NICK LAIDLAW WINS THE AVALON RED BULL JUNIOR SURF MASTERS
Local surfer Nick Laidlaw is the winner of Red Bull Junior Surf Masters
Qualifier Event at Avalon Beach. It was a victory at sea for the
19-year-old Avalon surfer who tamed huge stormy waves and outclassed a
field of the best surfers from Sydney's Northern Beaches to come out on
top."It was probably the hardest surf contest I've ever been in," said an elated Laidlaw afterwards. "During my first heat I was washed all the way into shore before I even managed to catch a wave. I've surfed through four heats today and I'm buggered but really stoked."
The final featured a number of thrills and spills including a flipped jet ski, a snapped surfboard and plenty of hard and fast surfing. David Vlug finished second in the tight final. Vlug was unlucky to have his board broken by a huge wave half-way through the heat and had a marathon paddle back out on his replacement board.
The surf conditions were by far the most challenging in the Red Bull Junior Surf Masters Qualifying Series so far. Stormy six to eight foot waves romped into the beach at Avalon making the event a physical challenge as much as a test of surf skills. Despite the demanding swell the surfing throughout the day was red hot and showed that Sydney's Northern Beaches are still a major force in the world of competitive surfing.
Tom Myers finished third, and Chris Enever took fourth place. All four will represent the Northern Beaches when Red Bull Junior Surf Masters concludes at Queenscliff (August 29-31). The top four finalists from the Trials will then face a field of the best 16 Pro Junior Surfers in Australia, chosen by the current ASP World Champion, Mick Fanning.
Big wave surfer, Ross Clarke-Jones manned the Red Bull jet ski today which ferried competitors out the back through the heaving eight foot swells. "I don't know how they would have been able to run the event without the help of the jet ski," he said. "It's been a really challenging day of surfing for competitors. I've been like a water taxi all day."
Clarke-Jones is a former World Tour surfer who now travels the globe surfing some of the biggest and most dangerous waves on the planet. Two weeks ago he was photographed towing into enormous mutant barrels at the notorious Tasmanian wave, Shipstern's Bluff. Today he was happy to help competitors in the Red Bull Junior Surf Masters get a little closer to their own dreams of making it to the world of professional surfing.
"Junior surfing seems to have come full circle," said Clarke-Jones. "For a while there it was all about airs and flicky turns, now the kids seem to be doing more powerful and complete full rail carves. It's been great to check it out."
The surf conditions were by far the most challenging in the Red Bull Junior Surf Masters Qualifying Series so far. Stormy six to eight foot waves romped into the beach at Avalon making the event a physical challenge as much as a test of surf skills. Despite the demanding swell the surfing throughout the day was red hot and showed that Sydney's Northern Beaches are still a major force in the world of competitive surfing. Tom Myers finished third, and Chris Enever took fourth place. All four will represent the Northern Beaches when Red Bull Junior Surf Masters concludes at Queenscliff (August 29-31). The top four finalists from the Trials will then face a field of the best 16 Pro Junior Surfers in Australia, chosen by the current ASP World Champion, Mick Fanning.
Big wave surfer, Ross Clarke-Jones manned the Red Bull jet ski today which ferried competitors out the back through the heaving eight foot swells. "I don't know how they would have been able to run the event without the help of the jet ski," he said. "It's been a really challenging day of surfing for competitors. I've been like a water taxi all day."Clarke-Jones is a former World Tour surfer who now travels the globe surfing some of the biggest and most dangerous waves on the planet. Two weeks ago he was photographed towing into enormous mutant barrels at the notorious Tasmanian wave, Shipstern's Bluff. Today he was happy to help competitors in the Red Bull Junior Surf Masters get a little closer to their own dreams of making it to the world of professional surfing.
"Junior surfing seems to have come full circle," said Clarke-Jones. "For a while there it was all about airs and flicky turns, now the kids seem to be doing more powerful and complete full rail carves. It's been great to check it out."
Wish I was there
Awesome. Awesome to the max.
I wish I could surf like that!
i was gonna participate in this too... but i was um, busy that day. yeah, busy.
Excellent!