Barbadian Joshua Burke (above) has made his country proud by advancing to the semi-finals of the world renowned BTMI Barbados Surf Pro competition yesterday afternoon at the Soup Bowl in Bathsheba, St Joseph.
Burke bested American Cole McCaffray in the process and will be hitting the water today to see if he can take it one step further and reach the final as the only Barbadian left in the competition.
He ended on a strong note with a total score of 11.33 but had a slow start as he scored a 1.33 in the first round compared to McCaffray’s 6.67. From round two, Burke found his footing and performed some excellent manoeuvres as he competed fiercely with his American opponent.
Burke looked relaxed and very fluid on his board, albeit scoring higher in his round of 16 clash with the American trio of Blayr Barton, Tyler Gunter and Ryan Huckabee, where Barbados’ surfing star registered an overall score of 12.57.
“It’s a good feeling to be in the semi-final and I’m happy to do it in front of the home supporters. I think the good thing about competing at home is that when I am in the water, I am zoned in but when I am finished, I am at home and it helps me to relax and take pressure off. I plan to give it my best effort in the semi-final and push to make the final at home,” Burke told Sun Sport shortly after coming out of the water.
