Day 4 Highlights from Billabong World Junior Championships

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BURLEIGH HEADS, Queensland/Australia (Tuesday, 24 January, 2012) – The rain poured, the wind howled, but that didn’t stop the world’s best junior surfers from putting on a show and the Billabong World Junior Championships Gold Coast today. The young men took to the stormy seas to do battle in the 3 foot (1.5 meter) waves at Burleigh Heads for the completion of the Men’s Round 2 and the first 2 heats of Round 3.

Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF) from Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, put his pointbreak experience to good use at the Billabong World Junior Championships this morning. In the challenging conditions Lightfoot selected the best waves and attacked the best sections, sending Kalani David (USA) packing.

“We can get conditions like this at J-Bay,” Lightfoot said. “There are some really fun waves out there if you get the right ones. I love surfing right-handers, I’d say it’s my strength. It’s a relief to get out of that second Round, I was pretty disappointed for getting into it in the first place, but the positive is getting to surf at Burleigh more because it’s hard to get waves freesurfing out there.”

Evan Thompson (USA) looked at home in the tough conditions at Burleigh today, despite hailing other side of the world – Jacksonville, Florida. Thompson posted the highest heat total of the day to easily advance to Round 3 where he’ll face Matt-Lewis Hewitt (NZ).

“We only get wind swells where I live, so this is normal for me,” Thompson said. “Windy, choppy, sloppy, bumpy, is what I surf all the time, so it kind of feels like I’m at home. I was nervous before that heat because I had a bad first Round heat, but after I got one good score all the pressure went away and I had fun.”

Arashi Kato (JPN) survived a close heat against South African Michael February (ZAF). The two surfers were evenly matched, both managed to post a couple of scores in the good range, but it was Kato who found the highest scores and booked a Round 3 berth.

“The conditions are really hard right now, with wrong winds, but I’m very happy to be into Round 3,” Kato said. “I like to surf this kind of waves, and I hope to do well at this event.”

Andrew Doheny (USA), the 6th seed in the Billabong World Junior Championships Gold Coast used his world renowned laid-back, stylish approach to progress to Round 3 where he’ll take on Beyrick De Vries (ZAF).

“It’s a lot like onshore day at Lower Trestles out there, so I felt right at home,” Doheny said. “My favourite kind of surf is stormy stuff so I’m really stoked, these waves are really fun for me. It’s great to make it through that heat.”

A call will be made at 7:30am tomorrow for a possible 8am start. The Billabong World Junior Championships Gold Coast will be webcast live via www.billabongpro.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 10: Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF) 13.00 def. Kalani David (USA) 10.60
Heat 11: David Van Zyl (ZAF) 10.54 def. Kaishu Tanaka (JPN) 9.50
Heat 12: Evan Thompson (USA) 16.00 def. Pierre-Valentin Labo (FRA) 4.77
Heat 13: Arashi Kato (JPN) 11.90 def. Michael February (ZAF) 10.50
Heat 14: Chase Wilson (USA) 12.60 def. Keala Naihe (HAW) 8.67
Heat 15: Andrew Doheny (USA) 13.10 def. Dylan Kowalski (USA) 10.03
Heat 16: Hiroto Arai (JPN) 14.34 def. Lucas Silveira (BRA) 8.70

BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 9.67 def. Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 8.63
HEAT 2: Medi Veminardi (REU) 10.34 def. Chase Wilson (USA) 6.20

REMAINING BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD COAST ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
HEAT 3: Thomas Woods (AUS) vs. Arashi Kato (JPN)
HEAT 4: Jack Freestone (AUS) vs. Jack Robinson (AUS)
HEAT 5: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Jake Halstead (USA)
HEAT 6: Ian Gouveia (BRA) vs. Matt Banting (AUS)
HEAT 7: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) vs. Caue Wood (BRA)
HEAT 8: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Wade Carmichael (AUS)
HEAT 9: Garrett Parkes (AUS) vs. Tim Macdonald (AUS)
HEAT 10: Kaito Ohashi (JPN) vs. David Van Zyl (ZAF)
HEAT 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF)
HEAT 12: Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) vs. Andrew Doheny (USA)
HEAT 13: Marco Fernandez (BRA) vs. Nathan Carvalho (HAW)
HEAT 14: Matt-Lewis Hewitt (NZ) vs. Evan Thompson (USA)
HEAT 15: Keanu Asing (HAW) vs. Soli Bailey (AUS)
HEAT 16: Dean Bowen (AUS) vs. Hiroto Arai (JPN)

Matt Meola and Albee Layer on Christmas Day.

