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

Small waves and big manoeuvres on day three at Arnette Pro Junior

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 14 March, 2009 : - - Merewether, NSW -- Day three of the Arnette Pro Junior was hampered by a lack of sizable waves and large amounts of seaweed in the line up, but organisers are confident tomorrow’s conditions will see a spike in swell size.

Under a picture perfect blue sky, light offshore winds fanned waves that rarely reach one metre and left numerous competitors frustrated they were unable to unleash their full repertoire. Organisers were again forced to extend heats from a scheduled 20 minutes to 30 minutes and put the event on hold for two hours while the high tide ran out.

In the morning’s girls round of 24, 17-year-old Coal Point surfer Paige Haggerston bowed out with a total of 8.95. But it won’t be the last spectators see of the youngster, with Haggerston set to return to the waves after scoring a wildcard entry for the round of 32 in next week’s Maitland Toyota Women's Open.

Another local to exit today was Merewether’s Wes Bainbridge, who was unable to find any reasonable waves in his heat. In the morning’s boys round of 32, Tahitian Tamaroa McComb, currently ranked number 11 on the ASP junior rankings, continued to impress both judges and onlookers with big moves in small waves.

The 17-year-old, who now resides at Coolangatta on Queensland’s Gold Coast, consistently found air and managed to rack up a 7.25 and 7.40 to claim one of the morning’s best heat scores, pushing him into the round of 16. The top seed in the Arnette Pro Junior, following the injury-forced withdrawal of Owen Wright, is Sam Wrench (Ulladulla, NSW).

The 18-year-old managed a magician-like eight-point ride in his heat immediately after the re-commencement of the contest following the waiting period.

He backed that effort up with a 5.9 and edged out Matt Banting (Coffs Harbour, NSW), but both will progress to the next round. Wrench, who has twice racked up two third's on the 2009 Pro Junior tour, claims he “just wants to win one.” He knows that with Wright out of the competition, he has a good chance if he can keep surfing with the focus he demonstrated today.

“It’s unfortunate that Owen can’t be here, but I really don’t mind that much because he’s so far out in front, that if he was, he’s the best and he’d take more points,” Wrench said. Local surfer Sam Lendrum (Catherine Hill Bay, NSW) beat Jesse Adam (Merewether, NSW), but both remain in contention.

Lendrum says he enjoys coming up against Adam and the duo enjoy a friendly rivalry. “I’ve had a fair few good battles with Jesse and we always push each other. “I always seem to have a great time with him and we both always seem to get through,” Lendrum said.

“The surf’s probably not as good out there as yesterday but the weed is just as bad so we’ve got some things going against us. I had to make sure I got a couple of early waves and that was going to put me on top, put the pressure on the other guys and take some off me.... “Everything is going good and I’m feeling in good form at the moment, so hopefully I can just keep going.”

The day’s top individual wave score of 9-points went to Mitch Crews (Currumbin, QLD). Action will recommence at the Arnette Pro Junior on Sunday at 8am with the girls round of 16.

The Arnette Pro Junior is proudly presented by Arnette, NSW Major Events Board, Events NSW, Maitland Toyota, NBN, The Herald, NEW FM 105.3

Check the Live Action  

Previous reports:
# 1 : Arnette Pro Junior ready to launch without Owen Wright
# 2 : Mixed results for locals on Day #2 of Arnette Pro Junior
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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ASP Junior Contests - Surfersvillage