Words by: Billabong media
Seal Point, Cape St Francis - Small and onshore waves didn't deter the best junior surfers in the country as they tore the Seal Point waves apart in their bids for event and series titles. In an exciting finish to the 2014 Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS, the finalists all threw caution to the wind, going for broke in the marginal conditions.
Ian Thurtell
In the U12 Boys final it was young York Van Jaarsveldt who outpointed Tide Lee Ireland for the win, while in the U14 Girls division it was Kirsty McGillivray who took the win from Anne Jellema-Butler. In the fiercely contested U14 Boy Final it was Sebastian Williams who took victory from Koby Oberholzer.
Ruth Armstrong won the U16 Girls division beating Crystal Hulett, while Adin Masencamp took out the U16 Boys division from Alex Van Rijswick.
The Pro Junior Women's final was a close one, with the two JBay sisters, Emma and Gina Smith, placing first and second, with Teal Hogg and Crystal Hulett in third and fourth.
The Pro Junior Men's heat was an action-packed affair, with the 4 surfers going for broke in the highly contestable high-tide conditions. Adin Masencamp, showing some fatigue after winning his U16 final, placed fourth, and Josh Smit failed to find the connecting waves and came third. JBay surfer Dylan Lightfoot, who was surfing fast and dynamic, wasn't able to beat an on-form Shane Sykes, who totally dominated the final and earned the biggest heat score of the event in the process.
"I'm stoked with the way that final went," said Sykes afterwards. "The waves were so much fun out there, and with the onshore it reminded me a lot of where I surf in Durban, in Ballito. I was feeling confident and have had a pretty good run lately, with a good board, so it was a great event or me."
Final Event Results
U12 Boys Final
1. York Van Jaarsveldt
2. Tide Lee Ireland
3. Dylan Hendriks
4. Kye McGregor
U14 Girls Final
1. Kirsty McGillivray
2. Anne Jellema-Butler
3. Zoe Smith
4. Olivia Izzard
U14 Boys Final
1. Sebastian Williams
2. Koby Oberholzer
3. Karl Steen
4. Max Elkington
U16 Girls Final
1. Ruth Armstrong
2. Crystal Hulett
3. Cana Foster
4. Taghiti Gericke
U16 Boys Final
1. Adin Masencamp
2. Alex Van Rijswick
3. Jake Elkington
4. Joshe Faulkner
Pro Junior Women's Final
1. Emma Smith
2. Gina Smith
3. Teal Hogg
4. Crystal Hulett
Pro Junior Men's Final
1. Shane Sykes
2. Dylan Lightfoot
3. Josh Smit
4. Adin Masencamp
The BOS Surfer Of The Contest Award went to Adin Masencamp for winning the U16 Boys and making the Pro Junior Men's final.
The Nixon WTA Award for the highest heat score went to Shane Sykes for his massive 18.5 total in the Pro Junior Final
The DaKine Youthful Movement Award went to Shane Sykes for an innovative finsfree move in the Pro Junior Final
The KR Finsfree Award went to Alex Van Rijswijck.
The Dennis Ellis Underground Ripper Awards went to:
Girl - Taghiti Gericke
Boy - Johnathan Coffey
The VonZipper Brainblast Off Airshow was won by Diran Zakarian for a huge backhand air reverse move.
Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS 2014 Final Results
U12 Boys
1. York Van Jaarsveldt
2. Tide Lee Ireland
3. Dylan Hendriks
U14 Girls
1. Kirsty McGillivray
2. Sophie Bell
3. Olivia Izzard
U14 Boys
1. Max Elkington
2. Koby Oberholzer
3. Karl Steen
U16 Girls
1. Ruth Armstrong
2. Michelle Verreynne
3. Pippa Jones
U16 Boys
1. Jake Elkington
2. Jordan Maree
3. Alex Van Rijswijck
Pro Junior Women
1. Emma Smith
2. Gina Smith
3. Chanelle Botha
Pro Junior Men
1. Shane Sykes
2. Dylan Lightfoot
3. Diran Zakarian
Nixon Limited Edition 48-20 watches went to the two Pro Junior winners Shane Sykes and Emma Smith.
The BOS Surfer Of The Series Award for the most consistent surfer of the series across all age divisions went to Emma Smith for winning all three Pro Junior Women's events during the year.
The Billabong Junior Series 2014 has a number of supporting sponsors, including Playstation, Samsung, Techniblock, Nixon, VonZipper, KR Fins, Denis Ellis Surfboards and Future Life.
The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognised by the Dept. Of Sport and Recreation as the national governing body for surfing.
The Association Of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognised world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning undisputed World Champions since 1976.
Imagery and video content from previous 2014 events in the series can be found on the various Billabong Social Media platforms.
