Barbados will be represented at the 2011 Quiksilver King Of The Grom US surf series event by 14-year-old Josh Burke.
On Monday, the top under-16 surfers in the United States will converge on Huntington Pier in California to vie for the King Of The Grom title.
Burke is no stranger to this event, as he competed in last year’s edition, held in the Walt Disney World Typhoon Lagoon water park. He placed a commendable fifth and won the Most Progressive award with his trademark aerial stunts.
The junior surfers, aka as “Groms”, will be surfing their hearts out in hope of placing in the top two to qualify for the all-expenses paid Finals, which will be held in September during the ASP World Championship Tour Quiksilver Pro event in France.
Burke, who is sponsored by Billabong, X-Trak, Vonzipper, Nixon and Burkie Board, is in good form.
He recently placed fifth in the men’s pro and second in the Under-21 Junior pro at the WASS/Carib Pilsner Pro in Toco, Trinidad. Last weekend, he won the Barbados Surfing Association Under-18 Division, placed second in the open, second in the Under-21 and third in the Under-16.
The water temperature in California will be 15 degrees and therefore will be a factor. However, Billabong has shipped in two state-of-the-art wetsuits which Burke has been training in to minimizeany negative effects.
“Besides training in the wetsuits, I have been doing my usual daily training and excercises,” he said. “I will try my very best and will be flying my Barbados flag.”
The event will be shown live via webcast and can be viewed online at quiksilver.com/kotg2011. (PR)