source : www.jbaynews.com

Anticipation is building amongst the country’s top young surfers as they prepare for the 2013 Hurley SA Junior Champs which gets underway in the world renowned waves of Jeffreys Bay today.

The team and individual national titles at stake, the chance to represent the country on the international stage and swell models predicting that the Lower Point will produce legendary overhead waves later in the week have combined to raise the excitement levels to fever-pitch.

Jeffreys Bay resident Matt McGillivray will be doing battle in the Under 17 Boy’s division this year after helping his Eastern Province team to clinch their first Freedom Cup team title at last year’s Hurly SA Junior Champs by winning the U15 title, the Surfer of the Contest Award and the Red Bull Airshow at the event.

“I am really stoked the event is at Point as I can just walk down and surf there almost every day which is a big advantage,” says Matt. “I’ve been trying to stay fit and healthy and have been surfing lots so I’m feeling good and am very excited for the contest.”

The Eastern Province team is determined use their home-surf advantage to add their name to the historic Freedom Cup for the second successive year in the 17 year history of the event.

Meanwhile 2012 runners-up KwaZulu-Natal Central, 2011 champions Western Province and teams from Southern KZN, Border, Boland, Zululand, Southern Cape and the SA Development Academy will be doing their best to wrest the prestigious team trophy away from the hosts.

In addition to the individual champions being forever recorded in the storied history of South African surfing, the winners of the U17 and U15 boys and girls titles are also automatically included in the SA Junior team that will represent the country at the next ISA World Junior Championships.