Five Year Surf Plan

More than 150 junior boys and girls in various age categories from nine teams (eight provinces) converge on Durban to compete for provincial and individual titles from Tuesday 4 to Sunday 10 October.

However, the involvement of Hurley, who have committed as title sponsors for the next five years, is part of a broader plan. The best performers at the event will receive specialised coaching in a unique programme by Hurley and former world champion Barton Lynch.

The Hurley Coach Me by Barton Lynch project will target surfers with the best results from the Under 11, U13, U15 and U17 categories at the junior champs.

Video webclips by professional videographers in one-on-one sessions with the participants will be submitted to  Lynch, and a squad of the 10 most promising surfers selected. Lynch, 1988 ASP World Champion and one of surfing’s most knowledgeable tacticians, coaches the Australian surfing team.

A six-day elite training camp with Lynch and other experts will be held for the youngsters in South Africa in June or July next year. This camp, assisted by SA junior team coach Llewellyn Whittaker, will cover all aspects of professional surfing such as diet, fitness, equipment, sports psychology, sponsorship liaison, handling the media, traveling and more.

Accompanied by Hurley SA Marketing Manager, Liam Wood, the most promising surfer on the training camp each year will embark on an all-expenses paid trip to Australia where he will compete in the world’s most prestigious Pro Junior events while receiving further coaching from Lynch. This includes entry into the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior in Queensland which offers the richest winner’s purse in Junior surfing globally.

“Great surfers are developed at a young age,” said Wood. “The common feedback from junior surfers across the country is the need for an ongoing elite coaching project. So we’re pleased to be involved in this all-encompassing way of nurturing SA’s junior talent.”

“The Hurley Coach Me by Barton Lynch campaign gives the juniors the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a true professional and how to create a career in surfing,”

“The Hurley Coach Me by Barton Lynch campaign gives the juniors the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a true professional and how to create a career in surfing,” added Wood. “In addition to expert input from Barton, they will receive advice and training from PR specialists, WCT surfers, sport managers, travel agents, shapers, swell forecasters, dieticians, nutritionists, photographers, videographers, magazine editors, sports psychologists, fitness instructors and more!”

Speaking about the 15th junior games, sanctioned by Surfing South Africa and presented by the city of Durban, Robin de Kock, General Manager of SSA, said:

“The SA Junior Champs is the most important junior event on the Surfing South Africa calendar. Not only does the event showcase the talents of the country’s best junior surfers between the ages of 10-17, but it also prepares them for the next step up. This is where champions are spotted and where their talents are developed, and we are stoked that Hurley SA and Durban have come on board as sponsors as they are focussed squarely on supporting and developing South African junior surfing”.

Age categories that will be contested include boys and girls Under 13, U15 and U17. Jordy Maree (Western Province), who has already established himself as one of the top juniors in the country by winning a host of junior events over the last few years, will be back to defend his boys U13 title. Another surfer who will be looking to defend the title she won at last year’s event is Sarah Baum (KZN Central) who claimed the Girls U17 title. Eastern Province’s Gina Smith, who claimed the Girls U15 title in 2010, will be looking for a victory in the Girls U17 division this year, as will last year’s Girls U13 winner Chanelle Botha (Southern KZN).

Other surfers who will be looking to continue their fine form from the last year include Steffen Burrows (Boys U15, Boland) as well as Eastern Province duo and U17 Boys and Girls finalists from last year Steven Sawyer and Emma Smith. No doubt of massive significance to both the Boys and Girls U17 competitors, as well as the U15 Boys surfers, will be the fact that the winners of these divisions will be crowned 2011 SA Champions.

All three surfers will receive their green national team blazers and their national colours at an award ceremony scheduled to take place after the last final on Sunday 9 October.

While individual honours will be their primary goal, the surfers from the eight provincial teams as well as a SA development team (hosts KZN Central, defending champions Western Province, Eastern Province, Border, Southern KZN, Boland, Zululand, Southern Cape) will also be looking to claim the coveted Freedom Cup. First presented on National Freedom Day at the SA Junior Champs in East London in 2004, the Freedom Cup is won by the team who collectively accumulate the most points over the course of the entire event.

This year’s Hurley SA Junior Champs presented by Durban will also feature two new exciting elements in the Red Bull Air Show, as well as a Tag Team contest between the participating teams. Scheduled to take place between the semi-finals and finals on the final day of the contest, the Red Bull Air Show will offer a prize of R5000 to the surfer who completes the most impressive aerial maneuver.

For more information about the Hurley SA Junior Champs, visit www.hurley.co.za, ‘Like’  Hurley South Africa on Facebook or follow HurleyZA on Twitter. Daily results and photos will also be posted on www.hurley.co.za and www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za. Supporting sponsors are Skullcandy, Red Bull, Red Bull Mobile, Southern Sun North Beach, and Zigzag. The event also has the support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, and Sport and Recreation South Africa.

Surfing South Africa is recognised as the governing body for the sport by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and Sport and Recreation SA. Surfing South Africa is a member of the International Surfing Association (ISA); the world’s governing body for surfing.