13 May, 2013 13 May, 2013

Future Stars and Country’s Best Juniors To Battle It Out This Weekend

This coming Saturday sees the start of the Quiksilver Pro Junior and Quiksilver King of the Groms at Durban’s New Pier. The bulk of the country’s top juniors have already descended on Surf City after competing in this past weekend’s Volcom VQS Championship Cup.

New Pier is as good a contest venue as any when the elements align.

New Pier is as good a contest venue as any when the elements align.

It’s no secret that the banks at New Pier are as good as they get. It’s been like that for weeks, so the only ingredients that are missing for the Juniors to show-up and blow-up, is the wind and the waves – our unpredictable ally. The forecast is looking small and clean, but we all know Mother Nature can dish up perfection just as easily as she dishes up the dribble, so we’ll have to wait and see what this weekend holds.

Either way, the country’s best Under 20 surfers will be giving it their all in SA’s only ASP-rated Junior event, looking to earn points to gain a better seeding in ASP’s international events (and of course a slice at the R45,000 in prizemoney).

Last year's champ Slade Prestwich will be looking to pick up where he left off at the Quiksilver Pro Junior at New Pier.

Last year’s champ Slade Prestwich will be looking to pick up where he left off at the Quiksilver Pro Junior at New Pier.

Defending Quiksilver Pro Junior Champ Slade Prestwich will once again be the man to beat at his new homebreak. “Winning the Quik Pro Junior is really important for me!” said Slade when we cornered him after surf at New Pier last week. “Not only does the win give you a bit of exposure internationally, but other than that there’s also a bit of cash, which is never bad to win. Most importantly, it’s a chance for me to show my sponsors how I’m progressing, so for me, it’s very important that I win.”

Mikey February in action on his way to a team gold medal at the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games in Panama.

Mikey February in action on his way to a team gold medal at the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games in Panama.

Slade’s going to have to look out for a charge from two of SA’s in-form Under 20 surfers at the moment – J-Bay’s Dylan Lightfoot, who won earlier this year at New Pier when he took out the Billabong Pro Junior Series’ Durban leg, and Mikey February, who is on his way home from Panama after clinching team gold at the ISA World Surfing Games in Panama.

J-Bay's Matt MacGillivray has just recently recovered from a long injury, so the current Under 15 SA Champ will be looking to get the momentum going once again at the King of the Groms.

J-Bay’s Matt Macgillivray has just recently recovered from an injury, so the current Under 15 SA Champ will be looking to get the momentum going once again at the King of the Groms.

For the Under 16 Boys the prestigious King of the Groms title is on the line, and looking like potential champions leading up to the event are: Shane Sykes from the North Coast; Adin Masencamp from Strand; Matt MacGillivray from J-Bay; and local ripper Thando Msibi. Shane, Matt and Thando all made the finals of this past weekend’s Volcom VQS Championship Cup along with Under 13 champ Koby Oberholzer – who despite his young age might just give the older guys a run for their money in the King of the Groms. The Under 16’s will be looking to get their share of R22,000 in prizemoney.

Rising talent Sifiso Mhlaba from Durban will be looking to make name in the Future Stars division.

Rising talent Sifiso Mhlongo from Durban will be looking to make name in the Future Stars division.

Every year at the Quiksilver Pro Junior there’s also a ‘Future Stars’ division, which looks to showcase a number of talented young surfers who are part of Surfing South Africa’s transformation and development programme, as well give them the opportunity to compete on a national stage and gain an abundance of experience. The Future Stars title will be a closely fought battle between Dillon Fernandez (CPT), Ntando Msibi (DBN), Brandon Benjamin (CPT), Nick Njapha (EL), Avuyile Ndamase (EL), Simo Mkhiize (DBN), Sihle Mbutho (DBN) and Sifiso Mhlongo (DBN).

If you’re looking to watch our country’s brightest stars give it their all for cash and glory, then head on down to Durban’s New Pier this Saturday, or keep up to date with proceedings on www.quikprojunior.co.za, or on zigzag.co.za where we will be giving a daily report.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *