Billabong Junior Series Day One

Tide Lee Ireland was in top form on the opening day of the Billabong Junior Series presented by All Aboard event # 1 in Port Elizabeth Photo: Kody McGregor

Billabong Junior Series presented by All Aboard Travel Event # 1 Day 1

Frothing groms is all the signs you need that there is going to be a whole lot of fun at a surf event. It’s the one indicator that shows that everyone is going to be in for a treat. It all starts off with waves though. When the ocean provides then everyone has his or her winner faces on.

Down at Pollock beach that’s exactly what happened to kick off the Billabong Junior Series presented by All Aboard. There were some lekker three-foot waves, a few bigger sets, and clean and crisp conditions to kick the whole thing off.

“The waves were pretty good throughout the day,” said an enthused Chad D’Arcy, Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager. Billabong have put a lot into their Junior Series over the last 20 years, and it has proven to reap benefits for the surfing community at large. Products include the inimitable Jordy Smith, tenacious Travis Logie and the elegant Bianca Buitendag. Modern day surfers to benefit and to use the tour as a launch pad include surfers like Beyrick de Vries, Mikey February, Dale Staples and Matt McGillivray. “Apart from the four-part junior series we are also involved in the City Surf Series,” continued D’Arcy, adding “we will be back here in Port Elizabeth in two weeks time, where Billabong will present the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro, so exciting times ahead.”

The waves continued to pour through throughout the day, and with a smaller forecast predicted for the second day of the event, contest organisers pushed through. Summer Sutton was one of the stand-outs of the day, comfortably winning her opening heat in the Girls U16 division.

“The waves were really fun and I’m really glad that I came first,” said Summer after her heat. “It’s a nice way to start the first Billabong Junior event and I’m excited for the next round. The waves are really nice for Pipe and I hope we get some good waves again tomorrow.” Sumer, who hails from Cape Town, felt at home in the Pipe peaks. “The waves ware very similar to Long Beach and that’s why I reckon the girls and boys who come from beachbreaks are doing so well because they’re comfortable out here.”

Durban surfer and High Performance Surfing Academy student Kayla Nogueira was another standout of this division and by the time she had surfed her heat in the afternoon, she was holding the highest heat total of the day with a combined two wave score of 16.

The first event of series like this is always of paramount importance to do well, as your first impression are the ones that last, and a strong performance at the opener can set the tone for the rest of the series. Knowing full well the advantage of starting off on a good note, Dillon Hendricks from nelson Mandela Bay was another surfer who kicked in. “My first few waves weren’t so good, reckoned Dillon of his heat, “but as the heat went on so my waves got better and better. The waves out here are perfect,” added Dillen, “It’s the perfect day for Pipe.”