Junior Surf Fest for Soup Bowl at weekend

THE Barbados Surfing Association’s (BSA) inaugural Caribbean Junior Surf Fest will surf off on Saturday at the popular Soup Bowl in Bathsheba, St Joseph.Plans for this weekend’s event were outlined by the association’s vice-president Simon Coles at a Press conference at the Barbados Olympic Association’s headquarters in Wildey on Tuesday.Coles told members of the media and sponsors that his association had been able to attract quite a few competitors from countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Venezuela, and the United States to compete against the best juniors in Barbados.One area of concern for the president was the expected passing of Hurricane Danielle off the north of the island.“We believe as a result of the hurricane passing us to the north of the island sometime on Thursday of this week, we could have some very large swells at the Soup Bowl. Hopefully, the conditions will be manageable on Saturday, the start of the event.”In outlining the divisions, Coles noted that there will be four boys’ divisions – Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18, and two girls’ divisions – Under-18 and Under-16. Surfers will be allowed to compete in two divisions with a possibility of a third one being added.Coles stated that he was expecting more than 60 competitors for the event, which climaxes on Sunday. “So far we have over 26 overseas competitors already in the island and approximately 35 to 40 Barbadians, who have already registered, but we are expecting these numbers to rise over the next two days,” he said.“We see this inaugural tournament as a means of further developing the sport of surfing in all its forms both locally and regionally. “This type of event gives junior surfers from across the Caribbean the opportunity to interact, forge new friendships, and push their surfing skills against other surfers.”Coles also thanked the many sponsors whose contributions have made the event possible.