;

The second of five events on the 2007 Billabong Junior Series got underway in excellent one to 1.3 metre (3-4 foot) offshore waves at the Bay of Plenty in Durban before a strong Easterly wind and rain made conditions difficult for the country’s top 20 year-old and younger surf stars.

The opening two rounds of the Pro Junior (U20) boys division enjoyed the best of the surf with Mark Shepperson (Umdloti) the standout performer, recording both the highest individual ride – 8.5 points out of 10 – and the highest heat total of 14.4 (out of 20) to win his round of 48 heat comfortably.

U16 star Dale Staples (St Francis Bay) was another who reveled in the long right breaking waves, posting 13.25 points for the heat win, and along with Gareth Moys (Shelley Beach) upsetting the seeding by relegating highly rated Hadyn MacNicol (Scottburgh) to third place and out of the event.

Former SA junior representative Jaco Steyn (Melkbosstrand) was another who was surprisingly sidelined, finishing behind Justin Grey (Bluewater Bay) and Casey Grant (Scottburgh), who continued to impress after charging through the field to take the runner-up spot in the first event of the series at St Mikes in February.

The four-day event features a total of 150 entries from every nook and cranny on the SA coastline and offers a total of over R30 000 in prize-money to the top performers in the Pro Junior boys and girls’ divisions plus U16, U14 and U12 boys.

The balance of the first day’s action sees the first rounds of the U14 and U12 divisions with Friday starting with the U16 trials before the top seeds in the Pro Junior boys and girls take to the surf in their respective round of 32 heats. Second day action ends with round of 24 heats for the U16’s.

The finals in all five divisions are scheduled for Sunday along with the Von Zipper Air Show where the country’s top ‘fly-boys’ display their aerial talents with the best completed manoeuvre earning the winner-takes-all R1 800 prize-purse.

The Billabong Junior Series is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport in this country, and proudly supported by First National Bank, Palmers, Kustom, Von Zipper, Red Bull and Silver Bullet Productions

See the attached Fast Facts file for information on the Billabong Junior Series and the top seeds for this event

More details on the Billabong Junior Series, including profiles on some of the top performers, results of previous events and other surfing news can be found at www.billabong.com/africa

Billabong Junior Series - Durban - Fast Facts

Issued on behalf of:
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2600
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Email:               laureen.payne@billabong.co.za 

Compiled & Issued by:
Life's a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie, 7976 South Africa
Tel / Fax:     +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Mobile:        +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:          lifesabeach@mweb.co.za