SUNSET BEACH, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, January 25, 2013) - A massive day for the sport of surfing unfolded as the world’s best Junior men and women attacked 8 – 10 foot Sunset Beach at the North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior presented by Da Hui and showed why the future of our sport is in good hands. At first light there were 12-foot closeout sets rolling through Sunset and there were 30 juniors paddling out to practice for their heats. The courage and determination displayed by the young kids is revolutionary and Australian Jack Robinson and California’s Meah Collins would emerge with victories.
Kelly Slater, 41, came down to commentate for the Final and was blown away at how hard the kids were charging.
“I wasn’t surfing out here when I was their age,” Slater said.
Barton Lynch also offered his time on the live web.
“This has to be the biggest surf ever for a Junior competition and a new bar has been set for the sport of surfing,” Lynch said.
Jack Robinson, 16, traveled from Western Australia to show his stuff at Sunset Beach and he did just that, winning the Men’s North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior. Robinson has been in form the whole event, but really turned up the heat in the Semifinals and Final. In the Semifinals, the Australian put up a 17-point total with two incredible rides showing a variety of rail turns, snaps and off-the-lips. In the Final he opened up with an 8-point ride and never looked back, finding the best waves in the challenging conditions and surfing them perfectly.
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Miguel Tudela, from Peru, finished second in the North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior and put on a wicked display of backside surfing through out the entire event. Tudela attacked every section that came his way with big backside off the lips and floaters.
Kalani David, from Hawaii, was one of the younger competitors but it didn’t show in his approach. David surfed incredible the whole event with multiple 9 point rides showing a lot of assertiveness and confidence in his approach to Sunset Beach.
Leo Fioravanti, from Italy, rounded out the final in 4th place but surfed really well in every heat and this result will only give him more confidence as he continues to pursue his goals of being a WCT surfer.
Meah Collins, winner of the Women’s North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior, is from Newport Beach and the daughter of former WCT surfer Richie Collins. Collins was charging in the big surf and it was really incredible to see these young girls even paddle out in the treacherous conditions. Meah was ready for the challenge and when asked what she thought about surfing big sunset she simply said, ”Let’s do this!”
Dax McGill finished a close second with an incredible ride in the dying minutes that just came up short on the score she needed to win. Tatiana Weston Webb finished third in the final, unable to find the waves she needed in the tricky conditions. Weston-Webb is one of Hawaii’s most promising young women surfers and almost qualified for the ASP WCT last year and has an incredible backside attack. Brisa Hennessy finished out the final in fourth but at only 14 years old, she showed a lot of courage and skill in these incredibly challenging conditions.
