Burton Toyota Surfest

Chiko Pro Junior

Grade 2M Men's Pro Junior
Grade 1W Women's Pro Junior
Newcastle, New South Wales
9 - 14 March 2010

Local Sylvester a student in-and-out of the water at Chiko Pro Junior

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 5 March, 2010 : - - Merewether, Newcastle Australia -- Local surfer Jake Sylvester is hoping that racking up the best individual wave score of the day in trying conditions at Merewether beach will result in better fortune than that afforded fellow local Ryan Callinan.

Yesterday Callinan topped the individual wave score sheet, but was bundled out of the competition in today’s round of 32 by just a quarter of a point in the dying minutes of his heat.Morning on day two of the Chiko Pro Junior saw poor waves dribbling onto Merewether Point, forcing the last three heats of the round of 32 to go on hold not long after the midday high tide.

Following an hour’s delay, the contest was moved 500 metres to the north, where the sand banks on offer provided some reasonable waves.
Sylvester first surfed in the morning's round of 64 before being whisked away by his family to Newcastle High where he sat his half-yearly business studies exam.

He then returned to Merewether where he racked up the top day’s heat score of 13.25 in the round of 32. If he went as well in his exam as he did in his heat, he can be confident he did a bit better than "alright". He was pleased to surf further down the beach. “The judges asked us what we wanted to do and we were all keen to move down off Pogos,” Sylvester said.

Fellow New South Welshman Davey Cathels scored a nine in the same heat as Sylvester, but an interference call saw Cathels have his second highest wave score halved – still enough for the North Narrabeen surfer to claim a second spot and move to tomorrow’s round of 16. Sylvester wasn’t thinking too far ahead of himself – either today or concerning tomorrow’s heat.

 “I definitely think about what I am going to do in my heat, not what the other surfers are doing,”  he said. The 16-year-old was crowned Australian Volcom junior champion at Manly last May and in 2010 he is chasing both an Australian Pro Junior title and a good result in the HSC.

The natural-footer loves the Merewether wave, and it is here that he has racked up club championships in junior and cadet divisions.
Another local to stand out today was Catherine Hill Bay's Sam Lendrum, Kiwi Buck Woods also impressed, despite a fin-chop to his foot while free surfing early in the morning.

But the surfer everyone is watching is the event's number one seed, Queenslander Mitch Crews. Crews did enough today to make into tomorrow's round of 16, but he's got plenty in reserve. The Chiko Pro Junior will recommence tomorrow morning with the girls round of 24 at 7.30am, followed by the mens round of 16.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Burton Family Toyota signs on with Newcastle’s Surfest
# 2 : Occy gets arty, celebrates Oz artist John Earle at Surfest
# 3 : Russell Maloney wins Employment Plus Indigenous Clsc

# 4 : New South Wales Fire Brigade fights for win at Surfest  
# 5 : Mark Richards to open Burton Toyota Surfest art exhibit
# 6 : Local knowledge boosts Callinan's hopes at Chika Pro Jr

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