IT IS ONLY a couple of days into the New Year and Josh Burke has already started setting records.
On Wednesday, the 16-year-old will become the first Barbadian surfer ever to compete at the world- famous Sunset Beach on the North Shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Burke, the 2010, 2011 and 2013 National Under-16 champion, gained a slot in the ASP Junior North Shore Surf Shop pro event scheduled to be held January 15 to 25.
The North Shore, known to the surfing world as the “Seven Mile Miracle”, is notorious for making or breaking a professional surfers’ dream as its massive, powerful surf is created in the Pacific Ocean from storms and low pressure systems coming from as far north as Alaska.
“Parlor and Soupbowl are probably as close to Sunset Beach as you can get here in Barbados, so that’s where I will have to put in some of my training,” Burke noted.
“I just received eight new boards specifically designed for Hawaii, shaped and designed by master craftsman Rich Price of Rich Price Surfboards, that look great and I am anxious to ride,” he added.
Kathy Dawne Burke of Blue Sky Luxury, the sponsor of Burke’s trip to the North Shore, said it was an honour to be associated with a surfer of Burke’s calibre.
“We at Blue Sky Luxury are happy to assist Josh in making his competitive debut in Hawaii a reality and we are confident this talented young Barbadian surfer will make his country proud with his achievements in and out of the water,” she said.
The teenage surfing sensation is sponsored by Billabong, LIME, Reef, Epi-Dry, Nixon, Dakine, Futures Fins, VZ, and BURKIE Boards by Rich Price Designs.
Burke has also been making some waves out of the water as he recently passed seven CXC exams, three with distinctions.
He will pursue his dream to be a professional surfer while seeking a business management and marketing degree at an online university. (RB)
