The mood on the beach in Jeffreys Bay is one of anticipation following three consecutive lay days at the J-Bay Open. With conditions contestable this morning – Monday, 13 July – that’s all about to change; doubly so. Not only will the J-Bay Open be running to make up for lost time, but over at Magna Tubes more than 150 Junior surfers, including nine international stars from the Billabong ‘Bloodlines’ team, will be battling it out for the Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS title.
Adin Masencamp will be eyeing out a win in the Billabong Junior Series at Magna Tubes.
Divisions for the Billabong Junior Series range from Under 12 Boys right up to Under 20 Boys and Girls, and competition is going to be fierce as South Africa’s best young talents battle it out for individual honours. With eight international competitors included in the premier Under 20 division, it’s also going to be a good test for our boys as they square-up with some of the biggest young talents in the world.
Check out the press release below for more details.
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BILLABONG JUNIOR SERIES TO DECIDE 2015 WSL AFRICA PRO JUNIOR CHAMPIONS
Shane Sykes and Gina Smith Top Seeds for Next Event in Jeffreys Bay
Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh), seen here in action during Round 1 of the J-Bay Open, is one of the top contenders for the Billabong Junior Series event at Magnatubes in Jeffreys Bay next week
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Saturday 11 July, 2015) – The results of the 2014 / 15 Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS will decide the 2015 WSL Africa Pro Junior men’s and women’s champions while the final rankings will be used to determine the surfers who will represent the region at the WSL Junior Championships next January.
The opening event in the series was completed at Seal Point in October 2014 and the first of two events in 2015 kicks off at Magnatubes in Jeffreys Bay from Monday to Friday, 13 – 17 July. The series of WSL JQS 1,000 rated events will conclude at Seal Point at the end of September.
Shane Sykes from Salt Rock, winner of the 2014 Men’s event, is the top seed for the Jeffreys Bay event and will need to produce his best performance to maintain his rankings lead in a world class lineup of South African and international surfers aged 20-and-under.
Sykes will be up against compatriots Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh), winner of the JBU Supertrials and currently competing in the J-Bay Open CT event; Jeffreys Bay local Dylan Lightfoot, an established QS campaigner who won the coveted wildcard in the 2014 J-Bay Open, and a host of other top competitors including SA junior champions Matt McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay), Adin Masencamp (Strand) and Michael Monk (East London) in the five-day contest.
The strong international challenge comes from Ethan Ewing (AUS), winner of the Carve Pro Junior in Sydney in January; Seth Moniz (HAW), who clinched the Sunset Beach Pro Junior title in Hawaii earlier this year; Miguel Blanco (PRT), ranked third among the WSL Europe juniors, and half a dozen other highly rated competitors from Australia, the USA and Hawaii.
Jeffreys Bay’s Gina Smith heads the all South African lineup in the Women’s event. Smith, who represented the Africa region in the WSL Junior Championships in Portugal last year, faces tough opposition from second seed Teal Hogg (Umhlanga), winner of the SA U17 title at the Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay last year.
SA national team member Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach) and Jade Mets (Salt Rock) round out the top four while Nicole Pallet (Durban), former SA junior champ Chrystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) and Natasha van Greunen (Cape Town) will also be contenders for a podium finish in the event.
With the reeling right-handers at Magnatubes being used as a contest venue for the first time, exceptionally talented fields of competitors and five days in which to choose the best conditions for the three days of competition required to produce the champions, next week’s Billabong Junior Series event is set to deliver a feast of spectacular surfing.
“Our thanks to Billabong and BOS for their continued involvement in Pro Junior surfing in the Africa region,” said Colin Fitch, Operations Manager for WSL Africa. “You have been and continue to be the foundation for the future South Africa stars on the World Surf League.”
The Billabong Junior Series, which also features Surfing South Africa (SSA) Pro Surf Tour (PST) rated events for boys in Under 12 and boys and girls in U14 and U16 age categories, is the world’s most prestigious and longest-running junior surfing series.
Started in 1997, the series has hosted 51 individual events over its illustrious history and has paid over R1.3 million in prize money, making it South Africa’s richest junior surfing series. All of the country’s top international performers, including CT members Jordy Smith, Travis Logie, Ricky Basnett, David Weare and Royden Bryson, have honed their skills by competing in series events.
The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS at Magnatubes forms part of the J-Bay Winterfest, a multi-sport and music festival in Jeffreys Bay from July 8 – 19. More details at www.jbaywinterfest.com