AITPINGA BEACH, South Australia – Clean three-foot (1 metre) surf at Waitpinga Beach in the southern waters of South Australia was on offer today as Australia’s top 20-year-old-and-under surfers completed rounds three and four of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-4 Fantastic Noodles Pro Junior.

The cold waters, which are down around 13 degrees celsius, and significantly colder with a wind chill factor in full force, did not stop the high-performance surfing with impressive showings from the events’ top two seeds, Owen Wright and Garrett Parkes, both Byron Bay region of NSW.

Owen Wright is the defending event champion and he has not been defeated this entire season, having won all four ASP Australasian Pro Junior events to date in an display of unprecedented dominance at national ASP Pro Junior level.

This year he has also stormed the world with his surfing performances which sees the unassuming 19-year-old highly placed on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), following a major win in the Maldives last month and he is widely regarded as the hottest emerging surfer globally.

Despite all this great form and his comfortable heat win today, Wright cannot win this year’s Fantastic Noodles Pro Junior because he’ll forfeit his Semifinal place tomorrow as he heads to California for the ASP WQS 6-Star Hurley US Open of Surfing.

“I’ve had a break from competitive surfing the past month and thought this event would be good to get back into it before the US Open,” Wright said. “I was hoping the event might finish today, but it won’t, so I’ll have to depart tonight, but it’s been good and I’m ready to hit Huntington Beach in California.”

So, Wright will suffer his first loss here by default, but his appearance has none-the-less delighted the surfers of South Australia who realize they are possibly watching surfing’s next emerging star who has had great success in these waters over the past two years, winning this event last year and an Australian Junior title the previous year.

Wright’s pending absence opens the door for all others and No. 2 seed Garrett Parkes should be hardest to beat here.

read more at ASP

Sunday, 14 June 2009 –

Owen Wright (Australia) has won the 10th annual Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star PRIME SriLankan Airlines Pro in the Maldives.

It was a monumental, high-scoring Final, described by numerous ASP officials at this event as the greatest Final they have ever seen.

This Final had everything with both surfers forcing each other to new heights, combining superb power surfing with new age aerial moves.

The final scores saw Owen Wright on 19.23 out of a possible 20 to Gudauskas on 18.93.

Wright’s second ride in the final of 9.83 was decisive, pulling two major aerial manuevers along with a series of fully-powered on-face vertical turns.

read the full article at SriLankan Airlines Pro event site

Owen Wright (Lennox Head, NSW) today claimed his fourth consecutive ASP Australasia Pro Junior Title today, with a convincing victory at the Chill Pro Junior at Trigg Point, Western Australia. The $6000 winner’s cheque means that Owen Wright has now won more prize money than any other surfer in the history of the ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series.

At just 19 years of age, Wright now sits clearly on top of the ASP Australasia Pro Junior ratings, as well as holding down third place on the ASP World Qualifying Series ratings.

The best surf of the event was saved for the finals where clean two feet waves allowed for some true high performance surfing, with all finalists stepping up to the challenge.

Wright’s scores in the 30 minute final against Noah Lane (Rainbow Beach, QLD) reflect his total dominance of the three day event. He locked in a 9.50 ride in the opening minutes which set him up for the rest of the final. He went on to score a back up 8.90 to finish with a combined total of 18.40 from a possible twenty, the highest total for the entire event.

Wright’s razor sharp forehand attack was perfectly suited to the long lefthanders on offer, with his smooth style and trademark aerial manoeuvrers causing an eruption of applause from the crowds at Trigg Point. Wright was pushed by a determined Noah Lane who persisted with a counter-attack and scored a combined total of 16.50 from a possible twenty.

“I was stoked with the waves we had in the final, we couldn’t have asked for much more. I was a bit worried that the surf was going to be small, especially after three weeks of pumping waves in Bali, but it turned out to be a great final.” Said Wright who will return home to Lennox tonight for the first time in three months after a busy competition schedule.

In the women’s event, local girl Felicity Palmateer (Hillarys, WA) caused an upset to claim her first Pro Junior win. Palmateer defeated event favourite Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW) in the semi-finals and carried the momentum with her into the finals, where she defeated Angela Keighran (Mullaway, NSW). Palmateer nearly doubled the score of her rival in the finals, racking up a combined score of 14.25 out of a possible 20, Keighran didn’t look as comfortable at Palmateer’s home break, scoring a combined total of only 7.75.

After the great success of the 2009 Chill Pro Junior at Trigg Point major sponsor Brownes Chill have solidified their commitment to junior surfing in WA, supporting a range of events over the course of the next two years.

Surfing WA Event Manager Justin Majeks said, “It’s great to have Chill on board for a long-term partnership, the brand is a great fit with surfing and their support is much appreciated. It’s important for WA to have an ASP sanctioned Pro Junior event and we’re all looking forward to an even bigger and better Chill Pro Junior in 2010.”

For all results and news from the weekend check out www.chillprojunior.com
The Chill Pro Junior is presented by the City of Stirling and is proudly
supported by Surfing Western Australia, 92.9, Australia’s Surfing Life, Reef,
Filtrate Eyewear, Department of Sport and Recreation and ASP Australasia.
“Sport and Recreation building stronger, healthier, happier and safer
communities”

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