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| Crunch Time at the ISA World Junior Games in New Zealand Of the 21 teams from around the world that migrated to New Zealand to compete at the ISA World Junior Games, the rosters have been whittled down to a small handful of the usual suspects. And despite the inspiring performances by the Japanese and French teams—mark my words, Dimitri Ouvre has a major future in this sport—the likes of the USA, Hawaii and Australia are standing strong for medal contention with one day of competition left. Amid a seemingly endless barrage of mouth-watering lefts, the games saw the best surf of the event unfold yesterday with a number of surfers slotting themselves to the tune of high 8s and 9s. Of those donning tubes at the games, the aforementioned French surfer, Dimitri Ouvre, looked way too comfortable pulling in and would throw down one of the best performances of the event. Never one to be upstaged by the French, Kolohe Andino, a grom who couldn't epitomize California more if he tried, proved that he is worthy of the hype that precedes his name once again when he went well past vertical on his back hands in waves that appeared eerily reminiscent of claim-worthy day at Mundaka. Andino, along with an astounding two other teammates (Trevor Thorton and Jake Halstead) will be surfing in one of the final rounds of the repercharge and looking to final when they surf tomorrow. Moving forward to the final day of competition, as of press time, Hawaii is in the lead with Australia and New Zealand biting on their leash-tanned heals. Reigning champ Keanu Asing of Ewa Beach had his work cut out for him as he cut through three rounds of competition to find himself once again in the final rounds of the contest. “I'm so tired,” Asing said. “I surfed through like three heats. It was tough. I just gave it my best and got through.” The final fat from the event will be trimmed tomorrow. Will it be the USA, Australia or the Hawaiians donning some gold on the podium? You'll have to come right back here to check it out. Here are the current team standings heading into the final day of the event: 01 - Haw - 6420 02 - Aus - 6405 03 - USA - 5853 04 - Fra - 4845 05 - Zaf - 4763 06 - NZL - 4575 07 - Por - 4235 08 - Tah - 4168 09 - Jap - 3435 10 - Per - 3241 11 - UK - 2775 12 - Spn - 2690 13 - Arg - 2650 14 - Bra - 2508 15 - Ecu - 1865 16 - Ind - 1620 17 - Mex - 1350 18 - Can - 675 19 - Ita - 475 20 - Fij - 210 21 - Van - 165 Channels: Surf Perillo in Hot Pursuit of Asing in Pro Junior RaceIf you love title races you're probably more than a little pissed off that nobody is stepping up to challenge Joel Parkinson on the world stage this year. Granted, if you're like me, you're happy for Parko, who certainly deserves his due. But titles are far more more memorable when they're hard fought ones. Case in point, I'm guessing Slater would have traded a couple of his easier-won crowns for the one he lost to Andy in 2003. Don't doubt that for a second. With Mick and Kelly both winning at record-setting paces during their title runs in '07 and '08 we're used to blowouts. Good for Parko if he wants to give chase. But hardcore surf fans needn't be bothered by the lack of photo finish at the top spot. They can always find a race worth following, and this week's US Open of Surfing offers some great examples. Me, I'm keeping my eyes on the North American Pro Junior race. You like close ones? Well, how's 15-points sound for ya? That's the spread between current ratings leader Keanu Asing, the surprise package out of Hawaii, and Malibu's Dillon Perillo, the man hunting him down. Both surfers have already advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, which will resume on Thursday.  Malibu's Dillon Perillo is hoping to take over the top spot in the Pro Junior rankings in Huntington this weekend. Perillo has been on a bit of a roll in recent years, but is due for a high-profile win. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com  Perillo sporting his new look. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com  Keanu Asing has made back-to-back finals in the Pro Junior ranks, jumping all the way into the ratings lead after winning the Pier Pressure Pro last month. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com Right now, there's no better place to get a better snapshot of the future than events like the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, which is running in conjuction with the WQS 6-Star this week at the US Open of Surfing. Pro Juniors are limited to the best surfers under 20-years of age. By consolodating all the hot young talent in one division, the later round heats get stacked with heaps of rising young stars who, while a long way from peaking, are already huge forces to be reckoned with (case in point, Owen Wright, the current WQS leader on truly adjusted points, is the dominant Junior down in Australia.) Evan Geiselman was on fire during the prelims. Hurley's Tom Aiello caught up with him after his heat. There are several hot up-and-comers looking to mess with both Asing and Perillo, and none more so than Santa Cruz brace-faced Nat Young, and Newport's Andrew Doheney who are nipping at Perillo's heels. Reigning world junior champion Kai Barger, NSSA National Champion Kolohe Andino and Florida's Evan Geiselman, who is long overdue for a big result this year will also be playing huge spoiler roles. Fact is, the aforementioned might all be battling each other up in the big leagues soon, so it's fun to see how they handle prime-time pressure.  A freshly shaven Kolohe Andino has ripped his way into the quarterfinals of the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, where he'll be hoping to keep his momentum going after winning a national title last month. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com Channels: Surf Kolohe Andino Answers the Call at Nationals When Kolohe Andino was faltering midway through his fourth round heat of the Men's NSSA National Championships on Friday, his father Dino, watching from shore, tried desperately to comfort himself by floating a trial balloon. He muttered aloud something about the world not ending if his son didn't win this year. But his good friend Mike Parsons, standing nearby, immediately shot him down on the apparent show of weakness. "No way!" Parsons spat back, smacking fist to palm. "This is it...This is the moment...There's no more waiting." While Kolohe's situation remained in jeopardy neither Mike or Dino was holding up very well. Knowing both of them for longer than I care to mention, seeing them in such a high-stress state was--I confess--pretty damn amusing. The intensity, drive, and determination that earned these two former rivals their own national titles as amateurs and pros is all being channeled into something and somebody else now. That they had zero control of this moment was utter torture for them. And frankly, there's something funny about watching two capital "A" Alpha-males grapple with circumstances beyond their control. Watching nervous parents live and die with every turn is one of the better parts of the NSSA Nationals. The evolution of the Parsons-Andino dynamic takes some explanation given their history, but understanding it is crucial to knowing what makes 15-year old Kolohe Andino tick. Kolohe is one of the most highly-touted grommets in surfing today. He has been for a few years. But that hasn't made raising him any easier for Dino, who grew up fighting for every scrap of an opportunity when he was Kolohe's age. Dino was raised largely unsupervised. "I remember seeing him when he was ten years old out at Uppers," recalls Parsons. "He was this loud obnoxious little kid who was being raised by guys on the beach." Much of Dino's education was learned on the street. So years later, when as a father, his own son started seeing opportunities he would have killed for, Dino's survival instincts were the driving force of his decision making. "I grew up never saying 'no' to any opportunities...because they just didn't come easily. It was a survival thing for me." As Kolohe's surfing progressed, the father son relationship was complicated as Dino suddenly found himself playing the same coach and manager role that he was playing with some of the best surfers in the world through his jobs at Oakley and then Billabong. "That's the toughest part of being a parent of a kid with talent," says Parsons, who became a father for the first time just over a year ago. "All kids want from their parents is love and support. But when you're playing all those other roles like coach or manager the message gets mixed because in those roles you have to ride them from time to time. There were a few times when I had to tell Dino to back off." "We struggled at times, for sure," says Kolohe. "But we got it figured out. It's funny, because he's been way mellower ever since he stopped drinking coffee. And now Snips [Parsons] is the one playing the coaching role. Yesterday, Mike pulled me aside for about a half an hour and we just watched the waves and visualised exactly how I was going get up on the podium and celebrate. And what's crazy is it happened just like we planned it." The pressure on Kolohe to live up to all his bright-light billing might seem cruel, but it was there. "Our job is to sheild him from it, and just give him the information he needs," says Parsons. "But he's a smart kid. He knew what was expected of him this year, so to come through the way he did says a lot about the strength of his character." It's a fine line between highly-touted and over-hyped, and even Kolohe knows the difference. This past weekend, he did far more than deliver on expectations. He smashed them. Kolohe netted $6000 for winning the Open Men's and the Air Show divisions, but far more in the respect category. With his victory, the Andinos became the first father son combo to win NSSA National Championships. Of course, Kolohe's most enduring memory of Nationals will likely be watching his stress during the closing minutes of the Final. "It went flat for a while. When I looked in I saw him pacing back and forth on the beach and just started laughing, watching him. It was pretty classic." I'm just glad I wasn't the only one getting a kick out of it. More coverage of the Nationals to come...so stay tuned. Channels: Surf ISA World Junior Surfing Championships Preview The ISA World Junior Surfing Championships kicks off today in Ecuador. This year the US has put together a solid team that should give the dominant Australians a run for their money. In the Boys Under 18 division the US is sending some very talented surfers especially Nat Young, who last year was NSSA Open Men's National Champion, and took home the O'Neill Cold Water Classic as well. Click here for to read an interview MORINformed did with Nat a few months back in Hawaii. In this division the Aussies have won every year but two that this contest has existed, Hawaii and Brazil each have a win apiece. The US also has a talented Boys Under 16 team. Two names in particular, Kolohe Andino and Evan Geiselman, are sure to make their impressions felt. In the Girl's under 18, Courtney Conlogue and the the rest of the US team are looking solid. Conlogue has been a force in competitive female surfing for some time, and is ready to bring a Girl's Under 18 title home to the United States. GrindTV will be presenting a live webcast of the event, so stop by tomorrow and cheer for your favorite surfing country. Here's the official 2009 PacSun USA Surf Team travel roster: BOYS UNDER 18 BOYS UNDER 16 GIRLS UNDER 18 Channels: Surf Page 1 of 1 |
