Beyrick De Vries and Marc Williams prevail in Round 2 of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest
South Africa’s Beyrick De Vries and Australia’s Marc Williams walked away with top honours from their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at Merewether in New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday,
March 8.
The surfing action at the event site turned out to be pretty intense as the young surfers from around the globe faced each other in the demanding six-foot waves that were accompanied by offshore winds.
The 4-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Junior Qualifying event offered a prize money of $20,000 as well as coveted ASP Junior rating points to the young surfers, attracting a large number of surfers from around the globe to Australia
to participate in the event.
As the seventh heat got underway, the 19-year-old De Vries put on a sensational show during the four-man battle to steal the show. He locked his wave business-wave to post an 8.75 on the score-board and later backed it up with a flawless tube ride to earn
a perfect 10 for the effort. The resultant heat-total of 18.75 points held up until the end to seal the fate of the contest in his favour, sending him through into Round 3 (Round of 64).
“These waves out there today remind me a lot of J-Bay,” De Vries said. “You get the same speed, you get to surf up high in the barrel and you see the lines coming through from the horizon. The wave I got a 10.00 on was just perfect – I haven’t had a 10-pointer
since I was 14. Today was the most fun I have ever had in a heat.”
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam also put on an impressive performance, backing his 4.75-point wave with an exquisite 8.50-point wave to get to a heat-total of 13.25 points, which served to put him in runner-up place and carry him through into the next round.
Australia’s Sam Morgan finished third with a two-wave total of 9.40 points, which comprised of a 4.60 and 4.80-point wave, while his compatriot Sean Mawson rounded out the bottom position after scoring a 1.10 and 6.00 off his two business-waves for a heat-total
of 7.10 points. Both the surfers got eliminated from the competition as a result of their bottom-two finish.
The eighth heat saw Williams put on an impressive performance to walk away with the win. The Australian collected a 7.25 off his first business-wave and followed it up with a 3.75-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.00 points.
Another local talent Phoenix Graham secured runner-up place with a heat-total of 6.50 points, which comprised of a 6.00 and 0.50-point wave, consequently advancing through into the next round.
Australia’s Jackson Carey and Jarrod James got eliminated from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth position respectively, with Carey finishing with a heat-total of 6.25 points while the latter scored a mere 0.90 off the only wave that
he caught during the course of the battle.
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