Shaun Joubert : photo Jake White
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 9 October, 2008 : - - South African surfing sensation Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) posted both the day's highest individual wave score and combined heat total in Round 1 of the US $75 000 Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Championships today (Thursday). After two lay days, the world's richest-ever pro junior tournament kicked off with a bang at the high performance wave of Keramas in Bali.
An official 'blessing of the waters' ceremony was staged before surfing action began with the six non-elimination round one heats completed. "It was really fun out there," said Joubert. "There were a few barrels and I probably got the best two waves in the heat, so I'm stoked."
The 17-year-old was all class in the barrelling right-handers, weaving through the eye of two reeling tubes to snare a pair of near-perfect scores of 9.5 and 9.43 out of a possible 10. His heat total of18.93 points saw him finish almost eight points clear of second placed Billy Stairmand (NZL) on 11.9, with Brazil's Franklin Serpa in third on 11.37.
"It's almost an achievement just being here," explained Joubert who qualified for the event by winning the Oakley Pro Junior in Durban at Easter. "It's such a big contest with so many great surfers it's almost overwhelming. I'm stoked to be in the mix."
Other big round one winners today included Dusty Payne (Maui, Hawaii), Reunion Island's Romain Cloitre, France's Marc Lacomare (Hossegor), Brazil's Peterson Crisanto and South Africa's Nick Godfrey (Cape St Francis), the runner-up in the Durban event. Competition is expected to continue tomorrow (Friday) morning with sudden-death round two heats to be completed.
Oakley International has held six qualifying events in Australia, Brazil, France, Japan, South Africa and the United States, culminating in the grand finale in Bali. The Global Challenge Championship will be staged over four days of competition within a 10-day waiting period from October 7-17 in the high performance waves of Keramas in Bali, Indonesia.
