Rudy Palmboom Jnr claims event and
series titles in Billabong Junior Series at Jeffreys Bay
Rudy Palmboom Jnr
claimed both the event and series titles in the premier Pro Junior
boys at the fifth and final event of the 2007 Billabong Junior
Series with an excellent display of contest surfing at
Jeffreys
Bay on Monday.
Coming
into the event ranked No. 1, the 19 year-old from Durban’s Bluff top
scored in the early rounds and then maintained a consistently high
standard through three heats on the final day to pocket the R14 000
winner’s pay cheque plus R4 000 from the series prize-pool for
heading the Pro Junior ratings.
“Eisch, it feels
amazing! I’m sooo stoked,” said an elated Palmboom after his event
and series titles were confirmed. “It was a nerve-wracking day,
especially in the semi where I just squeezed through with a 7.5 on
the last ride of the heat. In the final I just went out and had fun
and it all ended well”
The champion made
light work of the early rainy conditions and offshore 0.5 to one
metre waves that rose to 1.3 metres and side shore during the day,
defeating
Casey Grant in the quarters before
narrowly beating Brett Shearer in the semis and then Brandon Roberts
in the final.
Roberts,
who finished runner-up in both the event and series ratings, earned
R6 300 plus R2 000 from the prize-pool after wins over Klee Strachan
and then Clinton Gravett, but could not find the 6.1 points required
to overtake Palmboom in the last seven minutes of the final.
Palmboom and
Roberts along with Shearer,
Brandon Jackson and Josh Redman,
who finished first to fifth in the ratings, received the coveted
invitations to compete in the R420 000 Billabong ASP World Junior
Championships in Sydney, Australia in January, with their airfare
paid by First National Bank.
Despite
finishing second to current WQS No. 15 Nikita Robb at Jeffreys Bay,
Tarryn Chudleigh clinched the Pro Junior girls’ series title and an
invitation to the world junior champs. It was only Robb’s second
appearance in a series event this year so she did not feature in the
ratings where 13 year-old Bianca Buitendag and Chantelle Rautenbach
finished second and third even though they did not reach the final
today.
In a great
display of surfing that saw her win the Zigzag Performance Award of
R1 000 plus the prized replica hand grenade trophy, Adele Nortje
took third place in the final followed by 14 year-old Heidi Palmboom.
In an exciting
U16 boys' final, Beyrick de Vries grabbed victory with an 8.0 point
ride that continued after the siren had sounded to end the heat to
overtake an on-form
Dale Staples with Nick Godfrey in
third ahead of a fast improving Jacob Mellish.
Godfrey
clinched the series title as soon as he qualified for the final with
Staples leap-frogging over Matthew Bromley, who was eliminated in
the semis, to earn the runner-up berth in the season ending ratings.
Mikey February
dominated the U14 boys’ final, leaving his three opponents comboed
and needing to improve on both their counting rides after scoring a
9.0 point ride in the second minute. Having accumulated an
unassailable lead in the ratings before the final event, February
successfully defended the U14 title he won last year.
J-Bay local
Steven Sawyer clinched the runner-up berth in the final from David
van Zyl and
Daniel Wilson, both of whom
recorded their best results of the 2007 series. Dane Staples and
Jarred Veldhuis were rewarded for their excellent performances
through the year by taking second and third in the series rankings.
The U12 boys may
be the youngest division in the series but they produced an epic
final with the lead constantly changing hands. Slade Prestwich was
in the lead when the siren sounded with J-Bay local Dylan Lightfoot
in second and they also finished in that order on the ratings.
Defending U12
series champ Max Armstrong placed third in the final, just ahead of
Josh Smit, but it was newcomer Diran Zakarian who, despite finishing
seventh on the day, snatched third spot on the ratings and earned R1
000 from the series prize-pool.
The Von Zipper
Air Show produced its customary spectacular display of aerial
manoeuvres and in a another last minute victory, Josh Redman
successfully launched himself into the air and completed a 360
reverse to take home the R1 800 winner-takes-all purse.
