30TH AUGUST 2010 – VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA USA.
A familiar Virginia Beach setting lay before Alan Burke, President and Coach to the Barbados Junior Surfing Club team, today a competitor in the Senior Men’s division and eventual 3rd Place finisher in that division’s final. The three storey judging towers loomed over a landscape of sponsor tents and two offshore podiums of head high swell compliments of hurricane Danielle. The stage was set and the East Coast Surf Championships were on.
The event featured many well known pro and amateur surfers both from the US and abroad, Burke himself was a past winner in the Pro division in 1991, and the event organizers remember that victory like it was yesterday. In fact this year as the event celebrated its 48th year running many of its past winners were recognized throughout the series. The organizers recently researched and published results dating back to the event’s origins in 1963 making the ECSC the second longest running surf event in the world and the US East Coast’s largest surf event today.
The event is a special one for Barbados, not only have our surfers traditionally excelled in the Virginia Beach surf, the Barbados Tourism Authority is a main sponsor of the event with first place prize in the Pro division being a trip to Barbados for our Independence Surf Pro in November, also Barbados fielded the largest international contingent from any nation at the event. Both Alan Burke of the BJSC and Ignatius Marshall of the BTA spoke at length with event organizers and commentators while in the background thousands were on hand to partake in the annual festival that included concerts, FMX and motocross exhibitions, Reef girl’s contests, sponsor parties and movie premieres among other activities. But our juniors, in part funded by the Barbados Junior Surfing Club, were here on official business, we were here to surf.
The Open Short board division was no cake walk for our young team, and an impressive Joshua Burke would carve and air his way to the final 16 in the quarter finals against a talented field of 64 international competitors that included Costa Rica’s Jairo Perez, Jamaica’s Icah Wilmot and the US East Coast’s Cameron Richards. Burke’s quarter final placing was a fantastic achievement for the 13 year old and a harbinger of great things to come as the Barbados junior team grows strength through strength.
In the Boys 12-14 age division Dane Mackie would also challenge all 64 contenders with his flowing style, off the lips and carves. The pool of talent in this age group was also equally daunting but Dane would not take any prisoners as he battled to a stacked semi final heat where he would place fourth to Lucas Silveria from Brazil, and the US contenders Cam Richards and Giorgio Gomez finishing in the top 8 of that division.
The Pro and Pro Junior divisions were loaded with international talent, Jordan Heaselgrave our oldest competitor on the team would finish 3rd in his Round One heat in the Pro Juniors for an =17th finish and =33rd in the Pro Men.
In the youngest age group the 9 & Under, Jacob Burke would fight the field of 32 young groms to a fourth place berth on the final, the highest placing of any of our team members in the entire event. Young Burke showed his class and style and is walking in his family’s footsteps proving that he is a future force to be reckoned with on the international stage.
In the 11& Under (Menehune) age group our highest placing team member Andrew Rose challenged the field of 56 to a 3rd place finish in the top 16 quarter finals. Rose would also post the highest heat scores in his Round Two heat in that division as he battled through to the quarter finals a 14.8 two wave total. He received the acclaim from the commentators as he ripped his outside set wave straight in front to the judging booth on route to an 8 point wave score…
“That is the future of surfing right there” Indeed the team has shown that it is the future of Barbados’ surfing. Although it was unfortunate that many of the team were battling a flu virus during the event they exhibited great performances and are mature beyond their years, developing competitive savvy in the international arena. There is nothing but a bright future ahead for Barbadian surfing, and we expect to be back at the East Coast Surf Championships next year and take the event by storm.
Final Team Placing
Jacob Burke – 4th Overall in Micro Menehune (9 & Under); equal 17th in Menehune (11 & Under)
Dane Mackie – Equal 7th in Boys 12-14; equal 17th in Open Short board
Joshua Burke – Equal 9th in Open Short board; Equal 9th in Boys 12-14
Andrew Rose – Equal 9th in Menehune (11 & Under); Equal 33rd in Open Short Board
Jordan Heaselgrave – Equal 17th in Pro Junior; = 33rd in Pro Men
About Us
The Barbados Junior Surfing Club was established in 2010 with a mission to develop junior surfing in Barbados. The Club assists its members in developing their surfing skills through structured surfing events, advice and training on matters such as surfing competition, judging and all other areas particular to the development of our sport in Barbados. The junior divisions that the Club runs at its surfing events are 10& Under, 12& Under, 14& Under, Under 16 and Under 18, as well as a division specifically for the 12& Under Girls and Under 18 Girls in our quest for our future Barbadian girls champions.
For further information please visit our website at http://www.bdosjuniorsurfing.org or our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/bdosjuniorsurfing .
October 16th 2010 - The Barbados Junior Surfing Club is hosting our Family Fun Day event sponsored by Hough Capital Management (Barbados) Ltd. which will run a Super Grom surf series catering to the surfers in our membership who have not placed higher than 6th in any of our other events this year, as well as other fun surf activities for all members including Long boarding, an Expression Session, Family Team events and beach activities for all family members. The event is scheduled to take place on Oc...tober 16th 2010.
