1 March, 2013 1 March, 2013

Country’s Best Groms Descend on Surf City – Pro Junior Season Opener

If you were in Durban this week, you may have noticed an army of groms scuttling around the lineup picking off as many waves as their boundless energy could muster. The sudden swelling in the number of surfing groms isn’t a result of Durban’s tap water, it’s because the first Pro Junior comp of the year is kicking off this weekend at New Pier, and the groms are getting in some last-minute coaching.

If you sat and watched for a while, you may have noticed the level these groms were surfing at, and with good conditions and a rise in swell added to the fact that New Pier’s sandbank is pretty close to perfectly tapered, there’s a good chance some crazy surfing is going to be dished out by the country’s best Under 20 surfers.

Bryce is the son of Durban legend Mike Burness, and like his father he's developed an affinity with Durban's bowls that make him a serious contender for the first Pro Junior event of the year.

Bryce is the son of Durban legend Mike Burness, and like his father he’s developed an affinity with Durban’s bowls that make him a serious contender for the first Pro Junior event of the year.

Competition for the the first event of the Billabong Junior Series presented by Bos kicks off tomorrow morning at 8:00am and runs until Sunday afternoon, when the winners of this season’s first Pro Junior competition will be announced. Head on down if you’re at all interested in who will be carrying the Saffa surfing torch on tour in the not very distant future.

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Press Release: Thursday 28 Feb 2013 – Durban

Billabong Junior Series Presented By BOS Kicks Off At Durban’s New Pier This Weekend

The first of four events in the 2013 Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS kicks off this weekend (2 & 3 March) at New Pier in Durban. Featuring nearly 100 of the country’s top 20-and-under surfers, the series offers a total of over R750 000 in prize-money and prizes along with coveted titles in eight age divisions for boys and girls.

Favourable conditions with light winds, a pushing swell and excellent sand banks at Durban’s premier surfspot all point to an exciting start to the 17th annual edition of South Africa’s longest running junior surfing series.

The event gets underway with an opening function for all competitors and officials in the Collopy Room at Durban Surf Lifesaving Club at North Beach at 6pm on Friday evening where snacks will be served. The first heats in the Under 16 boys’ division take to the surf at 8:00am on Saturday morning.

The early rounds for the U12, U14 boys and girls, U16 boys and U18 boys and girls will be run on Saturday with all the finals scheduled for Sunday. The U20 divisions, where the 16 boys and eight girls are competing for winner-takes-all R10 000 prize-purses, will be run entirely on Sunday.

Other awards at stake at the event include the VonZipper Flair Up Award and the DaKine Youthful Movement Award which each earn R10 000 for the winners, the Nixon Winner Takes All (WTA) contest where the surfer posting the highest heat score receives a WTA engraved Nixon watch and specialty prizes including an array of cutting-edge Sony products.

Awards for the overall top performers across the four-event series include Billabong sponsorships amounting to R75 000 each for six deserving surfers, the BOS Surfer of Series who collects cash and prizes to the value of R20 000 and the All Aboard Travel Sportsmanship Award for the surfer displaying the best sportsmanship who wins a return ticket and four nights accommodation in Bali, Indonesia, valued at R17k.

The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, recognised by the Dept of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing. The events form part of the Pro Surf Tour (PST) with competitors in all the divisions except the U20’s earning points towards their 2013 PST rankings.

Billabong South Africa can be followed on Facebook at Billabong South Africa
Billabong South Africa is on Twitter @BillabongSA
Billabong is on Instagram @billabongsa – the series hashtag is #billabongjnr

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