Shaun Joubert : photo Jake White 
 

Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Championships

ASP Pro Junior Men's event
Keramas, Bali
7-17 October 2008

> Results/Photos/Videos etc

World’s Best Junior Surfers Make Their Bid For Top Spot On Opening Day

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 9 October, 2008 : - - THE battle is on for the big bucks in Bali, Indonesia with eighteen of the planet’s top junior surfers going toe-to-toe in the opening round of the world’s richest-ever pro junior tournament at the high performance wave of Keramas today.  

After two lay days, the US $75,000 Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Championships kicked off with a bang with the official ‘blessing of the waters’ ceremony commencing proceedings before surfing action begun with the six non-elimination round one heats being completed. 

Hawaiian wildcard Dusty Payne (Maui, Hawaii) set the benchmark in the opening heat of the day, shredding the epic 1.5-2-metre right hand reef break waves to pieces to beat Brazil’s Miguel Popo and Japan’s Kaito Ohashi. “I couldn’t have asked for a sicker event,” said Payne. “It’s a great wave and there’s plenty of money up for grabs, so I’m stoked to be here as the wildcard.” 

Payne, who has only competed in two events so far this year after suffering a major knee injury before the start of the World Junior Championships at Narrabeen, Australia in January, took no notice of his prior injury, taking to the skies with some committed aerial moves to finish with a 16.50 two-wave combined total (out of a possible 20). 

19-year-old Payne led from siren-to-siren, netting an excellent scoring 8.00 on his first wave to setup a commanding lead. The talented natural foot inflicted further pain on his foes, jagging a set wave before unleashing multiple forehand moves to seal the win with an even better 8.50. 

Lincoln Taylor : photo Jake White 

“I was trying to feel out my board,” he said. “I hadn’t ridden it in a few months, so it was great to get a few waves under my belt.” Payne now moves directly through to round three along with runner-up Pupo, while Ohashi will fight it out in sudden-death round two elimination which starts tomorrow. 

South African sensation Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) continued to up the ante, posting both the day’s highest individual wave score and combined heat total en route to defeating New Zealander Billy Stairmand and Brazil’s Franklin Serpa. “It was really fun out there,” said Joubert. “There were a few barrels and I probably got the best two waves in the heat, so I’m stoked.”  

The 19-year-old was all class in the barrelling right-handers, weaving through the eye of two reeling tubes to snare a pair of near-perfect 9’s (9.5 & 9.43).  After the heat, Joubert said he was pleased to be in Bali. “It’s almost an achievement just being here,” he said. “It’s such a big contest with so many great surfers, so it’s almost overwhelming. I’m stoked to be in the mix.”  

Joubert finishing in the numero-uno position with 18.93-points, almost eight points clear of Stairmand on 11.9, with Serpa in third on 11.37.  

Other big round one winners today included Renuion Island’s Romain Cloitre, France’s Marc Lacomare (Hossegor)and Brazil’s Peterson Crisanto, along with South Africa’s Nick Godfrey. 

Competition is expected to continue tomorrow morning with sudden-death round two heats to be completed.  

Oakley International has held six qualifying events in Australia, Brazil, France, Japan, South Africa and the United States, culminating in the grand finale in Bali. The Global Challenge Championship will be staged over four days of competition within a 10-day waiting period from October 7-17 in the high performance waves of Keramas in Bali, Indonesia.

www.oakleyprojunior.com

About Oakley, Inc.
The global leader in performance sunglasses, goggles and prescription eyewear, Oakley also offers technical and lifestyle apparel, footwear, watches and accessories. The company was created for athletes who see impossibility as just another challenge, and their dedication inspires Oakley to seek out problems, solve with innovation and wrap invention in art. Exceeding the limits of possibility for more than thirty years, Oakley serves the demands of world-class athletes with unbeatable technologies including High Definition Optics® (HDO®). 
 
About Source Interlink Media’s Action Sports Group (ASG)
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, Source Interlink Media’s Action Sports Group (ASG) is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to publishing leading lifestyle publications such as Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder and Canoe & Kayak, Source Interlink Media’s ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Oakley Pro Junior Champs waiting period begins today
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Dawn Hamilton

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage