Frederico Morais and Tom Hatcher victorious in Round 2 of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest
Portugal’s Frederico Morais and Australia’s Tom Hatcher clinched top honours in 11th and 12th heat respective during Round 2 (Round of 96) of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued to deliver exciting action at Merewether
in New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, March 8.
The challenging surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site were proving to be a real test for the young surfers who were looking to get their hands on the $20,000 prize money and coveted ASP Junior rating points that the 4-Star ASP Men’s Junior
Qualifying event had to offer.
The crowd in attendance at Merewether kept getting treating to a heavy dose of exciting action as Morais took on South Africa’s Michael February and the two Australians Joshua Sherwell and Connor Gale in a four-man battle for the Round 3 (Round of 64) slots.
As the heat kicked-ff, Morais wasted no time in shifting to offence mode and charged towards a juicy wave to unload a string of impressive manoeuvres, posting a 7.25 on the score-board. He later added an additional 8.35 points to his account to finish with
a heat-total of 15.60 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end to earn him a convincing victory, consequently carrying him through into the next round.
February also successfully survived the Round 2 heat by clinching runner-up place with a heat-total of 12.00 points, which comprised of a 4.00 and 8.00-point wave.
Sherwell finished third with a heat-total of 8.25 points, while Gale rounded out the bottom position with a two-wave total of 0.20 points. Both the surfers were consequently removed from the contention for the event title.
The 12th heat turned out to be an extremely low-scoring affair as all four surfers hardly had any luck with the waves. Hatcher eventually managed to outscore his compatriots Izak Clifford, Bodi Smith and Jackson O’Donnell after getting to a heat-total
of 6.60 points, which included a 2.50 and 4.10-point wave. The victory served to confirm his place in the third round.
Clifford also made the Round 3 cut after scoring a 4.90 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 1.50-point wave for a heat-total of 6.40 points.
Smith and O’Donnell were eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 4.80 and 3.50 respectively.
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