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Crucial day in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
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Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
29 May 2008
Plage du Penon, Seignosse, Francia
It is already the end for certain nations. From the 28 countries that are
competing at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships, 4 were
eliminated today. Half of the competitors of this Quiksilver ISAWorld
JuniorChampionships will definitely be out of the competition this evening.
The major surf nations like Australia, Brazil, USA, New Zealand, Hawaii and
South Africa continue with their teams intact. The high level of surfing at
this World Championships illustrates the unbelievable quality and depth of
this generation all aged under 18.
Easy victories went to Alejo Muniz (Bra) and Owen Wright (Aus) who scored
the highest heat score of his U18 round, 18,6 out of a possible 20. Courtney
Conlogue (USA) in the girls also scored 17 points, a record for her round.
These scores confirm domination by the major surfing nations in these
Championships.
According to the day’s results we can definitely count on the French Team to
be a member of this elite club. Marc Lacomare (U18) signed his 3rd victory
in these Championships. Maxime Huscenot finished first in his heat. Although
Alizee Arnaud totally eclipsed the American duo of Nicholl and Erickson,
however amazing she was yesterday. The highly motivated local from the
Landes has been convincing. Like the strong captain Lacomare, she’s surfing
round after round, with golden ambitions.
At the opposite end of the surfing spectrum, Jamaica was knocked out of the
Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships this evening. The only Jamaican
competitor Ackeam Phillips was knocked out of the 2nd round of the
repercharge. His manager Luke Williams was impressed by his performance “I’m
really proud of him, Ackeam learnt surfing even before he could swim. Being
the only surfer representing Jamaica shows that he has got a lot of spirit.”
Alone he has worked hard to represent his team and raise it’s level. Due to
lack of money not all of the team could make it to France. To start with,
two juniors were selected but only one could obtain his passport in time.
Despite the elimination of Ackeam, the Jamaican team are staying in France
to enjoy the good conditions and this enriching experience. “We love it
here. These new countries like Senegal prove that this is amongst the best
competitions in the world,” finished Luke Williams.
The Canadians also retire from the competition this evening. The country is
so large that the some members of the team didn’t know each other before the
Championships. Some surf the cold waters of the North Atlantic whilst others
evolve thousands of kilometres away in the warmer Pacific Ocean.
The team from Senegal who competed for their first time ever at these World
Championships are also no longer in contest this evening. The surfers of
N’Gor (Dakar) Babou Gueye and Johan Boyer are not disappointed. Coach
Francois Kirie appreciates what it’s taken just to get here. “It’s necessary
for the young surfers to come to these international competitions to make a
point of reference for future generations to aspire too.” He was grateful
that the young surfers were able to travel to France. Support from a range
of sponsors helped overcome the difficulties in getting here. Babou said
that as much as he likes being here, he misses Senegal a lot. It’s obvious
however that just by making the journey here and taking part they are
already winners.
The contest will re start tomorrow at 7:30 am.
Live feeds will run from
www.quiksilver.com
Or via www.isasurf.org or www.isaworldchamp.com
For further info and free high resolution photos, please contact:
Pablo@isasurf.org
PHOTOS
Usage-free high quality images of today’s parade and each day’s events will
be available for worldwide press use at:
www.quiksilver-press.com Login: pressroom / password: quiksilverpress
VIDEO
Daily high-resolution video sequences will be available for free usage by TV
on a dedicated FTP server. http://inside-media.fr/isa2008
A 3-minute sequence of today’s highlights will be available from 8pm.
About International Surfing Association (ISA):
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for
surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the
International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world
championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over
50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego,
California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in
Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan
Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and
Mike Gerard (USA).
