For immediate release
29th November 2023
From: Surfing New Zealand
Sport: International Surfing
Event: 2023 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
Divisions: Under 18 and 16 Boys and Girls
Date: November 24-3 December
Location: Praia da Macumba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Websites: ISA World Juniors and Surfing New Zealand
Kiwis Perform in Brazilian pressure cooker
With an unfavorable forecast for Macumba Beach the ISA decided that repechage rounds would be scrapped. The result, a pressure cooker situation where the juniors would need to put it all on the line to advance back in to the main round, with no second chances it was all or nothing and the kiwi groms stepped up to the challenge.
With everything on the line today and wanting to set the bar high for the team it was Spencer Rowson of Taranaki that surfed first. In an outstanding performance in pumping waves, Rowson out surfed Rivan Rosskopf and Timon Matena of the Czech Republic. Moving through to Repechage 2 Rowson found his rhythm again after a slow start and looked unstoppable in the small fun waves of Macumba.
Speaking after his heat Rowson commented “ It was a slow start but found a couple in the end , got it done” Spencer showed is competitiveness by using priority skilfully throughout the heat, he added “ I had to sit on blue for half the heat which was nerve wracking, it feels a little stink sometimes but has to be done if you want to get through the heat” Spencer now moves back in to the main round.
Up again in the U18 Boys it was Kalani Louis also of Taranaki to take to the water, unfortunately falling on a turn he couldn’t quite find his rhythm and although sitting on a pair of 3s it wasn’t enough to progress and so exits the event on day 4.
Navryn Malone was the final surfer for the kiwis to surf today in what turned out to be an edge of your seat kind of heat. In the deteriorating conditions of Macumba, Malone looked comfortable getting on the board early and leading for some of the heat.
With not many waves on offer it looked like he would finish in 3rd when as the countdown began he took off on a mediocre right hander, a 3 turn combo saw him turn the heat around heading from 3rd to 1st, in what was a spectacular turn of events Columbian Romeo Chavez also took off and with mere seconds on the clock surfed to a 3.7 over taking Malone and winning the heat. Navryn’s performance will see him advance back into the main round to surf again tomorrow.
The Under 18 Girls also saw continued success with Mount Maunganui surfer Anna Brock placing second in her close scoring heat. Whangamata local Pia Rogers got her first win in what was also a close scoring heat. Both girls will Join their teammate Tayla Green back in Round 3 on day 5 of the event.
Over on podium 2 Alani Morse of Raglan, after a lay day yesterday was back refreshed and ready to go absolutely dominating her French and Uruguayan opponents to advance to Repechage 2. Later in the day she took to the water again showing comfort and experience well beyond her years dominating again and moving on through to Round 3.
Leia Millar of Piha placed 2nd in her Repechage heat in what was to be a very close finish. Using her competitive knowledge and patience she out surfed Venuezelan Kellyani Flores to advance back into the main round.
In the Under 16 Boys division the groms also found success in both Alexis Owen(Dun) and Tao Mouldey (Mount) both placing 2nd in their tightly matched heats. Both surfers will advance to the main round where they will need to continue with their momentum to make it through the more challenging heats to come. Unfortunately after putting on a great performance all competition long we saw Theo Morse of Raglan exit the competition after a tough 2 rounds of Repechage. With the ocean not on his side he was unable to find the scores required to progress.
10 members of the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team remain in the event which is expected to finish on the 3rd of December.
The 2023 WJSC will continue tomorrow at 6:30 am BRT at Praia da Macumba.
All remaining Surfers in the New Zealand team will surf on Day 5
Day 5 Schedule TBC Click HERE FOR UPDATE
About the event
The team is competing at the 2023 ISA World Junior Championship being held at Praia da Macumba, Brazil November 24-3 December.
In 2022 the New Zealand Team placed 13th
The championship is the largest junior surfing event in the world playing host to over 365 surfers from 46 nations in 2023.
You can view the livestream of the event here
The schedule can be found here
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding, SUP and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964, and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
Further Information
For further information on the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution action images of team members will be available to media free of charge upon request.
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