THE CURTAIN came down on the Barbados Junior Surf Club’s year when the club held its fifth and final Fujitsu-sponsored event at Drill Hall Beach last Saturday.
In conditions that went from excellent to challenging, young surfers Che Allan and Joshua Burke cemented their spots at the top of the standings by winning two divisions apiece.
The 12-year-old Burke and 11-year-old Allan seemed to revel in the conditions with Burke, who chose to go right on many of the waves, managing to actually get some air.
Dominant
The Chelseas once again proved that they are the dominant forces in women’s surfing with Chelsea Roett taking the title in the Under-18 Girls and Chelsea Tuach winning the Under 16-event.
Meanwhile, the experience of surfing against the older, more experienced girls paid off for Isabella Venezia, who had no problem taking the title in the Under-12 Girls.
By afternoon the diminishing wave size and lack of consistency did not make for big manoeuvres and at times left surfers, especially those in the final and premier event, the Under 18 Boys, looking for something, anything to pop up.
Alan Burke, who conceptualised the now two year-old event, later told MIDWEEK SPORT the event saw a record number of entrants in some of the divisions.
“What we have been doing is focusing on juniors only and I think that is one of the main reasons for the increase in entrants,” he said.
“And we’ve got two separate organisations now on the island that are for the development of surfing and it could only do good,” Burke added.
He also predicted the island was on the way to having a world class surfer or one at that level.
“The manoeuvres that Joshua is doing are blowing my mind – aerial 360s on a regular basis and Danny Edghill and Dane Mackie are surfing really well,” he said.
The club will start the new year with its awards ceremony sometime in January.
RESULTS
Under-18 Girls: Chelsea Roett; Chelsea Tuach; Isabella Venezia; Gylla Mackenzie; Chelsie Grant; Melane Grant; Kayla Archer.
Under-18 Boys: Joshua Burke; Dane Mackie; Danny Edghill; Josh Galt; Jacob Burke; Nick O’Neill.
14-and-Under: Che Allan; Dane Mackie; Joshua Burke; Chelsea Tuach; Danny Edghill; Andrew Rose.
Under-12 Girls: Isabella Venezia; Alex Cole; Gylla Mackenzie; Maria Huapaya.
12-and-Under Boys: Joshua Burke; Che Allan; Dane Mackie; Jacob Burke; Andrew Rose; Evan Moll.
Under-16: Chelsea Tuach; Joshua Burke; Chelsea Roett; Dane Mackie; Danny Edghill.
10-and-Under: Che Allan; Andrew Rose; Jacob Burke;
