Oakley Pro Junior

ASP Australasia Grade 4 Men's Event
North Stradbroke Island Queensland
5 - 10 February 2008

Local Lad Lincoln Taylor Wins Inaugural Oakley Pro Junior - North Stradbroke Island!

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 9 February, 2008 : - - North Stradbroke Island, Queensland -- South East Queensland’s epic run of swell continued to lash North Straddie today, whipping up excellent 1.5-2.0-metre point break waves for the final of the inaugural Oakley Pro Junior.

Cylinder Beach provided an idyllic platform for a ‘new class’ of junior surf stars to show off their explosive surfing skills in some of the best conditions seen for a pro junior tournament in Queensland for more than a year.

Local lad Lincoln Taylor proved untouchable at his home break, ousting no.6 seed Heath Joske (Nambucca Heads) in the quarters, top seed Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Heads) in the semis before wiping out former ISA World Junior champion Julian Wilson (Coolum) in the final to capture his maiden pro junior series victory.

In doing so, Taylor collected $7000 and 3,500 rating points for winning the 9-star rated ASP Australasian tournament. “I’m over the moon,” said Taylor, whose previous best ever result on the pro junior series was a quarterfinal finish.

Lincoln Taylor : photo Robertson/ASP Australasia

“It’s my last year on the series and I really wanted to win this event in front of all my family and friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to do it.” With a huge crowd of Straddie locals cheering him on and a pod of dolphins in the line-up, Taylor got down to business quickly, snaring a set wave before blasting off some backhand mastery to net an excellent scoring 8.67 on his first ride.

With a wave starved final hindering Wilson’s scoring potential, Taylor backed it up with a 6.83 to finish the victor with a two-wave combined total of a 15.50 to Wilson’s 13.60. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” he said. “Every surfer dreams about winning an event at their local beach. I can’t believe that it happened to me.”

As an added bonus, the dynamic goofy foot also bagged the chance to trek to an exotic location to duke it out against winners from each of the six Oakley pro junior events throughout Brazil, Europe, Japan, USA and South Africa in ’08. “I totally forgot that the winner gets to go to Indonesia for the big finale,” he said. "I can’t wait to surf against the best junior surfers from around the globe."

Taylor, who lost the support of a major sponsor late last year, is following in the footsteps laid by fellow Straddie star and world no.5 Bede Durbidge, who endured a year on the World Tour without a sponsor before going on to win the biggest single one-day haul in the history of professional surfing by winning the Pipeline Masters and Hawaiian Triple Crown in December, 2007.

Sebastian Zietz : photo Steve Robertson

For Wilson, today’s runner-up placing represents his equal best finish this year. The explosive natural foot was disappointed with the final result but is keen to maintain his consistency for the rest of the year. “There was like a 20-minute lull through the final and I couldn’t buy a wave,” said Wilson.

“I think Lincoln put an island curse on me. He caught all the good waves in the final and dug deep when he really needed to.” In semi-final one, Taylor dominated from start to finish, flaring his way past top seed Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head) to book a spot in the championship final. Semi-final two was a similar affair with Wilson blowing up in the reeling point break waves to easily defeat Currumbin’s Mitch Crews.

Despite failing to reach back-to-back finals, Kennedy maintained a stranglehold over the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series ratings. There he sits on top with 10, 963-points, nearly 2000 points clear of Wilson (8973) in second. Tahitian Tamaroa McComb (Coolangatta, 8494) occupies third place, while Taylor (8403) moves to fourth on the ratings.

Kennedy had earlier turned the tables on McComb in their highly anticipated quarterfinal showdown. At just 16, McComb outclassed Kennedy to win the third stop of the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series at Burleigh Heads last week. Meanwhile, the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel (SIBH) Expression Session was just as explosive with competitors setting free a storm of high-flying maneouvres.

With $2000 large on the line, it was Hawaiian Sebastian Zietz who took home $1000 for the session’s best maneouvre, whilst Keneddy took home $1000 for the best wave. The Oakley Pro Junior is the 4th of 12 stops on the 2008 ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series and offers a six-day surfing window, from Tuesday 5th February to Sunday 10th February, 2008, for only four days of competition surfing.

The main event site will be at Cylinder Beach, however the tournament has the option of going to the best surf from Adder Rock to Main Beach. The Oakley Pro Junior is proudly supported by Redlands Shire Council, Stradbroke Ferries, Stradroke Island Holidays, Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel, Red Bull, Waves Magazine, Surfing Queensland and ASP Australasia.

About Oakley. 

Decades of Oakley research have achieved performance innovations for the world’s best athletes. In the process, we have raised the bar of durability and protection, and our inventions now serve the industries of health, safety and defense. Categories include eyewear that protect against extreme impact and laser light; fire-resistant gloves utilized by professional race drivers; and footwear developed for combat, motor sports and environmental extremes.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Oakley secures Queensland's richest Pro Junior contest
# 2 : Oakley Pro Junior set for start at North Stradbroke Island
# 3 : Oakley Pro Junior underway at North Stradbroke Island
# 4 : Pristine waves served up for top seeds at Oakley Pro Jr.  
# 5 : Oakley Pro Junior day three gets huge waves at Straddie

www.oakleyprojunior.com
www.surfingqueensland.com
www.aspworldtour.com/oakley

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Jake White

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage