A huge day of surfing at the New Zealand Home Loans Surf Festival saw Quarterfinalists decided in the 6-Star Qualifying Series (QS) Port Taranaki Pro and Jacob Willcox (Margaret River, WA/AUS) claim victory in the Chain Resources Men’s Pro Junior.
The 2014 ASP Australasia Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) also wrapped up today for the men, crowning a series champion and deciding which four male surfers get the chance to compete at the ASP World Junior Championships later this year.
Silvana Lima (Brazil), former ASP WCT No. 2, sprung into the Quarterfinals with style, posting the highest single wave score in the process – 9.27. Lima is competing on the QS, fighting for a spot back on the elite Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) after injury and bad results saw her fall off Tour, now she is back and surfing as fast and furious as ever.
“It’s great to be into the Quarterfinals, but Semis or better is my goal,” Lima said. “I feel really comfortable here, I’ve surfed in this event before and the waves here are really similar to what I surf all the time at home in Brazil.”
Current No. 15 on the ASP QS rankings, Keely Andrew (Sunshine Coast, QLD/AUS), will be improving on her already impressive position after advancing into the Quarterfinals of the Port Taranaki Pro. Andrew will take on California’s Sage Erickson in Quarterfinal 2 when competition resumes.
“It was a tough heat, I had Nage (Melamed) and Alize (Arnaud) and they’re both such good surfers,” Andrew said. “I started off pretty average and eventually I just built scores throughout the heat, so I’m pretty happy with it. My ultimate goal would be to win the event, this is my best result so far this year so I’m looking to build on that.”
Laura Enever in Quarterfinal 2 when competition resumes. (North Narrabeen, NSW/AUS) is the only current member of the Top 17 ASP WCT left in the draw at the Port Taranaki Pro, after she progressed into the Quarterfinals and Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), Pauline Ado (FRA) and Dimity Stoyle failed to advance.
“It’s good to come to New Zealand straight after Bells and before Rio and get a good result,” Enever said. “I’m just glad that I’ve come here and it’s paid off and now I can go to Brazil confident and happy. I need all the heats I can get to get me into the right mindset and get my competitiveness back. Brazil will have similar beachbreak waves to here so I’m excited for Finals day tomorrow and excited for the Billabong Rio Pro next week.”
Justine Dupont will take on Laura Enever in the Quarterfinals.
Soli Bailey (Byron Bay, NSW/AUS) lost in the Round before the Quarterfinals surfing with six stitches in his foot, but still amassed enough points to claim the prestigious ASP Australasia Junior Championship. Bailey has joined a star studded list of former winners including Owen Wright, Julian Wilson, Joel Parkinson and Adrian Buchan.
“When I cut my foot last week I thought I’d blown my chance of winning the ASP Australasia Junior Championships,” Bailey said. “It gave a little more drive to surf, but I made it through the heat that I needed to win and it’s feels amazing to have my name on the list of former winners that includes some of the best surfers in the world. I’ve always been consistent, but this is the biggest achievement in my competitive career.”
Willcox was by far the standout surfer of the entire Chain Resources Pro Junior, launching and landing massive airs and carving all the way through the field of 48. Jackson Giles (Maroubra, NSW/AUS) was also impressive, but was forced to settle for 2nd for the second time this season after he was unable to get past Wilcox in the Final.
“This is my second win of the year in the Juniors so I couldn’t be happier,” Willcox said. “It’s been a great event with really fun waves. I’ve been staying with a really cool local family and had heaps of help from Laura and Bronte Macaulay. This is my first time in New Zealand and I’ve absolutely loved it. I’m really looking forward to the ASP World Junior Championships later in the year.”
The ASP 6-Star Port Taranaki Pro will crown an event champion tomorrow.
ASP Australasia World Junior Championship Qualifiers 1 – Soli Bailey 2 – Jacob Willcox 3 – Cooper Chapman 4 – Kelly Norris
