Consistent Waves And Sunny Skies Continue For Day 2 Of The Phillip Island Junior Pro Presented By Bass Coast Shire Council

Consistent waves and sunny skies continued for Day 2 of the Phillip Island Junior Pro presented by Bass Coast Shire Council with the competitors enjoying every minute of it. Competition resumed at Penguin Parade with clean right-hand point break waves peeling through the lineup. 

The Under 18 Girls hit the water first with Isla Huppatz (Bilinga) setting the bar high by putting her competitors in a combination situation with a 17.75 point combined heat total. 

The surf continued to pulse throughout the morning with Ruby Berry (Margaret River) finding the perfect rhythm with the ocean. Only seconds into the heat Berry found her way onto a long-running set wave allowing her to lay into a variation of backhand re-entries and then a strong finish on the inside. With only a minute taken off the clock, Berry was rewarded with an 8.00 point ride by the judges.  

This unbelievably early start gave Berry the opportunity to sit and wait for another excellent wave to come through, with a great score already under her belt. Halfway through the heat, another large set rolled through the lineup with Berry pulling the trigger and deciding to take off. Already knowing what the judges were looking for, Berry went straight back into a range of backhand attacks to receive an 8.10 point ride and a 16.10 combined heat total. 

“It was really fun to surf it with no one out ‘cause the free surfs have been super hectic so I was stoked to get a couple of waves,” Berry said.

“It’s really fun, like I love seeing all my friends over here and Victoria is such a sick place to visit,” she continued.

In the Under 18 Boys Dane Henry (Fingal Head) started off strong, belting the critical section twice out the back and finishing with a solid lip-line floater to make his way towards a 16.75 point combined heat total and a spot in the Quarterfinals. In Heat 5 Isaiah Vaealiki (Narrabeen) went to his backhand attack banking an 8.10 point ride and an 8.75 point ride to take the heat. 

With an incoming tide going into the Under 16 Girls, the waves became less frequent and harder to pick. This wasn’t a problem for Sara Hickson (Mornington Peninsula) who was able to read the lineup with precision. 

Waiting patiently for the right wave Hickson took off on a large set and smashed the first section before teeing off on the rest of what the wave had to offer. Hickson swang left through the inside of her ride and went vertical on the end section to maximise her scoring potential. This one wave earned her a 9.35 point ride and the Surf Better Now’s Wave of the Day award for Day 2. 

“It was a bit slow at the start but I was looking for a wave with some wall to it and I found a good one and it was fun,” Sarah exclaimed.

“I took off on the wave and there was a really sick first section so I went up and hit it and then surfed it the rest of the way to the beach which felt really nice,” she added.

Day 3 is looking to have a 7:15 am check in for a 7:30 am start with all divisions on standby and a location to be determined. The schedule and location will be posted on Surfing Victoria socials and the competitor’s WhatsApp tomorrow morning. 

Live scores and schedule is available via www.surfingvic.com/phillipislandjunior 

The Phillip Island Junior Pro is presented by Bass Coast Shire and supported by the Victorian Government Significant Sporting Events program, Carve Sunglasses, Buell Wetsuits, GLOBE, SurfBetterNow.com and Surfing Victoria.