Billabong World Junior Championships all set to decide fate of the 2011 ASP World Junior Tour
The third and final stop on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Tour, Billabong World Junior Championships, is all set to go down at Burleigh Heads in Queensland, Australia, from January 21-29, 2012.
The 2011 Men’s ASP World Champion will be decided at the upcoming event.
In the previous years, the Billabong World Junior Championships had been held at Sydney’s North Narrabeen, Maui’s Honolua Bay and Victoria’s Phillip Island. However, the ASP has opted to move the event to Burleigh Heads this year, the same location where surfing competition saw its first man-on-man contest in 1977.
A handful of surfers will be heading to the event site this weekend with the hope of claiming the World Title, which includes Brazil’s Caio Ibelli, his compatriot Marco Fernandez, Australia’s Garrett Parkes and his fellow countryman Jack Freestone.
The front-runner in the 2011 ASP World Junior Tour, Australia’s Davey Cathels, was ruled out of the final stop of the tour due to an ankle injury that he sustained while performing a reverse. The Australian surfer had been sensational during the first two stops of the tour, claiming top honours at Okay ASP World Junior Championships in Indonesia and following it up with a Quarter-final finish in Arnette ASP World Junior Championships in Brazil.
Despite the phenomenal performances in the first two events, the dream of lifting the 2011 ASP World Junior Title will remain unfilled for Cathels this year. New Zealand’s Matt Lewis-Hewitt is going to be replacing the Australian surfer at the upcoming event.
Tied with Davey in first place with Cathels on the ASP World Junior Tour rankings, Ibelli is looking forward to bring his momentum from the previous two events to Burleigh Heads and seal the deal. He made it to the Quarter-finals at the Indonesian stop of the tour before heading to Brazil to claim the Arnette ASP World Junior Championships title.
“I'm feeling very stoked to be coming back to Australia to compete in the Billabong World Junior Championships,” said Ibelli. “I don't feel any pressure, my mind feels good coming into this event. I only want to get good waves at Burleigh and have fun in the water. Last year I spent 4 months in Australia so I had lots of sessions at Burleigh. I'm a regular footer so I feel really comfortable out there and I can't wait to surf Burleigh again!”
Parkes, current No.3 on the ASP World Junior Rankings, is also determined to make a solid impact at the upcoming event to get his hands on the title. With a Semi-final finish in Oakley ASP World Junior Championships and a Quarter-final finish in Arnette ASP World Junior Championships, the Australian has already made his promising form quite evident.
Parkes enjoys good relations with Cathels and finding the latter losing his to go for the World Title due to an unfortunate injury has further added to his motivation to perform well at Burleigh Heads.
The reigning ASP World Junior Champion, Freestone, has an opportunity to create history by winning back-to-back ASP World Junior Titles. Currently sitting in fifth place on the World Junior Rankings, the Australian will have a chance to claim the title only if the top-ranked surfers make an early exit from the competition.
With the race for the 2011 ASP World Junior Title still very much alive, the upcoming Billabong World Junior Championships promises to be full of intense and epic surfing battles.
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