Arnette Pro Junior

ASP Grade 2 Men's Pro Junior Event
ASP Grade 1 Women's Pro Junior Event
Merewether Beach, Newcastle, NSW
12 - 15 March 2009

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

Mixed results for locals on day two at Arnette Pro Junior

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 March, 2009 : - - Merewether, NSW -- HIGH scores were as rare as solid set waves on day two of the Arnette Pro Junior at Merewether beach today, but that didn’t stop some standout individual performances from both local and international surfers.

The morning’s small, clean and inconsistent conditions forced officials to extend each scheduled twenty minute heat by 5 additional minutes. Additionally, the morning’s high tide and a kelp-congested shore break required officials to delay the fourth round of competition.

Sixteen-year-old Wes Bainbridge from Merewether, currently ranked 87 on the ASP junior table, moved to the next round with local knowledge providing him with the patience to find infrequent shifting peaks. But he didn’t take out the heat and was forced into second spot by Tahitian Tamaroa McComb, who racked up the morning’s second highest heat total with a 12.40.

Top ranked local surfer in the Arnette Pro Junior, Catherine Hill Bay’s Sam Lendrum, who made the quarter-finals of the Pro Junior held at Stradbroke Island last month, shared second spot on the morning’s individual wave-scoring tally-sheet with a rare-as-hen’s teeth 8 point ride. Ranked thirteen on the ASP junior table, the 18-year-old paddled constantly in the line-up while searching for an elusive breaker.

 “I really only got one good wave. I just paddled around a fair bit and got lost so it was lucky I got that good wave early,” Lendrum said. “I knew the conditions out there were pretty slow and that there wasn’t going to be many waves, so getting in early was pretty important. “I want to get into the top ten to make it to the World Juniors,” a determined Lendrum said.

Top individual wave-score of the morning was an 8.25 racked up by Ty Watson from Currarong on the New South Wales south coast. Twenty-year-old natural-footer Jesse Adam, who sits just behind Lendrum on the current ASP ratings table, is looking to back up his inaugural victory on this tour just over twelve months ago when he won at Coffs Harbour.

For Adam, weed and waves are par for the course at his local break.  “It’s the typical Merewether break out there. There’s always a bit of weed out there after some swell which stopped me dead a couple of times, but I was lucky I was able to run a bit deeper and dodged it as much as I could,” Adam said.

“It’s easier to pick the best waves when you live here and that really gave me the upper-hand, but thank God I was able to get that first wave,” a relieved Adam said.

Sam Wrench from Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast topped the morning’s heat score-chart with a 14.70. Wildcard entrant Kurtis Herman from Anna Bay and Merewether’s Jackson Richards were both bundled out of the competition.

Action recommences Saturday morning at 7.30am with the girls round of 24 set to hit the water. They will be followed by round four of the boys where 32 surfers remain in contention to take out the Arnette Pro Junior for 2009.

Check the Live Action  

Previous reports:
# 1 : Arnette Pro Junior ready to launch without Owen Wright
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Tahlia Crinis / Michael Tyrpenou

ASP Junior Contests - Surfersvillage