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MATT & ALBEE XMAS MAUI from Dan Norkunas on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas from Matt Meola!

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Team BBQ at the Quik House on the Northshore.

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Ablee, Matt and Friends Paddle into Jaws!

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“Jaws” Paddle Sesh. 12/8/11 from Peahi Surf Media on Vimeo.

Matt/Albee and Friends.

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super day from albee layer on Vimeo.

Reef and his pet Turtle.

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Andrew Jacobson.

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Andrew from Jackson Winner on Vimeo.

Clay gets Down Down under

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Clay Marzo-The Doggy Door.

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Dion in Cali.

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Clay Marzo-Heads or Tails!

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Bede’s Bells Beach Blog.

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It’s awesome that we will be celebrating the 50th year of the Bells
event this Easter. OK, so that means we’ll be hearing lots of nice
things said about the place, the contest and the epic feats that have
gone on down there since 1961.
But you know what? None of it’s over-the-top, none of it’s embellished.
Bells really is the cathedral of pro surfing. Other events – and
their often five-star rating venues – come and go. But Bells is a
constant in pro surfing, and surfing folklore. It’s always been there
–and it seems like it always will be.
Right from the moment I became interested in contest surfing, Bells
and Easter were there. I guess it’s a bit like Wimbledon and tennis,
the IndyCars and the Indianapolis 500, the golf and the US Masters.
It also helps when you’ve got the coolest trophy in surfing!
And just as there are milestones in life, so there is at Bells.
Fifty years. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Whoever
gets to ring that bell this year will have carved out a special place
in history.
The closest I’ve got to getting my hands on that iconic bell was a few
years ago when I made the final against Kelly. To go one better in the
year of the 50th event? Nice dream, and I’ll be going hell for
leather to make it happen.
They’re forecasting really good swell for the event window, so it
should be a great contest. There’s nothing better than surfing Bells
at six foot with a groomed offshore. I’m frothing just thinking about
it.
Snapper was obviously not the greatest of contests for me. To say I
didn’t get the result I wanted is an understatement. Nobody wants a
throwaway in their first contest of the year.
I don’t know if a black cat crossed my path on the way down to Snapper
when I did finally get to surf my second round heat but pretty much
everything that could go wrong did. My knee decided to blow up on the
morning of the heat and I just didn’t have any idea what was going on.
It felt alright in my first heat and even though I rested it and
didn’t surf again until round 2, things just didn’t work out for me.
The conditions were super tough and I was waiting for waves that
weren’t out there. Sometimes local knowledge can actually be a
disadvantage (I think Mick thought similarly after he was knocked out
in the following round after spending too long waiting outside for
waves he thought were coming).
While I was sitting in what I thought was the right place, Matt
Banting found a wave that won him the heat. He is such a talented
young surfer, and he has such a big future. I just wish I could have
made him work harder for the win.
I got my knee checked out and I have a small tear in my lateral
meniscus. But since Snapper I’ve been doing a lot of strength work on
it and it’s coming good. I’m feeling 100% now.
That’s allowed me to put the Gold Coast contest behind me now. Since
then I’ve been busy doing a couple of the other Aussie leg events,
training and getting my body and boards ready for Bells.
Newcastle was a really fun event. I haven’t been down to Steel City
for a few years now and I’ve got some really good friends there. So
for that reason, I headed down there. Getting to the semis and
securing a third was a helpful way of getting back into a contest
rhythm after my early exit at Snapper.
I also ended up getting involved in one of the more interesting
challenges of my life when I took part in the shaving of the head of
Miss Surfest Runner-Up Paige Haggerston as part of the “World’s
Greatest Shave” promotion. It was pretty intimidating shaving a girl’s
head, I can tell you. At one stage I was thinking of leaving it as a
mullet halfway through, but I ended up shaving the lot off and
bizarrely Paige actually suited it. Good on her for being part of it
all too.
I also went to West Oz for the annual Margaret River event again this
year. I didn’t get the result I wanted there but had a great trip with
the family. I got a couple of fun waves in free surfing and checked
out the wineries. It was also good to see Damo Hobgood get a win.
It’s been a while for him and you could really tell he was over the
moon. The boys had to surf all types of conditions, so Damo earned his
kudos. One particular day it was a good 10 foot and pretty wild out
there, but the boys charged hard.
Bede

Clay Marzo-Breakfast with a Stripper.

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After a long surf session, nothing distracts Clay from devouring a big meal (egg & bacon sandwich, fried rice, banana pancakes), not even a stripper counting a massive stack of one dollar bills at the counter of his favorite local breakfast spot.