“Today was a real roller coaster ride for the Team, (which saw us) losing a few surfers into the Repercharge Rounds” reported Isaac February – the SA Team manager at the 2014 Vissla ISA World Junior Champs.
“But the Team stays strong and united, and we have not lost a single surfer in the contest. We will battle ahead and make our intentions known.”
J-Bay’s Joshe Faulker advanced to Qualifying Round 3 in the Under 16 Boys division.
For those readers not familiar with ISA competitions, here’s a quick explanation:
All competitors in each division start the event on equal footing – the Qualifying draw. Finish first or second in your heat and you advance to the next round of Qualifying. If you finish third or fourth, you then drop to the Repercharge Rounds – which is your last chance in the competition. If you finish third or fourth in the Repercharge Rounds, then your event is over and you join the cheer squad.
Basically, staying in the Qualifying Rounds ensures you keep your ‘get out of jail’ card in your boardies’ pocket and have a shorter route to the final. If you drop to the Repercharge Rounds, you then need to surf twice as many heats to make it to the final – but it’s still possible to win the whole event.
KZN’s Teal Hogg did enough in the tricky conditions to advance to Round 2 in Girls Under 18.
Team SA unfortunately saw five surfers drop to the Repercharge Rounds on Day 2 in difficult conditions at La Fae Beach in Ucuador.
In the Under 16 Boys division, Ethan Fletcher and Adin Masencamp found the going tough and finished third in their Qualifying Round 2 heats to drop to Repercharge Round 2.
Team captain, Max Armstrong, and Ntando Msibi finished third and fourth respectively in their Under 18 Qualifying Round 2 heats to drop into Repercharge Round 2.
Girls Under 16 Qualifying got underway on Day 2, but Ruth Armstrong couldn’t find the waves she needed to advance through her Round 1 heat and dropped into the Repercharge Round 1 draw.
Boland ripper, Adin Masencamp, slipped into Repercharge Round 2 after finishing third in his heat.
KZN’s Cana Foster was the only heat winner on Day 2, when she claimed victory in Girls Under 16 Qualifying Round 1 to book a spot in Qualifying Round 2.
Also advancing to the next Round in the Qualifying draw were Shane Sykes and Steff Burrows – who both finished second in their Round 2 heats.
Jordan Maree and Joshe Faulkner finished runner-up in their respective heats during Under 16 Boys Qualifying Round 2 to advance to Qualifying Round 3.
In the Under 18 Girls division which got underway on Day 2, both Chanelle Botha and Teal Hogg finished second in their Qualifying Round 1 heats to advance to Round 2.
Jordy Maree sliced apart some choppy lefts to advance to Round 3 of Boys Under 16 Qualifying.
The 8-day tournament runs until 13 April, when world champions will be crowned. You can watch the event Live via www.isawjsc.com/live from approximately 15:00 (SA Time) each day.
Check out the official event website for the 2014 Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championships to view all the results, team standings and highlights from the event.
You can also check out the Team’s official Facebook page for behind-the-scenes photos and updates.
