Pro Junior Season

The Pro Junior Season has started.

Luis was the first to compete in Reunion Island, the first leg of the Tour.
The location, although beautiful, was not the easiest to adapt to, specially with the small swell that was seen for the first few days.
Luis in his heat, caught one wave at the start and then, there were no waves for 20 minutes ( 25 minute heats ) so, tempers started flying between all surfers, pushing and fighting for position and to get that so important wave.
Luis, got involved in all the paddle battles, etc and did not get a good wave to increase his score.
Not the best way to start the season but hopefully a good lesson learnt for the next ones to come.

The next event was the Breti Girls Pro Junior in La Vendee for Keshia.
It was her first European contest and the waves were amazing. A place totally unknown for all of us, that proved to be much better than everyone said, great waves and weather made it an excellent week.
Keshia had just arrived in La Vendee after winning the Girls Nationals in Portugal.
It was a long trip as, we left Sesimbra at noon, drove to Biarritz, picked Luis up at the airport ( he was arriving from the Pro Junior in Reunion ) drove to Hossegor, picked up another friend and 6 hours later, we were in La Vendee.

Keshia had to good surfs before her contest started and that proved to be worth it as she made it through her heats until reaching the 1/4 finals. There she surfed great but did not manage to get the last score she needed. A 3rd place finish and 9th overall is a perfect way to start her European Pro Junior Tour.

Next stop will be the Boys Pro Junior in Somo ( Cantabria ) and Canaries for Luis and then San Sebastian and Sopelana for both Luis and Keshia.

Luis also entered the WQS 4* event in La Vendee, that took place just after the girls Pro Junior. As the contest site has dramatic tides and they can only run the contest during the mid tides, it was a couple of days before Luis managed to go in. He finished the event in Round of 64 in 3rd place. Tim Boal was the overall winner.
There was an expression session on the last day and Luis made it in 2nd place to the final :) Great performance and week in La Vendee. We will be back next year for sure :)

Will keep you all updated.

Keshia wins Under 18's Nationals in Sesimbra

The 2nd event of the Portuguese National Tour took place in Sesimbra last weekend.
With good forecast for the whole weekend, it was a fun event with great waves and weather.

Keshia had to finish the event on Sunday as she was traveling to La Vendee for her first European Pro Junior, which was to start on Tuesday.
Thanks to the organization and contest director, they finished the girls event in two days and by noon on Sunday, Keshia was the winner :)
Such was the rush that she did not manage to get her trophy or be at the podium but, what matters is the result.
She now leads the rankings for the Girls Under 18's

Thanks to everyone, specially Tiago Matos, for making it possible for Keshia :)

Keshia and Klaus in the finals of Samadi regional

Another great weekend for Keshia and Klaus.

This weekend we had the 2nd part of the Samadi regional contest, in Costa da Caparica.
The weather was great and the waves were looking good.

With plenty of entries again, it called for a two day event with various categories from the smallest Under 12's to the under 18's boys and girls.

Keshia and Klaus both won their heats on Saturday which meant going into Sunday for the semis and finals :)

Sunday was much better than expected as the swell was forecasted to drop. With waves around 1 meter, it was perfect conditions for all age groups.

Klaus and Keshia surfed their was to the final. With the change in tides, there were two peaks. Deciding to stay on the main peak by the rocks was the perfect choice for both as they dominated the area and surfed practically alone.

Klaus came 3rd overall, meaning he is 3rd in the rankings with two events to go and Keshia dominated again to take her second win of the tour.

Next round will be in May so will keep you posted as usual.

Keshia's interview in ONFIRE GIRLZ

The latest issue of ONFIRE GIRLZ has just come out and Keshia has a 6 page article about her trip to Hawaii.

A great way to start the season and to promote her new head sponsor Oakley :)

Hopefully this is the first of many more !

See you soon

Two weekends, two finals, one win :)

Its been a great start of the year.

The first contest was the Portuguese Nationals in Costa da Caparica. The waves were not exactly as we had experienced in Hawaii, to say the least, it was more like a ripple in a big lake.

But conditions are the same for everyone and we had to do with what we had. Other the 2 days contest, it was more of a lottery and anything else as, if you were lucky to catch a wave, you could almost guarantee a win.

Keshia did her best, going out on a super small board and trying to come to terms with surfing " a slight movement in the ocean "
She came 4th in the Girls Under 18's so, not a bad start for the first contests.

This weekend was a slightly different story.
It was the Samadi Regional contest, again in Costa da Caparica and we were surprised with nice offshore wind and pretty good conditions.
A great turnout made it almost like the Nationals last weekend so Keshia knew what she was against and what she had to do.

Scoring high and being able to show her level of surfing rather than who could catch a wave, made Keshia sail through to the final and claim first place :)

A first win in many to come we hope ! Keep checking and we will keep you updated.

Thanks everyone :)

Keshia and Klaus in Hawaii 2010

So , to put a close to the 2010 winter training season in Hawaii, here is the last video, this time of Keshia and Klaus.

Everyone is looking forward to the summer and contest season in Europe, before going back for some more warm water training in Hawaii :)

http://www.vimeo.com/20552253

Last video of Luis in Hawaii

Check out the last video of Luis in Hawaii.

A perfect ending to another great winter training season :)


Luis in Hawaii 2010