Oakley Pro Junior

ASP Grade 2 Pro Junior Men's Event
ASP Grade 1 Pro Junior Women’s Event
East Beach, Port Alfred South Africa
1 - 3 May 2009

Oakley Pro Junior Port Alfred ready for 8am start in perfect conditions

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 April, 2009 : - - Contestants and officials will convene on East Beach at 8am tomorrow morning, Friday 1 May, to kick off the 2009 Oakley Pro Junior Port Alfred. Over 50 of South Africa’s top junior surfers are set to hit the water throughout the course of the day, starting with the Junior Men’s Round of 48 and the Junior Women’s Round of 12.

Surf conditions in Port Alfred look excellent for the entire Oakley Pro Junior, with clean offshore winds and a steadily building swell predicted for Friday, peaking as high as 4.5metres by late afternoon.

“I’ve been surfing a bit and while it’s a little small at the moment, there are still some really fun waves,” said ASP World Tour campaigner and Oakley Team Manager Greg Emslie, “and what I can see on the forecast is an absolute dream for any contest. There are good winds and good swell coming for all three days, and I’m really excited to see how it pans out.

The swell has already kicked in down the coast, so it is definitely on the way. I think it could start off a little slow tomorrow morning, or it could already be here when we wake up, but one thing for sure is that it’s going to build during the day!”

Likewise, Saturday will also see offshore westerly winds cleaning up the 3.5 metre swell into perfectly rippable righthanders, making for another excellent day of competition. Sunday’s swell is forecast to be steady at just below the 3 metre mark throughout the day, with offshore winds early in the morning and a soft onshore breeze predicted by noon, which should see great launch-ramp conditions for the Red Bull Airshow final.

ASP Africa Operations Manager Colin Fitch has confirmed that while there will not be enough time to afford a full lay day, the three-day schedule will allow officials to take advantage of the best conditions during each day of competition.

A number of entrants were spotted in the East Beach lineup today preparing for the contest and getting a feel for the lay of the sandbanks, with Cape St Francis’ Nick Godfrey, local Port Alfred competitor Philip Britz and Cape Town’s Matt Bromley amongst them.

“I’ve surfed Port Alfred a good couple of times and I really love the wave,” said a stoked Bromley. “I reckon its one of the most rippable waves in the country for sure! It also gets amazing barrels when the banks are on, so hopefully God puts up some good waves for the event and I’m sure it'll be the best surfing for a pro junior this year!”

“Probably my biggest goal after ISA world juniors for the year is to make the final here and then go to Bali,” added Bromley when asked about the prospect of making it to the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge final event in October, “and with this being the last big one of the ASP series before the Narrabeen World Junior Championships, this is definitely a huge one for me!”

Bromley is seeded into the Round of 32 where he will meet up with Somerset West’s Jacob Mellish and two qualifiers from the Round of 48. Oakley Pro Junior wildcard Lungani Memani (Port Alfred) will face current ASP Africa top junior seed Klee Strachan (Warner Beach) in the 4th heat of the Round of 32, with defending champion and Oakley team rider Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) up against Durban powerhouse Kyle Beach in the final heat of the round.

The Oakley Pro Junior Port Alfred is running concurrently with the North American qualifier for the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge, an ASP Grade-2 event with a $10,000 prize purse at the famed peaks of Lower Trestles in California, running from April 28 to May 2.

Worldwide, the Oakley Pro Junior series offers a total prize purse of $165,000 with $75,000 on the line at the final event. The $20,000 prize for winning the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Final in Bali is the largest first-place prize in junior surfing.  

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Previous reports:
# 1 : Oakley Pro Junior Port Alfred South Africa kicks off May 1
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

www.oakley.com
www.aspafrica.com
www.oakleyprojunior.com

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Craig Ritchie

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage