TOP BARBADIAN SURFER BRUCE MACKIE added another title to his collection when he won the Junior Pro title at the 2012 International Surf Festival in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend.
Mackie upstaged his rivals in the Under-21 Junior Pro division in shifty and difficult conditions at Toco Beach last Saturday and Sunday.
He produced a number of signature moves and aerial assaults en route to victory in the event, which is one of the 2012 qualifiers for the Western Atlantic surf series.
Second in the division was fellow Barbadian Che Allen while Trinidadian Dario Jordan was third. Top local female surfer Chelsea Tuach was fourth.
It was an outstanding performance from the Monster Energy-sponsored Mackie, who had seemed close to elimination in the semi-finals. For most of that heat, he was stuck in third position, needing a 6.9 score to advance.
His fortunes shifted in the last ten seconds of the heat as Mackie finally found the wave that allowed him to impress the judges and propelled him into the final.
In the surf-off for the title, Mackie was off to a good start and held second place for the first ten minutes of the 25-minute final.
He maintained his form and eventually controlled the heat to secure the 2012 Junior Pro title.
Mackie was also in outstanding form in the early rounds of the Open Men’s division. He won the first heat in which he defeated defending champion Francisco Bellorin of Venezuela.
The Barbadian was later eliminated in round three and Bellorin rebounded to win the title from American Jessie Heilman. (EZS/PR)
