Media Release: Sunday, 27 April 2008

Klee Strachan continued the phenomenal run of form that has seen him reach the top five in his last four Pro Junior surfing contests when he defeated first time finalist Mark Shepperson to win the second stop on the 2008 Billabong Junior Series in Durban on Sunday.

Strachan, 19, from Winkelspruit, used superior strategy and his patented forehanded attack to rip up the long right-hand waves that poured through at the Bay of Plenty, getting on the score-sheet early with 6.75 out of 10 before slamming the door on Umdloti based Shepperson's title aspirations with an excellent 7.0 late in the final.

On a windless and warm day with the beach packed with holiday-makers enjoying the long weekend, the country's stand out 20 years-and-younger surfers reveled in the glassy one to 1.3 metre waves.

Strachan pocketed R3 500 and 1 000 points that shot him into the lead on the Billabong Junior Series ratings after two events. Shepperson's haul of R2 500 plus 860 points rocketed him from 13th to fourth in the rankings behind Kyle Beach (Durban), who Shepperson had narrowly defeated in the quarterfinals, and Chad du Toit, who was ousted by Strachan in their man-on-man semifinal.

Once again it was stockily built 12 year-old Benji Brand (Kommetjie) who most impressed the judges, matching his own event record single high score of the event (9.5 out of 10) twice on the final day, and upping the highest accumulated heat total to 18.75 out of 20 in the U12 semifinals.

Brand, who also finished ninth in the Pro Junior (U20) division, was unstoppable in the U12 final, completing a comfortable second successive win to head the division ratings with a perfect 2 000 point tally. All four U12 finalists hailed from Cape Town with Brand finishing ahead of fellow Kommetjie surfers Max Armstrong (2nd) and Jonah Paarman (4th) with Jordy Maree (Tokai) taking third spot.

The final of the fiercely contested U16 division was blighted by a lack of waves and eventually it was superior strategy from 2007 U14 champion Michael February (Kommetjie) that earned in a very close victory over Jacob Mellish (Somerset West), the winning tally being 9.5 vs. 9.2.

Davey Brand (Kommetjie) and Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga), who were outstanding in winning their respective semifinals, were relegated to third and fourth places respectively in the U16 final.

Slade Prestwich (Park Rynie) dominated the U14 final, racking up scores of 8.5 and 5.75 to pip Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie) with Jeffreys Bay's Dylan Lightfoot taking third. Event surprise package Brandon Benjamin (Retreat, Cape Town) finished fourth after upsetting highly rated Steven Sawyer (J-Bay) and Mikey Venter (Warner Beach) in their semi to reach his first final.

The epic conditions produced a glut of high-flying aerials in the Von Zipper Air Show where nearly a dozen manoeuvres were in contention. A perfectly executed double-grab air by Dale Staples got the nod and the St Francis Bay teenager pocketed the R2 000 winner-takes-all prize-purse.

Andrew Smith was the first recipient of the Billabong Inspirational Award when he was presented with a Billabong Foil wetsuit to the cheers of all in attendance. The plucky teenager from the Strand had both feet lacerated by a shark in November last year and after returning to the surf in February, was an inspiration to everyone when he reached the quarterfinals of the U16 division and also competed in the Pro Juniors.

The second Billabong Junior Series event featured great surf and epic performances by over 100 of the country's top emerging surf stars who enjoyed the benefits of an excellent panel of judges who presided over several really tight heats.

Billabong Junior Series
Event # 2 (of 5), Bay of Plenty, Durban

Event Results

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 series is proudly supported by First National Bank, Palmers, Kustom and Von Zipper.

The 2008 Billabong Junior Series started at St Mikes (21-23 February) and after Durban (25-27 April) it continues with stops in Cape Town (9-11 May) and Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape (7-10 August) before concluding in Jeffreys Bay (18-21 September) where the series champions will be crowned for the 12th successive year.

The final event is highlighted by a Grade 1 rated, R40 000 Pro Junior International event sanctioned by ASP Africa. The top four on the yearend ASP Africa Pro Junior ratings receive coveted invitations to the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January 2009.