Some of Western Australia’s best junior surfers are preparing to call the wave-rich Yallingup region home this weekend, as the first event of the 2023 Woolworths WA Junior Surfing Titles presented by Think Mental Health prepares for a start.
Grommets aged between 9 and 17 years will converge from all corners of Western Australia for the first of three events which will determine who will represent WA at the Woolworths Australian Junior Surfing Titles to be held in Victoria later this year.
Many of WA’s top surfers developed their skills by competing at the WA Junior Titles as grommets, with Taj Burrow (Yallingup), Ry Craike (Kalbarri), Creed McTaggart (Margaret River), Jack Robinson (Margaret River), Claire Bevilacqua (Yallingup), Jacob Willcox (Margaret River) and Bronte Macaulay (Gracetown), all capturing prestigious State Championships in the past.
This will be the first time in many years that Yallingup will play host to the WA Junior Surfing Titles and hot off the back of the success of the recent Taj’s Small Fries event in January, the froth levels are overflowing with surfers set to compete across eight divisions including Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 boys and girls divisions.
“It’s shaping up to be a massive weekend of surfing,” said Surfing WA Events Manager Justin Majeks. “We’ve got a bunch of new and established names set to challenge for State Titles in 2023. Despite a smallish swell forecast, Yallingup has proven to be a great destination over the years for junior surfing and we look forward to hosting our first State Title event of the year.”
Competitors from all of WA’s major surfing regions will be on display, as surfers from Geraldton in the north, Albany in the south and everywhere in between head towards Yallingup for the two-day event.
Willow Hardy (Margaret River), Macklin Flynn (Cowaramup), Rosie Gillett (Dunsborough), Okie Fraser (Margaret River), Leila Fraser (Margaret River), Ace Flynn (Cowaramup), Ily Fraser (Margaret River) and Jack Bowdell (Cowaramup) will be surfers to keep an eye on after great performances at the 18th Taj’s Small Fries last month, with local chargers Maverick Wilson (Dunsborough), Remy North (Yallingup), Ruby Eastaugh (Yallingup) and Cruz Uros (Dunsborough), all out to impress on home soil.
Former Junior Champion and high performance coach Mia McCarthy (Margaret River) on the beach all weekend to provide pre and post heat analysis for WA’s next generation of surfing stars.
Surfing action is set to commence at 7:30am on Saturday with finals taking place on Sunday.
The Woolworths WA Junior Surfing Titles presented by Think Mental Health will be live streamed for the first time via www.streamer.com.au allowing people anywhere in the world to tune in and watch the action as it happens in Yallingup.
You can keep up to date with all the action by following Surfing WA’s social media platforms or by checking out www.surfingwa.com.au
Surfing WA reminds all our traveling competitors and families of the dangers of sending a text message or using a mobile phone while behind the wheel – Ditch the distraction and remember #NoTxtNoWrecks.
