With attention focussed on the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA in Jeffreys Bay yesterday, Jazz Kuschke points out six things you might have missed at the RVCA Junior Challenge, which was on at the same time down at Lower Point.
1) THE SURF CRANKED
Good ‘ole Lower Point must be the ultimate venue for a junior contest – plenty of parking for the chief supporters (the parents), the big grass bank for infrastructure and vibe, the long beach and – most importantly – the peeling right-handers of the most consistent point break in the country. Sure, it’s often overshadowed by its more famous neighbour, Supertubes, but for a grom, it’s damn near close to those waves they draw in the back of their school books.
And did it produce for the first two days. Day one was lined-up, three foot glass and offered manageable conditions for all divisions. Day two was four-foot plus and pumping like a wave machine. It was probably about as good as the place gets. While the waves offered high scoring potential, the increased size also made for physically demanding conditions with long paddles back up the point.
2) SEMI FINAL ONE IN THE UNDER 16 BOYS
On his backhand, Joshe Faulkner smashes Lower Point to pieces.
Arguably the best heat of the weekend was semi final one in the U16 Boys. Adin Masencamp, Joshe Faulkner, Sebastian Williams and Ryan Lightfoot traded wave-for-wave as the sun dipped and the ocean went smooth as glass. At the end of the epic encounter it was Adin Masencamp with both the highest single wave score (9.5) and highest heat score (18.25) who advanced to the finals with JBay goofyfooter Joshe Faulkner. Said a proud coach Lu Whittaker after – “it was his fitness that hurt them today. He’s been training super hard, working with Phil Nel and Brandon Hinton and it showed out there.”
3) JOSHE FAULKNER IS ONE FIT INDIVIDUAL
Said semi final was Joshe’s fourth heat of the day. Including round one of the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA…’Nuff said. He fell short in the U20’s but if his performance (and local knowledge) in that semi was anything to go by he’ll be a big threat in the U16 Boys final today.
4) THE PRESSURE OF PERFORMING ON THE SAME DAY AS THE BIG BOYS
Slade Prestwich won the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA.
The JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA ran at Supers on Sunday (eventually won by Slade Prestwich) and down at Lower Point you could almost feel the energy from further up the beach. Not to be outdone by the big boys, the groms seemed to up their game, perhaps dreaming that one day they’ll be in that Supertrial. Some of the trialists came down to the Lower Point after for a few beers and a braai and treated the frothing groms to signatures. Even Billy Payne signed a few (rumour has it his signature is a smiley face).
5) GROMS SURFING A DIVISION UP
Sebastian Williams has been shredding.
In issue 39.5 (on shelves soon) Jordy Smith talks about how important it was for his development as a contest surfer, so it has been encouraging to see the likes of Ford van Jaarsveld, Joshe Faulkner, Sebastian Williams, Luke Malherbe, Danica Stockigt, Olivia Izzard and Kai Woolf competing (and kicking ass) in divisions above their own. Spare a thought for young James Ribbink who won both U10 and U12 Boys divisions in 2014. He was gunning for the U12 and U14 titles in 2015, but a sprained ankle kept him on the beach and out of the contest vest.
6) RUNAROUNDS
Sunday’s solid four- to five-foot walls offered a canvas for the groms on which to perform, but it also meant a river of a rip running down the point. The sets were relentless at times and getting caught inside a reality during just about every heat. Crystal Hulett, who dropped two sevens within the first ten minutes of her U20 quarter final was one of many who chose to take on the rocks and sprint back up the beach. “Don’t do that,” she joked afterward, visibly exhausted. “Don’t ever do that.” She did take a convincing win in the heat and manage to get back out to sit on her competitors. “There were a lot of wide sets, but on the inside there were smaller, hollower waves running along the shelf which you could really hit and do some powerful turns on,” she said. “So I tried to vary between the outside sets, by watching Supers to know when they’d be coming down the point; while trying to maintain the inside.”
Check out the official press release from Day 2 of the RVCA Junior Challenge below.
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HIGH DRAMA AND UPSETS ON DAY 2 OF THE RVCA JUNIOR CHALLENGE
The contest venue Lower Point, from above.
Lower Point, Jeffreys Bay – Solid four to five-foot pumping surf made for epic conditions on Day Two of the RVCA Junior Challenge at Lower Point. While the waves offered high scoring potential, the increased size also made for physically demanding conditions with long paddles back up the point.
Not to be outdone by the big boys who were competing in the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA up the point at Supertubes (eventually won by Slade Prestwich), the youngsters seemed to up their game.
Kommetjie’s Ford van Jaarsveldt showed what needed to be done in the premier U20 Boys division. The stylish regular footer rode three waves only, carving his way to pocket 7s. “My strategy was to just sit and wait for the sets,” he said afterward. “If you are on the bigger waves they’re going to give you the bigger scores,” he said.
“I’m super stoked it’s picked up, these bigger waves really suit my style of surfing. Was also so much fun to be out there with just three other guys out. If the conditions were like this on any other day it would be so crowded,” he said.
Ford, perhaps more favoured in his own division, was knocked out of U16 boys. Other favourites to lose out were Jake Elkington in the U16 Boys and Anoush Zakarian in the U20 Girls.
Arguably the best heat of the weekend was semi final one in the U16 Boys. Adin Masencamp, Joshe Faulkner, Sebastian Williams and Ryan Lightfoot traded wave-for-wave as the sun dipped and the ocean went smooth as glass. At the end of the epic encounter it was Adin Masencamp with both the highest single wave score (9.5) and highest heat score (18.25) who advanced to the finals with JBay local Joshe Faulkner who was surfing his fourth heat of the day.
They will meet Calvin Goor and Ethan Fletcher tomorrow.
Other standouts on the day included Julian Zens in the U14 Boys, who convincingly beating local Ryan Lightfoot to advance into that division’s semi finals and Mossel Bay’s Nina Harmse, who posted a 9.0 in her U16 Girls quarter final.
St Francis Bay’s Crystal Hulett also impressed, dropping two big scores within the first 10 minutes in her U20 Girls heat, having to run around after the second. “Getting that first wave is crucial,” she said afterward, having beaten Olivia Izzard into second, with Anna Jelema Butler in third and Jade Mets in fourth. “It’s always my strategy to get that first one. There were a lot of wide sets, but on the inside there were smaller, hollower waves running along the shelf which you could really hit and do some powerful turns on,” she said. “So I tried to vary between the outside sets, by watching Supers to know when they’d be coming down the point; while trying to maintain the inside.”
She later advanced to the final, along with Olivia Izzard; Nicole Pallet and Kai Woolf.
Crystal Hulett in action at The Lower Point © Luke Patterson
The forecast looks favourable for tomorrow when the winners will be crowned. Other action to look forward is a the Paddle Battle in association with Red Bull. This paddle battle is open to surfers 16 years and older, and there will be a Rayne Camera, Stance socks and other sponsor products in the prize package. As well as the Spraymate Paint Jam where the groms will be let loose with hundreds of cans of paint to go wild in an expression-session paint jam.
Co-sponsors include Stance, Firewire, Future Fins, Posca, Havaianas, Nixon, Rayne Cameras, Zigzag Magazine, Posca and Red Bull.
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The RVCA Junior Challenge is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), and recognised by the Dept. of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing.
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