NORTH NARRABEEN, New South Wales/Australia (Monday, January 11, 2010) –
South Africans Klee Strachan and Beyrick de Vries advanced directly to Round 3 of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships fueled by Monster Energy by winning their opening encounters in the world’s premier event for surfers aged 20 and under.

Competing in small but contestable half metre waves at the iconic North Narrabeen beach in Sydney, Australia, Strachan (Winkelspruit) caused one of the biggest upsets on the opening day by relegating event top seed and last year’s runner-up, Jadson Andre (BRA), and Australian Brent Savage, son of former Durbanite Mike Savage, to the cutthroat Round 2 heats.

De Vries, 16, from Umhlanga, was also on fire, dispatching Brazilian prodigy Gabriel Medina and Takumi Nakamura (JPN) on his way to a berth in the last 32.

The balance of the ASP Africa representatives who competed on Day 1 of the event did not fare as well with Casey Grant (Scottburgh) and Kyle Lane (Umhlanga) both finishing in third place in their respective Round 1 match-ups, as did Sarah Baum (Athlone Park) and Bianca Buitendag (George) in the women’s event.

All four will be in action in their respective Round 2 heats when action resumes.

Reigning ASP Africa Pro Junior Champion Chad du Toit (Berea, Durban), at No. 15 the highest seed from South Africa, is yet to complete his opening clash where he will be up against Arashi Kato (JPN) and Cody Thompson (USA).

Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), 20, was the standout performer on Day 1, dissecting the running Alley right-handers at Narrabeen on his backhand to net several impressive scoring rides en route to acquiring the day’s high heat total of 14.66 out of a possible 20.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 8am start (12 midnight, Monday, South African time)

Highlights from today’s Billabong ASP World Junior Championships fueled by Monster Energy are available via www.billabongpro.com and the action will be webcast LIVE during the event.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 1 RESULTS (Women):
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.83, Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.43, Sayuri Hashimoto (JPN) 5.60
Heat 2: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.84, Leila Hurst (HAW) 9.26, Nao Ohmura (JPN) 7.20
Heat 3: Sage Erickson (USA) 11.67, Alizee Arnaud (FRA) 11.10, Susa Leal (BRA) 5.20
Heat 4: Bethany Hamilton (HAW) 12.60, Gabriela Leite (BRA) 10.83, Sarah Baum (ZAF) 7.53
Heat 5: Joanne Defay (FRA) 12.66, Alessa Cuizon (HAW) 11.20, Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.57
Heat 6: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.33, Felicity Palmateer (AUS) 8.03, Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 6.93

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 1 RESULTS (Men):
Heat 1: Hiroto Arai (JPN) 11.00, Keito Matsouka (JPN) 10.20, Kiron Jabour (HAW) 7.81
Heat 2: Marco Fernandez (BRA) 14.54, Tonino Benson (HAW) 12.20, Dean Bowen (AUS) 12.00
Heat 3: Davey Cathels (AUS) 10.83, Nat Young (USA) 9.43, Casey Grant (ZAF) 8.37
Heat 4: Luciani Heremoana (PYF) 10.23, Granger Larsen (HAW) 10.10, Kyle Lane (ZAF) 8.23
Heat 5: Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 10.54, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.76, Takumi Nakamura (JPN) 7.90
Heat 6: Garrett Parkes (AUS) 13.90, Maxime Huscenot (REU) 12.00, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 10.87
Heat 7: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 14.66, Jocelyn Poulou (PYF) 8.17, Brent Reilly (USA) 6.43
Heat 8: Klee Strachan (ZAF) 9.10, Brent Savage (AUS) 8.83, Jadson Andre (BRA) 8.43

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS (Women):
Heat 1: Pauline Ado (FRA), Sarah Baum (ZAF), Susa Leal (BRA)
Heat 2: Sayuri Hashimoto (JPN), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Nao Ohmura (JPN)

BILLABONG ASP WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS REMAINING ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS (Men):
Heat 9: Owen Wright (AUS), Clay Marzo (HAW), Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 10: Alejo Muniz (BRA), Medi Veminardi (REU), Made Rhondi (IDN)
Heat 11: Stuart Kennedy (AUS), Jatyr Berasaluce (ESP), Keanu Asing (HAW)
Heat 12: Charles Martin (GLP), Dillon Perillo (USA), Franklin Serpa (BRA)
Heat 13: Marc Lacomare (FRA), Luke Davis (USA), Frederico Moraes (PRT)
Heat 14: Manuel Selman (CHL), Cory Arrambide (USA), Chris Friend (AUS)
Heat 15: Chad Du Toit (ZAF), Arashi Kato (JPN), Cody Thompson (USA)
Heat 16: Nicolau Von Rupp (DEU), Albee Layer (HAW), Kaito Ohashi (JPN)

Ends

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Email: aspafrica@mweb.co.za

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About ASP:
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.