Top Junior Surfers Have Sights Set On Victory at The Quiksilver Pro Junior and King Of The Groms

Durban  - With the Quiksilver Pro Junior and the Quiksilver King Of The Groms just around the corner, the country’s top junior surfers are gearing up for some serious competitive surfing and are on the hunt for victory.

2010 South African Junior Team Captain Beyrick De Vries is one of the top seeds for the Quiksilver Pro Junior, but he will have his work cut out for him, as the rest of the field in this highly competitive group of surfers will be snapping at his heels for a win. Shaun Joubert from Mossel Bay has been performing well of late, Durban surfer Chad Du Toit has been traveling extensively and racking up some good results abroad, and dark horse Nic Godfrey from Cape St Francis is frothing for a victory. Brendon Gibben from Kommetjie and Dale Staples from St Francis Bay cannot be discounted either, with both having good experience at competition at this level as well as both with big wins behind them. The event minisite is now live at: www.quikprojunior.co.za  where you can find out more about these surfers.

The winner of the Quiksilver Pro Junior will take home US$ 2,500 (R20 000) and 1500 valuable ASP points.
 
In the Quiksilver King Of The Groms competition there are two hotly contested divisions, U16 and U14, with the winner of the U16 division heading off to compete in the International King Of The Groms event to be held in France. This contest will be held in conjunction with the Quiksilver Pro France World Tour event in September. There is also a massive R19 500 in prize money up for grabs for these two divisions with the U16 winner taking R5 000. Favourites for the Quiksilver King Of The Groms in Durban are Slade Prestwich from Scottburgh, as well as goofy-footer Steven Sawyer from Jeffrey’s Bay, Diran Zakarian from Melkbosstrand, and Dylan Lightfoot from St Francis Bay. Others in with a chance are Jarred Veldhuis and Benji Brand, both hailing from that hotbed of junior surfing, Kommetjie in Cape Town. The King Of The Groms event is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa and will count towards crowning the PST (Pro Surf Tour) champions for 2010.

In amongst the fierce competition going down, there will also be a speciality ‘Expression Session’ taking place, with two awards and two prizes. The first award is the ‘Red Bull Got Wings Award’. This is an award that will go to the surfer that performs the biggest and best aerial maneuver in the Expression Session, and it comes with a R1,500 prize. The second is the ‘Resolution Best Wave Award’ that will go to the surfer that surfs the best on any single wave in the Expression Session. There will also be a R1,500 prize for this award.

Every competitor in the Quiksilver Pro Junior and the Quiksilver King Of The Groms will also receive a free ticket to go watch the Ultimate Wave Tahiti at the IMAX Theatre in Gateway. The movie features Kelly Slater and Raimana Van Bastolaer surfing one of the planet’s most challenging waves, Tahiti’s Teahupo’o.

The Quiksilver Pro Junior and the Quiksilver King Of The Groms is brought to you by Durban and Resolution. Other sponsors include ASP, Surfing South Africa, Supersport and Red Bull.