TAHITI, French Polynesia (Friday, April 6, 2012) ? The people of French Polynesia love surfing, these islands are home to dozens of world-class waves and a slew of talented up and coming surfers. This is the second of two back-to-back events in French Polynesia after Wade Carmichael (AUS) took out the Rangiroa Pro Junior earlier this week.
The Inaugural Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior will be held at the Papara, a high performance rivermouth beachbreak on the Tahitian capital isle. This is an exciting event as it’s sure to offer Australasia’s best junior surfers the chance to hone their their competitive skills at another world renowned surfing location. The Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior is also a great opportunity for Tahitian surfers and international competitors to gain valuable ranking points to qualify for the prestigious ASP World Junior Tour.
ASP Australasia General Manager Dane Jordan is thrilled to add another event to the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series calendar, and is grateful for the hard work and support from the Tahitian Surf Federation and event sponsors.
“The Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior is a great addition to the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series,” Jordan said. “The international surfers get the chance to surf powerful Pacific island waves, and the local surfers get some great experience competing against some talented Australian, Hawaiian, Indonesian and New Zealand surfers. We are extremely grateful for the hard work that’s gone into putting this event on, and we look forward to seeing some exciting competition.”
Hira Teriinatoofa, Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior Contest Director and one of Tahiti’s most successful professional surfers is excited to see an event of this scale in his hometown.
“I’m proud to have a contest like this in Tahiti,” Teriinatoofa said. “We have great waves and a lot of promising young surfers in Tahiti, and this event gives us a chance to show the world what we’ve got. The surf forecast looks good we can expect good surf at Papara with a south swell favouring the left-handers. It’s going to be an exciting weekend.”
The event will feature ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series number one rated surfer Wade Carmichael (AUS), Kevin Bourez (PYF) the younger brother of Tahitian ASP World Championship Tour surfer Michel Bourez, New Zealand’s Dune Kennings (NZL) and Ivan and Nathan Florence (HAW) younger brother of Hawaiian ASP World Championship Tour surfer John John Florence.
