Twenty three of Western Australia’s best junior surfers are on their way to represent their state and tackle the country's leading talent on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula for the 2018 Surf Dive 'n Ski Australian Junior Surfing Titles.
After a hotly contested three-event WA Junior Surfing Titles, along with huge numbers of students competing in the SunSmart School Surfing Titles, the WA Junior Team Surf Team is heading to South Australia for the first time in a decade to compete in and around the waves of Victor Harbour.
In an exciting mix of competition experience and youthful exuberance, the WA Junior Surfing Team boasts representatives from right across the state, showcasing the depth of talent and strength of the sport across Western Australia.
South-West surfers feature predominately in this years team, with a total of 14 surfers hailing from either Yallingup, Gracetown or Margaret River, with the remainder of the team is made up of surfers from with Peel, the Mid-West and metropolitan areas.
In a competitive season that has provided a few upset and a surprises along the way, Surfing WA Development Manager Tom Dickson is excited to see WA’s new generation or surfers head away to perform on the national stage.
“The Australian Junior Surfing Titles are a culmination of a lot of hard work and preparation for these young surfers,” said Dickson.
“We hope our WA High Performance program has best prepared them for arguably the biggest event of their young careers thus far. We wish everyone the very best of luck in the upcoming tournament.”
With a joint National Titles encompassing Individual (Under 14, 16 and 18 age groups) and Australian School Surfing Association (Allstars and MR Shield) disciplines in both boys and girl’s divisions, the event is considered the benchmark of junior surfing in the country.
After recently coaching Team Australia to a bronze medal at the ISA World Junior Championships in America, Mike McAuliffe (Margaret River) will once again be guiding and assisting WA best young surfers at this years Australian Junior Titles.
He’ll be assisted by Luke Campbell (Margaret River) who will also draw from years of competition experience to provide valuable insight and technical feedback to the WA Team in South Australia.
A win at the national level is regarded as a major step in a surfers competitive career with the list of past winners featuring some of the greatest names in world surfing including WSL Men’s World Champions Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning, plus former World Champions Mark Richards, Tom Carroll and Damian Hardman.
Newly crowned seven-time WSL Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore, and current WSL World Tour surfers Tyler Wright and Sally Fitzgibbons are also included on the prestigious honour roll.
The 2018 Surf Dive ‘n Ski Australian Junior Surfing Titles will commence with an opening ceremony on Saturday 1st December before surfing starts on Sunday 2nd December and runs through to Saturday 8th December.
2018 WESTERN AUSTRALIA JUNIOR SURFING TEAM
Under 18 Junior Boys:
Ben Gradisen (Gracetown)
Finn Cox (Margaret River)
Charlie Castleden (Cottesloe)
Lachie Mitchell-D’Raine (Duncraig)
Under 18 Junior Girls:
Emma Cattlin (Yallingup)
April McPherson (Mandurah)
Arabelle Gibson (Margaret River)
Denni Durant (Red Bluff)
Under 16 Cadet Boys:
Jed Gradisen (Gracetown)
Solomon Pogue Englert (Gracetown)
George Simpson (Margaret River)
Jack Mitchell (Margaret River)
Under 16 Cadet Girls:
Maddie Cawood (Margaret River)
Coral Durant (Red Bluff)
Taiana Duncan (Kalbarri)
Under 14 Grommet Boys:
Brock Launders (Margaret River)
Jake Hagan (Geraldton)
Otis North (Yallingup)
Macklin Flynn (Mandurah)
Under 14 Grommet Girls:
Zali Hewson (Margaret River)
Lilli Cox (Margaret River)
Willow Hardy (Margaret River)
Under 19 Boys MR Shield:
Ben Gradisen (Gracetown)
Finn Cox (Margaret River)
Under 19 Girls MR Shield:
Emma Cattlin (Yallingup)
Maddie Cawood (Margaret River)
Under 16 Boys MR Shield:
Jed Gradisen (Gracetown)
Finn Cox (Margaret River)
Under 16 Girls MR Shield:
Zali Hewson (Margaret River)
Lilli Cox (Margaret River)
Under 19 Boys AllStars:
Charlie Castleden (Cottesloe)
Fletcher Llanwarne (Sorrento)
Under 19 Girls AllStars:
April McPherson (Mandurah)
Arabelle Gibson (Margaret River)
Under 16 Boys AllStars:
George Simpson (Gracetown)
Jack Mitchell (Margaret River)
Under 16 Girls AllStars:
Coral Durant (Red Bluff)
Taiana Duncan (Kalbarri)
With Surfing WA
