Shaun Joubert Wins The Quiksilver Pro Junior At North Beach In Durban

In small and inconsistent but contestable conditions, Shaun Joubert from Mossel Bay emerged victorious at the Quiksilver Pro Junior presented by Durban and Resolution. Picking up the best waves of the final, Joubert still had a tight battle against local surfer Beyrick De Vries, but his polished surfing combined with some flamboyant aerial moves saw him get the nod from the judges.

In his quarter final heat against Dylan Lightfoot from Jbay it was De Vries who showed that he was the man to beat, powering through one particular wave for a great score of 7 points. “I honestly didn't think that it was going to be such a good one,” said De Vries after the heat. “I knew that the judges were looking for variety, so I tried to do something different on the wave. I did a fairly good turn on the outside and linked it up through the inside section where I managed to throw the tail and make the move. I was stoked that the judges rewarded me with a good score for that wave.”

The Resolution Health Expression Session was thirty minutes of mayhem, with the surfers going for broke on the small peaks. With awards for Best Air and Best Wave, everyone was amped to go big, make some high-flying boosts for the judges, and have a chance at the prizes. Eventually it was Davey Brand who won the Red Bull Got Wings award of R1,500 for a big forehand 180 that he pulled off on a left bowl. Dale Staples won the Resolution Best Wave Award and R1,500 for a wave that opened up across the inside and allowed him to string together a series of tight moves despite the deteriorating conditions.

In the Quiksilver King Of The Groms U14 division it was Max Armstrong who came out on top, beating Benji Brand into second, with Shane Sykes in third and Jason Harris In fourth. Armstrong won R3,500 for his efforts. In a tightly-fought final Armstrong opened with the best wave of the heat, scoring 8 points to open up his account. Benji Brand fought back hard but when Armstrong finished the heat with a 4.10 ride he had the win in the bag.

The Quiksilver King Of the Groms U16 division had a lot riding on the win, with the winner receiving R5 000 cash and a berth into the International King of the Groms event which will be held in France in September at the Quiksilver Pro France World Tour event. The winner of the International King Of The Groms event is rewarded with a wildcard into the Quiksilver Pro France and Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast World Tour events in 2011. The conditions for the heat were somewhat inconsistent, but there were still good rides to be found. In the man-on-man final it was Jarred Veldhuis from Kommetjie against Slade Prestwich from Scottburgh. Veldhuis put up a good fight on his backhand in the small righthanders, but it was Scottburgh's Prestwich who put on a display of fast surfing and powerful moves to claim the victory and the ticket to France.

Then it was time for the big guns to hit the water, as the final of the Quiksilver Pro Junior got underway. With US$2,500 (R19,000) for the winner along with 1500 ASP Junior points to go towards the 2010 Pro Junior series tally, there was some serious motivation for the win. Shaun Joubert from Mossel Bay was up against Beyrick De Vries from Umhlanga. Two natural footers surfing off in the small but running right-handers of North Beach. The final started off with a flurry of waves, and De Vries got two good scores under the belt and Joubert scored a great score of 7 points on his first ride. Then the ocean slowed down a bit and the surfers were left waiting for waves. In the dying seconds of the heat Joubert with priority picked up a last wave from De Vries and raced it through to the inside to belt out another one of his trademark handsfree aerials for a score of 8.25 and the title of the Quiksilver Pro Junior Champion 2010.

“It's so great to win an event again,” said a very happy Joubert on the podium. “To be honest one does get a bit despondent sometimes on the WQS (World Qualifying Series) because sometimes you travel so far and get knocked out early, so it's really good to know that I can still win heats.” Shaun's win will be the confidence booster he needs for the rest of the pro Junior events in the country. “I'm surfing in all of the Pro Junior events in South Africa this year, so I want to keep the momentum going from this win at the Quiksilver Pro Junior, and hopefully get some more good results in the rest of the events.”

For all the results, video and images of today's surfing log onto www.quikprojunior.co.za