Media Release: Friday, 7 March 2008

Organisers of the Billabong Junior Series, the country's premier circuit of surfing events for boys aged 20 and under, have decided to streamline the next two events on the 2008 calendar to save unnecessary time and expenses incurred by the competitors.

The events in Durban (April) and Cape Town (May) will be cut from four days to three and now will run from a Friday to a Sunday.

"By giving the girls their own circuit of events – the Billabong 'Girls Get Out There' Summer Surf Series – we have found that the duration of the Billabong Junior Series events can be reduced," explained Peter Nicholson, marketing manager for Billabong South Africa.

"Running from Friday to Sunday still provides sufficient time to complete Pro Junior (U20), U16, U14 and U12 divisions plus the Von Zipper Air Show. This cuts the time and costs surfers and their families need to spend at events by 25%," Nicholson added.

"The growing number of junior events countrywide also means many days of school missed which could have a negative impact on the youngsters' education, so where we can shave a day off and assist with this, we will endeavour to do so."

Just over 100 entries were received for the first event at St Michaels-on-Sea (St Mikes) in Southern KwaZulu-Natal at the end of February and similar numbers are expected for the Durban and Cape Town events. The last two events in the series, at Victoria Bay and Jeffreys Bay respectively, have traditionally attracted much bigger entries and a decision on whether these can be completed in three days will be taking closer to the time.

The five-event Billabong Junior Series offers over R230 000 in prize-money to surfers across the age categories and traverses the entire coastline. Ratings points are awarded to competitors based on the position they achieve in each event. The series titles in the four divisions go to those who accumulate the highest total from their best four results after the fifth and final event in Jeffreys Bay in September.

The Billabong Junior Series is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport, and the ratings points earned in each event also count towards the annual SSA Pro Surf Tour (PST) rankings.

The fifth and final series event in Jeffreys Bay in September will feature a Grade One ASP Pro Junior International event sanctioned by ASP Africa. The ratings points from this event will count towards the 2008 ASP Africa Pro Junior title and towards the recipients of the five coveted invitations to the prestigious Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Sydney, Australia in January.

The four remaining events in the series are scheduled for Durban (25-27 April), Cape Town (9-11 May) and Vic Bay (7-10 August) before concluding in the surfing Mecca of Jeffreys Bay (18-21 September) where the series champions will be crowned for the 12th consecutive year.

The Billabong Junior Series is proudly supported by First National Bank, Kustom footwear, Von Zipper eyewear and Palmers surf accessories.

Entry forms for the Billabong Junior Series can be downloaded from the SSA website at www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za