The highly anticipated Hurley Australian Open of Surfing at Manly Beach will get underway tomorrow with the best surfers under 21 from Australia and around the globe taking to the water to compete for valuable ASP Australasia Junior Qualifying Series points.
The top ranked surfers from Australasia at the end of the 2014 season will get the chance to compete for an ASP World Junior Championship.
Kelly Norris (Sunshine Coast), current No 1 on the ASP Australasia Junior Qualifying Series after a massive win at the last event in Maroubra is one of the more experienced surfers in this year’s event and is looking to keep his red hot roll going.
‘Yeah I’m feeling really good and confident’, said Norris. ‘My boards are going great and I feel that my head’s in a good space. I’m really hoping for a great result and I’m really looking forward to surfing against the world’s best juniors and being part of such a massive event.’
Ella Williams (New Zealand), reigning ASP Women’s World Junior Champion, will be taking to both the ASP Pro Junior and the open age ASP Qualifying Series (QS) 6-Star divisions at this year’s Hurley Australian Open of Surfing.
‘I’m really excited to be in the event for the Pro Junior and also the open 6-Star! I’m just stoked to be a part of it. I’ve always watched it online and dreamed of being in it but have never been. So I’m just taking everything in and looking to get a good result here.’
Cooper Chapman (North Narrabeen), one of the few Sydney locals in both the ASP Pro Junior and QS 6-Star divisions, will be looking to make the most of his hometown advantage.
‘I’ve been surfing Manly a bit the last few days and it’s been really fun’, said Chapman. ‘It’s so good to have this event back on. I’m really excited to wake up in my own bed for a competition of this size and scale. It’s the biggest event in Sydney and to be at home, and be able to train and have some hometown support will be huge. I spoke to Hurley and they told me they were going to do the Australian Open of Surfing again and I was so stoked, Hurley run great events and I hear this year is going to be bigger and better than ever.’
Martin Jolly, Senior Vice President Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand IMG, is really looking forward to seeing the Pro Junior talent hit the water this weekend to kick off the Hurley Australian Open of Surfing in style.
‘All eyes will be on the Pro Junior event this year after Matt Banting made history at the inaugural event when he won both the Junior and Men’s divisions’, said Jolly.
‘The Junior division is always a great leap pad for our young professionals into the men’s division. This year we have a truly international surf line-up – with not only our own homegrown talent competing, but also other world-renowned surfers taking centre stage at Manly Beach.’
The open men’s and women’s ASP 6-Star Qualifying Series divisions will get underway from Monday, with an impressive all-star field of surfers eager to set themselves up as front-runners on the 2014 ASP Qualifying Series. Some of the surfers to hit the water this week include reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Dane Reynolds (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT) and many more.
For more event information log on to www.AustralianOpenofSurfing.com
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
