De Vries and Baum Shine At Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships

Piha Beach, New Zealand – In an exciting final day of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships, Team South Africa place a solid fourth in the team event, as well as scoring final places in two divisions in the individuals event. Team Australia won the Championships from Hawaii in second, and the USA in the third, with South Africa right behind them in fourth.

In the U18 girl’s division Durban surfer and Roxy team rider Sarah Baum fought a tough battle, and despite some strong rides and her typical goofy-foot flair, ended up in third place. Baum had been finding form all week in the beachbreak conditions of the venue, but fell short of a big result in the final heat.

Another Durban surfer and Quiksilver rider Beyrick De Vries also had a great week, surfing dynamically and turning heads in all of his heats. Beyrick looked like he was headed for victory in the U18 boy’s division, and had many people calling him as the man to beat. Although De Vries surfed an excellent final, he came up against a crew of determined international surfers who were going crazy in the three-foot right hand bowls, and found himself in fourth place. Team captain De Vries surfed a good contest and captained his team well, and his place in the final was a fine testament to a job well done.

The U18 division title was won by Brazilian sensation Gabriel Medina with a final heat score of 19.90 points out of a possible 20 from Jordin Watson (Aus), Tamaroa McComb (Tah) and Beyrick de Vries (ZAF). In the U16 division Australian Matt Banting came out on top while Aussie team mate Tyler Wright fended off a strong field to take the U18 Girls title.  

In more good news Quiksilver surfer Jarred Veldhuis from Kommetjie was awarded a 2010 ISA Individual Scholarship, along with fellow South African team member Papi Makanyane.

Quiksilver South Africa’s Marketing Manager Dane Patterson was pleased with the results. “We are very happy with Beyrick, Sarah and Jarred’s achievements,” said Dane. “They flew the SA flag high. The event was great and really showcased the best junior surfers in the world, Beyrick was on fire and really proved that he’s one of the best junior surfers in the world at the moment. He will be a forced to be reckoned with in the years to come!”  

The Olympic style ISA Aloha Cup, which pits national teams against each other, was also won by Team Australia. France finished in second, with South Africa in third place. All results and final points can be found on the ISA event website: www.isaworldjuniors.com

For this event the South African team was funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), and Quiksilver South Africa were the official South African team clothing sponsor. Power Balance and Skullcandy also gave their support to the team.  

Surfing South Africa is the organisation recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, (SASCOC) Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa.