to come back to my practice ground and take it out.” The presence of ASP World No. 2 and Western Australian surfing icon Taj Burrow (Yallingup), made Fredricks’s win all the more special. “It was amazing to come in from my heat and have Taj congratulate me and say ‘you did a very good job’,” Fredricks said. “I loved it, it felt so good.”

Thirteen-year-old Matt Banting (NSW) had the crowd talking with a superb overall performance, which included finishing runner-up in the U16 division and capturing his second Billabong Taj’s Small Fries title, in the U14 division.

While Banting came close to unseating Fredricks in the U16 Final, it was in the U14 division that he truly revealed what he is capable of. The NSW State Champion blasted his way across the left-breaking waves to post two excellent scoring rides, an 8.25 and an 8.10 to defeat Soli Bailey (NSW), Jesse Horner (NSW) and Micth Parkinson (QLD).

“I’m so stoked to win the U14’s and to back it up with a runner up in the U16’s is great too,” Banting said. “The U16’s was a little harder because they try to ‘snake’ you a lot more, but I love this break and I’m really happy with how things went.”

The U16 girls division saw local surfer Laura Macauley (Gracetown, WA) make a clean sweep of the competition with the highest wave of the day, a near perfect 9.17 which she backed up with a 7.95, to defeat her sister Bronte, local favourite Felicity Palmateer (Hillarys) and India Payne (VIC).

In the U14 Girls division Bronte Macauley (Gracetown,WA) took first place ahead of Payne who finished in second, Carly Lynch (WA) who took third and Eliza Greene fourth.

Ten-year-old Jack Robinson (WA) took top honours in the U12 Boys division, displaying a surfing style way beyond his years to earn a 7.50 and a 7.40, defeating Jacob Wilcox (WA) James Flemming (WA) and James Young (WA).

The event saw three days of explosive junior surfing action at the beaches of Yallingup, leaving all impressed, including event namesake Taj Burrow. “I’ve been watching these kids surf for the last three years and it’s amazing to see how they’ve all progressed,” Burrow said. “They surf unbelievably well and there were definitely a couple of guys I wouldn’t want to surf against in these smaller conditions.”

“It’s unreal to have this event rolling on each year, the kids are really stoked, which makes the parents happy, everyone’s had an unreal time. I am excited to bang it out again next year!”

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Kirstin Scholtz

Groms - Surfersvillage