Paced by Leila Hurst of Kaua‘i, some nine members of the Verizon Wireless Hawai‘i Junior Surf Team are alive and ripping in Salinas, Ecuador, at the Quiksilver International Surfing Association World Junior Surfing Championships. In addition to Hurst, the Kauaians
Paced by Leila Hurst of Kaua‘i, some nine members of the Verizon Wireless Hawai‘i Junior Surf Team are alive and ripping in Salinas, Ecuador, at the Quiksilver International Surfing Association World Junior Surfing Championships.
In addition to Hurst, the Kauaians involved include Nage Melamed, Malia Manuel, Dylan Goodale and Kaimana Jaquias (see www.hawaiisurfteam.org for more on them).
Hurst won her heat Tuesday, on the third day of competition and the second time in the water for the girls. She is competing in the Under 16 Girls division.
The expected south swell arrived, producing surf from four to five feet, according to the Web site, www.isaworldjuniors.com.
Round two for the Under 16 Boys and Under 18 Girls wrapped up yesterday. The competition is expected to continue through this Sunday, April 5.
“We had amazing waves today, and so many of these kids really stepped up their game,” said Web commentator and 1989 ASP world champion Martin Potter. “We saw the future of surfing come to Ecuador.”
While all of the powerhouses have all team members still in the contest, 2005 event champions, Hawai‘i, leads with nine surfers still in the main rounds. France and 2003 event champions Brazil are tied with eight a piece, while Australia has seven, the USA six and South Africa five.
The Hawaiians and the USA team went head-to-head in nearly every heat today. The teams have one of the greatest rivalries in surfing since the ISA recognizes Hawai‘i as its own nation because of the state’s historical contribution to the sport.
In the end, Hawaii claimed the victory flag for the day, but with all of USA still in contention it remains very much uncertain as to which team will finish higher at the end of the contest.
Action today was expected in round three of the Under 18 Girls and Under 16 Boys, along with elimination rounds for all three divisions.
Goodale on Monday easily advanced to round three, even after scoring a 9 on a wave he caught just before the horn sounded to start his heat, leaving him scoreless, inside and facing a three-minute paddle back out into the impact zone.
And paddle he did, where he scored two solid waves and advanced to round three.
Also on Monday, day one for the girls, Manuel got two of the longest rides of the day, and stringing her quick powerful moves together she easily advanced with the girls first win.
Then Hurst scored an 8.75 on a smaller wave that she shredded with continuous flow. She dominated her heat as well. The judges at the event are not scoring based on wave size or single-hit maneuvers but are rather impressed with flow and continuity, according to a report on the Hawaii Surf Team Web site.
They like good style.
Melamed delivered a floater on a close-out section and solid hits on some open-faced lefts that helped her secure a first-place finish.
Event title sponsor Quiksilver also has Web coverage of the event, at www.quiksilver.com/isa.
