Competitors Blaze Through Opening Rounds of Subway Surf Series Pro Junior at Cronulla
Saturday, April 30, 2016: North Cronulla Beach, Sydney
The final Subway® Surf Series Pro Junior for 2016 kicked off today with competitors getting the opportunity to shine in playful two-foot righthanders.
Kai Warner (Narrabeen, NSW) put an exclamation mark on a great day of surfing, scoring a near-perfect 9.00 for a series of explosive forehand turns in the first round of competition. Warner attributed his solid performance to the similar waves he surfs regularly at his local Narrabeen Beach. Warner backed up his score with another excellent 8.00 wave score, taking his accumulative heat total to 17.00 (out of a possible 20 points).
“I was lucky to get two quick waves as it went flat pretty much straight after,” said Warner. “The waves out there are pretty much similar to the waves I surf at Alley Rights at Narrabeen, so I was reasonably comfortable from the minute the heat got underway. It’s awesome having a bunch of the guys from Narrabeen here to cheer us all on as well. It pumps you up the whole way through the heat.”
Kehu Butler (NZL) mirrored Warner’s score, notching up a 17.00 heat total in his first round exchange. The lightening fast New Zealander performed an array of powerful turns to post the score, which left his closest rival chasing a two-wave combination of scores to usurp his lead.
“The waves are really fun out there. I played a pretty patient game out there and it all went in my favour,” said Butler. “My goal is to hopefully win this event, but I’m just happy to keep progressing. Hopefully I can get through the next few as well.”
After finishing in the runner-up spot at the recent Subway® Surf Series Pro Junior at Wollongong, Luke Wrice (Coledale, NSW) continued to excite the judges and spectators, performing an eclectic combination of aerials and critical turns. Wrice stayed selective throughout the heat to post a 16.00 two-wave heat total with his closest rival, Jackson Roberts (Bateau Bay, NSW) unable to claw himself out of a combination situation.
“There’s some really good sections for airs out there and I knew if I could nail a few of them, then I could get a decent score,” said Wrice. “After finishing in second position in the last event, I hope I can go one step further and take out the final event of the season as it’ll definitely help with my overall ranking on the Pro Junior Series.”
Paris Whittaker (Cronulla, NSW) bagged an impressive victory for the locals, taking out her opening exchange. In the declining swell, Whittaker posted a respectable 13.00 heat total to keep her opposition at arms length. Runner-up Bella Wilton remained in contention over the course of the heat, posting a 7.00 wave score, but was unable to close the 2.15 gap against Whittaker.
“I’ve been surfing this bank heaps over the course of the last week, so I kinda knew the best waves to catch,” said Whittaker. “The competition is pretty stiff in the girls division, but I hope I can keep the roll going over the next few heats and post a decent result.”
Surfers from Australia, Brazil and New Zealand will duke it out for a JQS title and runner-up status, with 64 males and 24 females set to participate in the event.
After taking out three Subway® Surf Series Pro Junior events and the NIB Pro Junior at Merewether, Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW) is sitting in the box seat to claim the 2016 WSL Australasian JQS title at Cronulla; a goal she set out to achieve at the beginning of the year.
“I couldn’t be happier with how this year has gone,” said Callaghan. “I set the goal to win the Australasian Junior rankings at the start of the year and qualify for the World Junior Titles, so I’m hoping I can cement both of those when the Cronulla event gets underway.”
Macy will be joined in the draw by fellow 2016 Subway® Surf Series standouts Alyssa Lock (Tweed Heads, NSW), Jaleesa Vincent (Coolum, Qld) and Kiara Meredith (Barrack Heights, NSW).
With Ethan Ewing having recently claimed the overall title at Wollongong, Harley Ross-Webster (Curl Curl, NSW) will be trying to claim his second title of the series at Cronulla and hold onto the runner-up position on the WSL JQS rankings, following his victory at Wollongong.
“I was over the moon to win the second last Pro Junior of the year at Wollongong and jump to the runner up spot on the WSL Junior rankings,” said Ross-Webster. “The win has given me a lot of confidence and has made me hungrier to win another event. I can’t wait for Cronulla, so I can attempt to go for back-to-back wins. Hopefully there’s some decent waves on offer and a solid crowd on the beach to cheer everyone on.”
Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW) and Harley Ross-Webster (Curl Curl, NSW) taking event victories in the punchy-two foot waves at Port Kembla Beach, Wollongong. – April 10, 2016 – photo by Ethan Smith/Surfing NSW
Event entrants joining Ross-Webster in the top ten on the WSL JQS Australasia rankings include: Reef Heazlewood (Moffat Beach, QLD), Quinn Bruce (Coolangatta, Qld), Luke Wrice (Coledale, NSW), Sandon Whittaker (Avoca, NSW), Kael Walsh (Yallingup, WA), Zac Wightman (Lennox Head, NSW), Billy Harrison (Barwon Heads, Vic) and Kai Warner (Narrabeen, NSW).
The WSL sanctioned Subway® Pro Junior events, which includes 18 and under men’s and women’s divisions, form part of the 2016 WSL Australasian Junior Qualifying Series (JQS), providing the winning athletes with an opportunity to win a coveted world title, at the WSL World Junior Championships in early 2017.
