It was a tough Day 5 of the DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championships for the SA Juniors, as four more surfers were relegated to the cheer squad, with only Benji Brand, Diran Zakarian, Matt Mcgillivray and Jordy Maree still left in the competition to fight for gold.
Benji Brand’s Thursday wasn’t too bad. He did fail to advance from his qualifying heat, but he got properly pitted and is still in contention.
Team captain Dylan Lightfoot was utterly disappointed to lose out in his Repercharge Round 5 heat of the Under 18 Boys. He showed as much with a heartfelt message to his supporters on his Facebook page:
“Thanks to my family, friends and all the people who supported me here in Nicaragua at the ISA World Juniors, unfortunately today I got knocked out of the event, placing 19th in the world. All I can say is that I tried my best and will live to fight another day!”
Dylan’s a real team player and will no doubt support his teammates still remaining in the event as the waves continue to cook at Nicaragua’s Playa Jiquiliste.
Shane Sykes’ Nicaraguan slob air was not enough to see him stay in the competition.
Also getting knocked out of the competition were Nicole Pallet (U18 Girls), Chanelle Botha (U16 Girls), Shane Sykes (U16 Boys) and Steff Burrows (U16 Boys), as they failed to advance out of their respective repercharge heats during a testing Thursday.
Although Benji Brand got properly slotted during his Under 18 Qualifying Round 4 heat, he still failed to advance when he finished in third. He’s still in with a shot at gold, though, as that just means he drops to the repercharge rounds. After a re-boot, he’ll be fighting it out once more in Repercharge Round 6.
Diran Zakarian will continue to punt for points in Under 18 Boys Repercharge Round 6.
Melkbos ripper Diran Zakarian continued to twist some tweaked-out backhand airs, and gouge a couple turns for good measure, but they weren’t enough to see him through his heat. He fell in the same round as Benji, but also has another crack at claiming a medal in the repercharge rounds.
Under 16 Boys competitor Matt Mcgillivray has gone from strength-to-strength since a stumble on Day 1, and he cruised through to Repercharge Round 6, which is six heat wins away from taking the ISA World Juniors title.
J-Bay’s Matt Mcgillivray is still carving a path through the competition.
Cape Town’s Jordy Maree hasn’t slipped up once in the competition so far, and is still cruising in the qualifying stream of the Under 16 Boys. If he keeps up the momentum, then he’s just two good heats away from a spot in the final. And if he stumbles, then he still has a second chance in the repercharge rounds, so things are looking sharp for the young ripper.
With the cheer squad numbering eight, and the surfers left to battle it out in the competition numbering four, you can expect a massive vuvuzela blast every time one of Team SA’s surfers swat the lip as the DAKINE ISA World Junior Champs kick-off Day 6 in Nicaragua a little later today.
The post-event sunset freesurf made a tough day a little easier to swallow.
You can watch the action LIVE on www.isawjsc.com from around 2:40pm (SA time) this afternoon, and see if the SA Juniors can keep up the fight.
Here are the highlights from Day 5.
Check out the official press release below.
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RACE FOR THE GOLD HEATS UP IN NICARAGUA
With the help of Koa Smith, the defending Team Champion, Hawaii, is holding on to the lead heading into the final three days of the DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship. Photo: ISA/Michael Tweddle
The Surf Continues To Pump at the DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
As the DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship approaches its final days of competition, the race for the Gold Medals and Team Champion Trophy intensified. The surf continued to pump in the 3-4 foot range, with many overhead sets, and with Nicaragua’s legendary offshore wind blowing from dawn till dusk, for the fourth day in a row.
After 5 days of competition, the defending Team Champion, Team Hawaii, is leading the charge as they have not lost a single athlete yet.
Following close behind is Team Australia, which has only lost one athlete. Currently, in third is Team France followed by USA, Peru, South Africa, Brazil, and Japan.
Unfortunately for Team Nicaragua, the local team, they lost their last team member, Jackson Obando, today
“As we approach the final days of the DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, all teams continue to give their best effort,” commented ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Congratulations to Nicaragua for their fine showing as they fielded their first ever Junior team in the history of ISA competition. I am confident that with the government’s support, Team Nicaragua will continue to improve.”
Aguerre also said, “The waves continue to be amazing here in the beautiful paradise that is Playa Jiquiliste, Nicaragua. The world’s best juniors are giving us an incredible show, so be sure not to miss any of the action on the live webcast. And if you did not watch it today, go to the video section for the highlights of each day.”
The 5th Day of the event started with the Boys Under-18 Qualify Round 4, in which the best surfer was Hawaii’s Koa Smith, posting a 14.50. Smith advanced in first place to the Qualify Semi-Final ahead of last year’s Bronze Medalist, Noe Mar McGonagle (CRC, 12.50), Kain Daly (HAW, 9.90) and Cam Richards (USA, 7.27).
After that, it was the Repechage Rounds in the Girls and Boys divisions, where more competitors were eliminated from competition.
In the Boys Under-16 Repechage, Team USA competitor Jake Marshall was a standout in his division, surviving another day in the contest. Marshall earned the highest total heat score in Repechage, with 12.67, defeating Douglas Jose from Brazil (9.00) and sending home Japan’s Takumi Yasui (6.43) and the local Nicaraguan favorite Jackson Obando (0.83).
In Girls Under-18 Repechage, Nikki Viesins (USA), earned 11.93, defeating Bailey Nagy (HAW, 10.80), Keshia Eyre (POR, 7.23) and Ella Williams (NZL, 4.70). Other standouts in this Repechage Round were Miluska Tello (PER), Marie Troja (FRA), Lulu Erkeneff (USA) and Vania Torres (PER), who all advanced to the next round.
Nicaragua has delivered excellent surf every day of competition, keeping the world’s best junior surfers stoked and barralled. Photo: ISA/Rommel Gonzales
Tia Blanco, another Team USA member, led the Girls Under-16 division. Blanco scored 14.26 dominating her fellow contestants Kim Veteau (FRA, 5.03), Minami Koyama (JPN, 4.43) and Chanelle Botha (RSA, 1.93). Other competitors that advanced in this division were Leilani McGonagle (CRC), Tessa Thyssen (FRA), Isabella Nichols (AUS) and Nagisa Tashiro (JPN).
For a full list of today’s results, click here – http://isawjsc.com/results/
The 2013 DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship resumes Friday at 7:40am with The Morning Show hosted by Chris Ernst, and with guests from Team South Africa and Team France.
Following that, the competition will feature:
Main Podium:
2 Heats Qualify 5 Boys U-18
2 Heats Qualify 5 Boys U-16
2 Heats Qualify 4 Girls U-16
2 Heats Qualify 4 Girls U-18
3 Heats Repechage 6 Boys U-18
4 Heats Repechage 6 Boys U-16
2 Heats Repechage 5 Girls U-16
2 Heats Repechage 5 Girls U-18
2 Heats Repechage 7 Boys U-16
2 Heats Repechage 7 Boys U-18
The live webcast of the entire 2013 DAKINE ISA World Junior Surfing Championship is available on www.isawjsc.com
Here is the scheduled for Day 6:
Friday, 7:40am Playa Jiquiliste, Nicaragua
Friday, 5:40am West Coast USA
Friday, 2:40pm Western Europe
Friday, 11:40pm Sydney, Australia
