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Big Results After Long Day |
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Written by Ben Kennings
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Friday, 30 May 2008 |
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Matt Hewitt - Image Organoff/ISA
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The Rip Curl New Zealand Junior Surfing Team surfed to several excellent results on day five of the 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships overnight. Four surfers advanced through their qualifying round heats to be sitting amongst the top 12 surfers in their respective divisions. Paco Divers (Sandy Bay) and Eli Jacobs (formerly from Taranaki) moved through in the under 18 boys division while Johnny Hicks (Gis) advanced in the under 16 boys division and Airini Mason (formerly from Gisborne) advanced in the under 18 girls division.
Along with the qualifying round surfers the team also had success in the repercharge rounds. Three under 16 boys moved through to the third round while two under 18 girls moved through to the fourth round. Unfortunately the first team member was eliminated from the event with Rosa Thompson (Auck) placing fourth in her third round heat to finish 43rd overall.
Queensland based Rip Curl New Zealand team member Eli Jacobs advanced through his heat at the expense of fellow team member Matt Hewitt (Mnt). Jacobs led for much of the heat after scoring 6.83 for a long righthander early in the heat. However he soon found himself in a tussle for second with Hewitt after Hawaiian surfer Alex Smith posted a 9.0 point ride to jump to the lead. Jacobs backed up his first wave with a 7.67 which was enough to see him advance with Matt Hewitt in third and Medi Veminardi (Fra) in fourth.
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Victorious Eli Jacobs - Image Organoff/ISA
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Paco Divers (Sandy Bay) also progressed in second place in his under 18 boys heat. Divers left it until the final minute before scoring a 5.63 to sneak into second place behind Marc Lacomare (Fra). The result will be pleasing for Divers who has had an indifferent year while competing on the challenging Australasian Pro Junior Series which caters for surfers under the age of 20. However it is likely that experience at the pro junior level has seen him push through his heats at the World Junior Champs. Divers has now eclipsed his 2007 result where he placed 25th.
Airini Mason (Tugun, Qld) progressed through her heat in second place after a low scoring battle that had her amass a heat total of 7.63 to advance. Together with the first placed South African they eliminated surfers from Hawaii and Costa Rica.
Johnny Hicks (Gis) bucked the trend of second placings when he won his third round encounter. Hicks scored 10.67 to win his heat and advance through to the final twelve surfers. Together with the Frenchman they eliminated surfers from South Africa and Australia. The other three under Kiwi 16 boys all contested do or die repercharge round two heats with success. Alex Dive (Mnt) won his heat posting 8.67 on his best wave and finishing up with a 12.77 point heat total. Damien Norman and Blake Myers (WGM) also locked in good high scoring rides but both struggled to find a high scoring back up wave which kept them in second position however still progressing.
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| Holding the fort - Image Organoff/ISA |
In the under 18 girls division Paige Hareb (Tara) played the patience game much to the distress of team coach Larry Fisher who suggested “she took several years off my life with her patience”. However, Hareb did secure the second highest heat score of the event for the girls with an 18.17 point heat total in the second round. In the third round Hareb took 13 minutes to lock in a decent score however she finished strong posting 5.00 and 6.33 on consecutive waves late in the heat to place second. Alexis Poulter (Rag) powered through two rounds as well and will be praying for the bigger swell that is predicted to hit tomorrow. Poulter scored 13.66 in both of her heats for confidence-boasting victories and they will motivate the young surfer to advance through several more heats at the event.
Wave conditions are expected to increase for tomorrow’s action. Coach Fisher thinks this will play into the hands of several Kiwi surfers that enjoy the bigger surf.
The 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships takes place from the 24th of May through until the 1st of April. Live action can be viewed via the following website: http://www.isaworldchamp.com/. Action commences at approximately 6.00pm (NZ time) each night.
Media releases on the teams performance will be distributed daily throughout the event. For further information regarding the Rip Curl New Zealand Junior Surfing Team, please contact Ben Kennings at Surfing New Zealand 07 8250018, 0212278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
All surfers heats have been logged and can be viewed on http://www.isaworldchamp.com/ by clicking on ‘heats on demand’.
Support faxes can be received by the team in France through the following fax number - 0033 825 380 370.
The 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships is an annual event having been held since 2003. New Zealand has competed at the event since its inception as well as competing at the World Grommet Titles as it was formerly known since 1989. New Zealand has been one of the top nations at each event with Jay Quinn (Gis) securing New Zealand’s first World Championship in the Under 18 Men’s division in 2001. New Zealand also placed fourth in 2007 – it’s highest placing since 2001. The 2007 team were aided by finals berths for Matt Hewitt who placed third in the under 16 boys and Paige Hareb who placed fourth in the under 18 girls. 28 countries are competing at the event in 2008.
The tour would not be possible without the support of Rip Curl, New Zealand Community Trust and Surfing New Zealand.
Surfing New Zealand are proudly partnered by
Corona
Hyundai
SPARC
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