Nathan Carvalho and Evan Thompson power into Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Quarter-finals
Hawaii’s Nathan Carvalho defeated America’s Evan Thompson in the seventh heat, while Australia’s Dean Bowen got the better of his fellow countryman Soli Bailey in the eighth heat of Billabong Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Championships’
Round 4 that went down at the world-famous Burleigh Heads in Gold Coast, Australia, on Friday, January 27.
The successful result carried both Carvalho and Bowen into the Quarter-finals, while Thompson and Bailey found themselves eliminated from the contention for the event title.
The stormy conditions prevailing at the primary event site added to the pressure that the surfers found themselves in during the fourth round of Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. They had survived a number of challenges to get this far in the event
and were determined to make it into the Quarter-finals. However, an in-form competitor was not the only thing that the surfers had to worry about during the fourth round. The tricky two-to-three foot waves were going to challenge them to the fullest.
During the seventh heat, Carvalho took on Thompson in the battle for the coveted Quarter-final spot. As the heat commenced, the Hawaiian surfer got down to business right away and attacked a wave to earn a 6.50 off it. Thompson immediately responded with
a 4.50-point wave, causing no trouble to Carvalho or his lead.
As the heat progressed, Thompson kept struggling to read the conditions and only managed to add an additional 3.93 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 8.43 points. Carvalho, on the other hand, scored a 6.27 off his second business-wave to move
into a convincing lead. Holding onto his position until the end, the Hawaiian eventually walked away with top honours.
The eighth heat featured an intense showdown between Bowen and Bailey. Both the Australian fought tooth and nail for the crucial win throughout the course of the heat, preventing each other from relaxing for even a minute.
A few minutes into the heat, Bowen posted a 3.43 on the score-board, only to find his rival take the lead with a 4.50-point wave. With still sufficient time left in the heat, the two surfers searched hard to get their hands on a competitive score.
Bailey eventually backed his rather disappoint first-wave score with a decent 5.57-point wave, thus snatching the lead from his compatriot. However, Bowen refused to give up and persistently hunted for a good score. His determination and persistence eventually
paid off as he got hold of a juicy wave, which he made use of to add a 6.77 to his account. The last-minute effort moved him ahead of his rival to a heat-total of 10.20 points, thus sealing the fate of the battle in his favour.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Bowen said, “I only really caught one wave. It's pretty bad out there, like a dog fight. I've got a really good board, I just didn't get the right waves. It's just good to get the shocker heat out of the way, I just
have to keep the roll going and make a few more heats.”
The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Gold Coast in the third and final event of ASP World Junior Tour and will determine the men’s and women’s 2011 ASP World Junior Champion.
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