Good day folks! Tomorrow March the 28th marks day one of the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships here in Salinas, Ecuador. The contest will be held at ' La FAE,' an Ecuadorian air force base conveniently located right on the beach with a reeling left point break out front. Fernando Aguerre, the ISA president announced today at the press conference that a record high of 264 athletes from all around the globe will be competing for this year's title.

Garrett Parkes and Laura Enever from the Australian team were on tap for today's press conference. Both have medaled and lead their team to first place finishes the past two years. Along with the rest of the Australian roster, these two will definitely be ones to keep an eye out for this week. Make sure to check out the live webcast on GrindTV.

After takin' care of business at the press conference, I went out for a surf at La FAE with some of the Quik guys Troy Brooks, Magnum Martinez, and 89 WCT champ Martin Potter. It might be 20 years since Potz won his world title, but the guy is still charging it hard out there. With over 200 grommets in town for the contest, today's warm-up sesh was shoulder to shoulder and a little scrappy. The level of talent out in the line-up is insane! I'm pretty amped to see what these future-champs are going to do in four-man heats.

Stay tuned as we will be keeping you guys posted daily.

Over and out!

JimJims