[i]Monday 2 January, 2006
Narrabeen Beach, Sydney, Australia
BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
(31 December 2005 8 January 2006)
Laura Enever prepares for battle.
Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com
Pint-sized prodigy Carissa Moore from Hawaii had her older and more seasoned rivals rattled today at the Billabong World Junior Championships, after she put on a performance well beyond her tender age of 13.
Moore revelled in the one metre (three foot) conditions at Narrabeen Beach, Australia as she caught numerous right-hand breaking waves and executed top to bottom turns that scored her a total of 17.84 out of a possible 20. [/i]Im very excited to make the quarter finals, said Moore who was modest and shy in front of the media swarm after her round three heat. I found the conditions fun and Im nervous about going up against girls like Jessi Miley-Dyer and Steph Gilmore but Im more excited that Im getting the chance and Ill just try my best.
Moore has already been surfing for nine years and her future as a superstar of the sport looks secure, especially since she has such a strong support team in her parents.
Ive been surfing since I was four years old, said Moore. My dad and mum surf too and they help me a lot. I normally surf on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Its a lot different to here. I dont get to surf beach breaks much (the waves she usually surfs break over lava reef and coral) but I really like it.
Fellow competitor and round three heat winner Jesse Miley-Dyer (AUS) could potentially meet Moore in the semi finals and was wary of the youngsters ability.
Carissa is a really good surfer and she did really well today, said Miley-Dyer. I think when surfing against girls like that you just do your own thing and not worry about what they are doing. I cant control how many big turns she does!
Miley-Dyer looked solid today and is looking forward to a big result so as to give her 2006 campaign a positive start. She was looking forward to attacking the business end of the event.
Its really exciting to be in the final stages of the contest, said Miley-Dyer. In that last heat I was glad to get through as Laura Enever is a great little Narrabeen grommet. Im definitely looking forward to my next heat and Im not really feeling too much pressure.
Living up to her reputation as a world beater Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) scored the second highest total of the day with a 17.17 out of 20.
Gilmore has been touted as a definite ASP Womens World Tour title contender and will be using this event as a springboard for her 2006 assault on the World Qualifying Series which she must follow in order to qualify for the main tour.
The 17-year-old was radical in her approach to riding the waves today and will be very hard to hold off from taking the top gong.
I was having a lot of fun out there on those little waves and it really suits my surfing, said a smiling Gilmore. My goal for the start of this year would ideally be to become a junior world champion so hopefully I can make that a reality. Im going to do the World Qualifying Series full time this year and hopefully by the end of this year Ill have enough points to qualify And then I can have a go at winning the real world title!
Like Miley-Dyer, Gilmore paid tribute to Moores amazing display.
All the girls are really pushing the limits, said Gilmore. Carissa in her heat was awesome. She was doing stuff out there that most 13-year-old boys couldnt do. Its definitely going to be a hard task to win but Ill just see what I can do.
Contest Director Luke Egan was hopeful that the event would continue on tomorrow and has both the men and women on standby for an 8am start. He will assess conditions at 7.30am tomorrow (3 January).
For the full results and draws for both men and women go to www.billabongpro.com or www.aspworldtour.com
Results Womens Round Three:
Heat 1:
Nikita Robb (ZAF) 10.66 def Nao Omura (JAP) 4.70
Heat 2:
Carissa Moore (HAW) 17.84 def Lee Ann Curran (FRA) 10.00
Heat 3:
Pauline Ado (FRA) 11.83 def Airini Mason (NZ) 10.66
Heat 4:
Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 13.33 def Laura Enever (AUS) 8.84
Heat 5:
Nicola Atherton (AUS) 15.50 def Tarryn Chudleigh (ZAF) 5.90
Heat 6:
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 17.17 def Tais Almeida (BRA) 8.67
Heat 7:
Mizuki Hagiwara (JAP) 10.07 def Rebecca Oakley (AUS) 9.04
Heat 8:
Diana Cristina (BRA) 13.84 def Lindsay Noyce (AUS) 12.44