The Subway® Surf Series is proudly supported by WSL, Surfing NSW, Surfing Australia and Billabong.
The Subway® Surf Series was created to fill a competition void which exists at a crucial point in the development of Australia’s leading junior surfers.
It represents an important link in the ‘pathway to the podium’ developed by Surfing Australia, with surfers now able to progress from the Weet-Bix SurfGroms program, onto the Wahu Surfer Groms Comps, into the Subway® Surf Series, followed by the Original Source Australian Boardriders Battle.
2012 WSL Men’s World Champion Joel Parkinson and WSL World Tour female competitor Laura Enever are ambassadors for the Subway® Surf Series, attending events and mentoring junior surfers.
SUBWAY® SURF SERIES EVENT CALENDAR – 2015/16:
SUBWAY® PRO JUNIORS
Gold Coast, QLD – January 19-20, 2016
Margaret River, WA – February 6, 2016
Avoca, NSW – February 13-14, 2016
Philip Island, VIC – March 5-6, 2016
Fleurieu Peninsula, SA – March 19-20, 2016
Wollongong, NSW – April 9-10, 2016
Cronulla, NSW – April 30 – 1st May, 2016
BUTLER AND CALLAGHAN TAKE TOP HONOURS AT THE SUBWAY SURF SERIES PRO JUNIOR AT CRONULLA.
NORTH CRONULLA BEACH, SYDNEY
Sunday, May 1 2016: by Surfing NSW
Kehu Butler (NZL) - Junior Mens Champion and Macy Callaghan - Junior Womens Champion and WSL Australasian Junior Qualifying Series Champion. Photo by Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW
Competitors in the final Subway® Surf Series Pro Junior for 2016, battled through a day of minuscule waves at North Cronulla as Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW) claimed the World Surf League (WSL) Australasian Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) title, as well as the Womens event division, while Kehu Butler (NZL) took the win in the Mens division.
Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW) put the icing on the cake in what has been a stellar beginning to 2016, claiming the WSL Australian JQS Championship, as well as her fifth Pro Junior event for the year. In a wave-starved final, Callaghan managed to make the most of the limited opportunities, posting a nine-point ride, which left fellow finalist Kobie Enright (Tweed Heads, NSW) chasing an elusive 7.51 wave score that never eventuated. As a result, Macy also earned her position into the upcoming World Junior Titles.
“My biggest goal this year was to win the JQS series and a few Pro Junior events, so I’m happy that I achieved them,” said Callaghan. “It’s a bit of a bummer that the waves dropped so much by the finals, but my Dad just told me to get whatever I could and fortunately I got that nine-point ride. This whole series has given me the best platform to go onto the Qualifying Series next year and to have my name on the same list as some of my heroes is a great feeling.”
After bagging a handful of impressive results over the course of the 2016 WSL Australasian JQS Series, Kobie Enright (Tweed Heads, NSW) finished her year with a runner-up result. After posting a series of impressive results over the course of the event, the far north coast surfer was unable to find any score of substance in the final and had to settle for second position behind Callaghan.
“I’m so stoked with the way this year all panned out. Last year wasn’t great for results, so I’m happy to get to a few finals over the course of this series,” said Enright. “When Macy got that nine-point ride, my confidence went down a bit and I was just unable to find anything decent, but I’m still super happy with the way it all panned out.”
Kehu Butler (NZL) made his trans-Tasman journey worthwhile taking out the Junior Mens division. The powerful natural-footer made light work of the weak conditions, executing a variety of technically sound arcs and snaps. After claiming victory in the final, Butler was greeted by family members who performed the traditional Maori haka dance in celebration of the win.
“I’m never going to forget this moment. Having my family on the beach doing the haka as I got carried up is something I’ll remember forever,” said Butler. “We have small, tricky waves that are similar to this at home, so I’ve been training a lot in conditions similar to this. My boards were dialled in really well and fortunately it all came together for me.”
Sandon Whittaker (Avoca, NSW) nearly completed the double header victory for the Central Coast, holding down the lead for a solid portion of the Junior Mens final, however was pipped by Butler who managed to find waves with better scoring potential. The runner-up finish is Whittaker’s best result to date in a Pro Junior event and puts him within striking distance of qualifying for the World Junior Titles.
“This is my first year doing the Pro Junior events , so to make the final is a pretty good feeling,” said Whittaker. “My goal at the beginning of the season was to get as many points as possible, but to make the final and now to potentially qualify for the World Juniors is a dream come true.”
The WSL sanctioned Subway® Pro Junior events, which includes 18 and under men’s and women’s divisions, form part of the 2016 WSL Australasian Junior Qualifying Series (JQS), providing the winning athletes with an opportunity to win a coveted world title, at the WSL World Junior Championships in early 2017.
The Subway® Surf Series is proudly supported by WSL, Surfing NSW, Surfing Australia and Billabong.
RESULTS:
Women
1 – Macy Callaghan (Avoca, NSW) - 12.00 heat total
2 – Kobie Enright (Tweed Heads, NSW) – 6.75 heat total
Men
1 – Kehu Butler (NZL) – 11.60 heat total
2 – Sandon Whittaker (Avoca, NSW) – 9.40 heat total
