Klee Strachan heads the ratings in the premier Pro Junior boys’ division

The 19 year-old from Winkelspruit, just south of Durban, has had an

outstanding year, winning the Durban leg of the series and finishing

runner-up at St Mikes and Victoria Bay to hold a 455 point lead over

second ranked Chad du Toit (Durban).

The 1 500 points on offer to the winner of the ASP Africa sanctioned,

R37 500 Grade 1 Pro Junior event at JBay means that the top seed needs

reach the semifinals to ensure that he will be crowned the 12th annual

series champion on Sunday.

Du Toit is best placed to capitalise on any slip up by Strachan,

although he must win the event and Strachan finish fifth or lower to

snatch the crown, while the likes of Kyle Beach (Queensburgh), Nick

Godfrey (Cape St Francis), Brendon Gibbens (Kommetjie), Kyle Lane

(Umhlanga) and others can still force their way into contention for a

place in the top three on the series ratings and a share of the R28 000

series prize-pool.

The one to beat will be Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), the 2008 Billabong Junior

Series Pro Junior champion, who will be competing in just his third

event in the 2008 series. Currently rated No 107 on the ASP World

Qualifying Series (WQS), Palmboom is the defending event champion and

the seventh seed this year.

The points from the Pro Junior event at JBay also count towards the 2008

ASP Africa Pro Junior title. The top four on those ratings after JBay

earn highly coveted invitations to the Billabong ASP World Junior

Championships in Australia in January.

Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga), with three wins in the four events to date,

holds an insurmountable lead in the U16 boys’ ratings. In the absence of

Michael February, who will be competing in France this weekend, the

second and third places in this division are wide open with Dane Staples

(St Francis Bay), Jacob Mellish (Somerset West), Davey Brand

(Kommetjie), Devin Lane (Umhlanga) and David van Zyl (Glenashley) all

capable of grabbing a share of the prize-pool.

The U14’s see Slade Prestwich destined to claim the series title with

the likes of JBay locals Steven Sawyer and Dylan Lightfoot, Diran

Zakarian (Melkbos) and Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie) in contention for

second and third on the yearend rankings.

The final of the U12 boys from the fourth event at Victoria Bay last

month was postponed due to dangerous conditions and will be completed at

JBay before they get their fifth event underway. Benji Brand, winner of

the first three events of the year, heads the ratings with fellow

Kommetjie surfer Max Armstrong in second, followed by Jason Harris

(Scottburgh) and Capetonians Jonah Paarman (Kommetjie), Ethan Fletcher

(Hout Bay) and Jordy Maree (Kalk Bay).

The country’s top eight Pro Junior girls will also showcase their

talents at JBay in the Billabong World Junior Championship Trials. Using

the same one-on-one format that will be used at the event in Australia

in January, the girls will be competing for a single invitation to the

surfing world’s most prestigious junior (U20) tournament, plus R12 000

towards an air-ticket to Australia sponsored by First National Bank.

The competitors include Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie), Sarah Baum

(Athlone Park), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff), Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbos),

Lisa Mace (Kommetjie) and Morag Steele (Somerset West), who were the top

six in the Billabong Girls Get Out There series completed earlier this

year, along with wildcards Nikita Robb (East London) and Bianca

Buitendag (George).

The spectacular Von Zipper Air Show has also been expanded and there

will be separate events for the U12, U14 and U16 boys’ divisions on the

first three days. The winner of each of these events will join the top

aerial surfers from the Pro Juniors in the grand final on Sunday, where

the champion will pocket the winner-takes-all R2 000 prize-purse.

The Billabong Junior 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)

before moving to Durban (25-27 April), Cape Town (9-11 May) and Victoria

Bay in the Southern Cape (7-10 August). It concludes in Jeffreys Bay

(18-21 September) where the series champions will be crowned for the

12th successive year.