The Kustom Awards
of R500 and a pair of Kustom footwear went to
Jeffreys Bay’s
Bertie Stuurman who started in round one of the Pro Junior boys, top
scored on day one and eliminated then series No. 2 Brandon Jackson
in Round 3 to reach the last 16 in the event, finishing 13th
overall.
Faye Zoetmulder
from Port Elizabeth, who narrowly missed qualifying for the Pro
Junior girls’ final, placing fifth overall, earned the Kustom award
for the best local girl.
The 2007
Billabong Junior Series was sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA)
with the Pro Junior boy’s event at Jeffreys
bay also sanctioned by ASP
Africa. The series was proudly
supported by First National Bank, Palmers, Kustom, Von Zipper, Red
Bull and Silver Bullet Productions
The 2007 series
started at St Mikes in February followed by
Durban (March
29-April 1), Cape Town (May 17-20) and Victoria Bay (August 9-12).
The Point at Jeffreys Bay hosted the final event in the series for
the 11th consecutive year.
2007
Billabong Junior Series
Final Series ratings
(Best 4 out of 5 results)
Pro
Junior boys
1. Rudy Palmboom (Bluff) R4 000
2.
Brandon Roberts
(Sun Valley) R2 000
3.
Brett Shearer (Kommetjie)
R1 000
4.
Brandon Jackson
(Durban North)
5. Josh Redman (Umdloti)
Pro
Junior Girls
1. Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie) R4 000
2.
Bianca Buitendag
(George) R2 000
3.
Chantelle
Rautenbach (Melkbos) R1 000
U16
Boys
1.
Nick Godfrey (Cape
St Francis) R4 000
2.
Dale Staples (St
Francis Bay) R2 000
3.
Matthew Bromley (Kommetjie)
R1 000
U/14
Boys
1. Michael February (Kommetjie) R4 000
2. Dane Staples (St
Francis
Bay) R2 000
3.
Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie)
R1 000
U/12
Boys
1. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) R4 000
2. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys
Bay) R2 000
3. Diran Zakarian (Melkbos)
R1 000
2007
Billabong Junior Series
Event # 5,
Jeffreys Bay
21-24 September 2007
Event Results
Pro Junior Boys
-
Rudy Palmboom
(Bluff) R14 000
-
Brandon
Roberts
(Sun Valley) R 6 300
-
Brett Shearer
(Kommetjie) R 3 850
-
Clinton
Gravett (East London) R 3 850
5. Klee Strachan (Winkelspruit) R 1 750
5.
Nick Godfrey (Cape
St Francis) R 1 750
5.
Casey Grant (Scottburgh)
R 1 750
5. Josh Redman (Umdloti) R 1 750
Pro
Junior Girls
-
Nikita Robb
(East London) R2 000
-
Tarryn
Chudleigh (Kommetjie) R 900
-
Adele Nortje (Mossel
Bay) R 600
-
Heidi Palmboom
(Bluff) R 500
U16
Boys
-
Beyrick de
Vries (Umhlanga) R2 000
-
Dale Staples
(St Francis Bay) R1 000
-
Nick Godfrey
(Cape St Francis)
R 750
-
Jacob Mellish
(Somerset West) R 550
U14
Boys
-
Michael
February (Kommetjie) R1 500
-
Steven Sawyer
(Jeffreys
Bay) R 850
-
David van Zyl
(Glenashley) R 550
-
Daniel Wilson
(Tokai) R 350
U12
Boys
-
Slade
Prestwich (Scottburgh) R1 000
-
Dylan
Lightfoot (Jeffreys
Bay) R 750
-
Max Armstrong
(Kommetjie) R 500
-
Josh Smit (Athlone
Park) R 350
Von
Zipper Air Show
Josh Redman (Umdloti) R1
800
Zigzag Performance
award
Adele Nortje (Mossel
Bay) R1 000
Kustom Award for best local surfers
Best local boy: Bertie Stuurman (Jeffreys
Bay)
Best Local
girl:
Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth)
