AMATEUR HOUR

WHO: Barbados Junior Surfing Club

WHAT: Event #2 of the BJSC’s 2010 Burkie Junior Surf Series

WHEN: Saturday, March 20th, 2010

WHERE: South Point, Christ Church, Barbados

WHY: The Barbados Junior Surfing Club was established in 2010 with a mission to develop junior surfing in Barbados. The BJSC assists its members in developing their surfing skills through structured surfing events and advice and training on matters such as competition, judging, and all other areas particular to the development of our sport in Barbados. The BJSC runs junior divisions at its surfing events, including 10 & Under, 12 & Under, 14 & Under, 16 & Under, and 18 & Under Boys, as well as a division specifically for 12 & Under Girls and 18 & Under Girls in our quest to crown future Barbadian champions.

The gauntlets have been thrown down and the lines drawn in the sand as Barbados’ finest junior surfers contested the second event of five in the Barbados Junior Surfing Club’s 2010 Burkie Junior Surfing Series at South Point, Christ Church, Barbados.

A healthy rivalry is brewing between Josh Burke, 13, and Dane Mackie, 12, as these two Barbadian groms demonstrate that the innovative and progressive maneuvers required by advanced judging criteria are not out of their reach. Throughout the contest, both young surfers consistently busted their fins out the back of every wave, throwing tailslides and airs into the mix for the crowd of surfing fans and parents lining South Point’s infamous rocks. In addition, Chelsea Roett, Chelsea Tuach, and Ametza Nicholls continue to show that they can compete with the boys and are no “surf-overs,” with Tuach even dominating the 14 & Under division normally won by the boys.

BJSC President Alan Burke commented, “I was proud and extremely impressed by the level of surfing that took place in the challenging three- to five-foot choppy conditions that South Point spat out for the kids. I think we are seeing progress beyond our expectations.” Burke added, “In our Menehune class of 2010, Che Allan, Andrew Rose, Lilly Von Treuenfels, and Jacob Burke have improved by notches! I was equally impressed by the efforts of Josh Galt, Yuri Scutt, and newcomers to our girls division this year, Kayla Archer and Alex Cole, as well as the progress seen in the surfing of our youngest competitor in the BJSC, eight-year-old Zander Venezia.” Despite the large swells rolling into the lineup, these beginner surfers did not require the presence of water patrol as they deftly handled the conditions on their own.

Three divisions in the Burkie Junior Surfing Series saw unchanged winners: in the premier 18 & Under Boys division, 13-year-old Josh Burke utilized the choppy wave faces to show off his progressive moves, taking 1st-place from 17-year-old Bruce Mackie with high-flying air-reverses. In 18 & Under Girls, Chelsea Roett maintained her 1st-place ranking over her rival and namesake, Chelsea Tuach. Che Allan continued his dominance in the 10 & Under, winning his sixth straight event over 2nd-place finisher Jacob Burke and 3rd-place Andrew Rose. Daniel Edghill held off Roett’s wahine attack in a close 16 & Under heat, while usual multi-division winner Dane Mackie only managed one win, taking the 12 & Under Boys win away from Josh Burke before losing in 14 & Under to Chelsea Tuach. The newly added 12 & Under Girls division, which was introduced to encourage more girls to participate, found Isabella Venezia dethroning local favorite and past winner Lilly Von Treuenfels and first-time competitor Kayla Archer.

A team of BJSC member surfers, including Chelsea Roett, Chelsea Tuach, Jordan Heaselgrave, Dane Mackie, Josh Burke, Che Allan, and Jacob Burke will attend the 46th Annual Ron Jon Easter Surf Festival in Cocoa Beach, FL from April 2nd-4th. We wish them well for the contest and hope they do our Club and home of Barbados proud. Good luck!

WHAT, YOU WANT MORE? www.bdosjuniorsurfing.blogspot.com