Host nation, USA finished top of the standings at the 2015 Vissla ISA World Junior Champs, while South Africa improved their eighth place finish from last year to end the tournament in seventh overall in Oceanside, California.
Leonardo Fioravanti’s victory in the Under 18 division was inspirational.
South Africa’s Shane Sykes was well on his way to a spot in the Under 18 Finals, until he failed to advance by a narrow margin just a single heat away from the Main Event Final. He had another chance in the Repercharge Round, but once again finished third to fall out of the event in seventh spot overall.
The Under 18 Boys division was won by Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti, which was not only a first ISA Gold medal for his country, but also a remarkable comeback story from the broken back he suffered earlier this year at the Volcom Pipe Pro.
South Africa’s next top performer was Under 16 ripper, Sebastian Williams, whose run came to an end on Day 6. Seb finished the tournament in 13th place overall in his division. The Under 16 Boys division was won by Team USA member, Stevie Pittman, who was unmatched in the beachbreak peaks of Oceanside.
USA’s Stevie Pittman was a deserved winner of the Under 16 Boys division.
France’s Tessa Thyssen took the win in the Under 18 Girls division, claiming 1000 points for her country to help them finish in second place overall. The Under 16 Girls division, meanwhile, was won by Summer Macedo, whose Team Hawaii finished third overall and were unable to defend their title.
Highlights of the final day of the 2015 Vissla ISA World Junior Champs.
Final Results:
Boys U-18
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Gold Medal
Nommé Mignot (FRA) Silver Medal
Jake Marshall (USA), Bronze Medal
Shun Murakami (JPN), Copper Medal
Girls U-18
Tessa Thyssen (FRA), Gold Medal
Tia Blanco (USA), Silver Medal
Frankie Harrer (USA), Bronze Medal
Mahina Maeda (HAW), Copper Medal
Boys U-16
Stevie Pittman (USA), Gold Medal
Reef Heazlewood (AUS), Silver Medal
Marco Mignot (FRA), Bronze Medal
John Mel (USA), Copper Medal
Girls U-16
Summer Macedo (HAW), Gold Medal
Macy Callaghan (AUS), Silver Medal
Brisa Hennessey (HAW), Bronze Medal
Teresa Bonvalot (POR), Copper Medal
Final Team Standings:
1. USA – Winner of the ISA World Junior Team Champion Trophy
2. France – Team Silver Medal
3. Hawaii – Team Bronze Medal
4. Australia – Team Copper Medal
5. Japan
6. Portugal
7. South Africa
8. Costa Rica
9. Peru
10. Tahiti
11. Great Britain
12. Brazil
13. Barbados
14. Argentina
15. New Zealand
16. Mexico
17. Chile
18. Ecuador
19. Nicaragua
20. Puerto Rico
21. Belgium
22. Wales
23. Panama
24. Canada
25. Israel
26. Germany
27. Italy
28. Colombia
29. Norway
30. Russia
31. El Salvador
32. Denmark
33. Uruguay
34. Venezuela
35. Jamaica
35. Austria
For more details, go to isaworlds.com/juniors
You’ll also find all the highlights, photos and results from the event.
We really do suck at competitive surfing as a country. We have only one guy on the WCT, and after jordy.. nothing really. Everyone sucks on the QS and our groms end behind the likes of Portugal and Japan. Not that I care too much, pro surfing is just a tiny aspect of surfing.
And everyone finished behind Italy in the Under 18 Boys final 😉
Fiorivanti is a freak though. That oke surfs so damn good for such a young guy. I look forward to watching him in the WCT and hope he can make the step up.
The saffa kids looking to crack it do not have the bucks to do all the events…..check the recent zag write up on the QS compo cost – R 300K yearly budget.Unless their folks are multi millionaires seems very unlikely that SA sponsors will cough that up much for limited return.What this does to their motivation is the can of worms. They need to have the fight in them like the Brazzos have coming from nothing- live in the flavelas rest of your life or surf your way out of poverty.Easier said than done.Pie in the sky…..the kiddo’s surfing needs to be from another world to crack it.
You can’t use the money thing as an excuse with the brazillians doing so well (as you mentioned). The events that I have watched e.g. Ballito, Portugal comes to mind, our surfers really really sucked. Scoring under 8 point heat totals. You get the feeling they are going through the motion with one eye at a cushy surf industry job while staying in jbay waiting for them in the end.
get the wsl app and preview the highlights of the junior events videos…
Our guys still surf like children compared to other countries…
what a bleak future lies ahead of us…eish