THE opening day of the Hydralyte Sports Shoalhaven Pro Junior commenced on Friday, in what was a challenging day that saw small surf and venue changes.
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Tru Starling (Narrabeen) made the most of the move to Werri Beach from Shoalhaven Heads, finding a handful of punchy peaks, which she proceeded to tear apart with a combination of style and aggression.
As a result, Starling was able to claim the victory in her opening exchange ahead of fancied opponents, Nyxie Ryan (Lennox Head), Anne Dos Santos (Brazil) and Tiya Collins with a respectable 11.75 two-wave heat total.
"I'm so happy to get a heat win, especially against those girls," Starling said.
"Thankfully a few little waves came my way which threw up a couple of little sections.
"Anyone of those girls could have taken that heat out, so it definitely helps my confidence to get a win over them and before heading into the next round."
Current World Surf League Junior Tour ranking number four, Caleb Tancred (Avoca) kept his junior series momentum going, moving through his round one heat behind perennial event standout and heat winner Kobi Clements (Long Reef).
Tancred hopes a solid result in Shoalhaven will allow him to cement himself a spot in the top five on the series and place him in the box seat to qualify for the 2019 World Junior Championship.
"I missed a few Pro Junior events cause I was away travelling, so I'm hoping for a good result here," Tancred said.
"My whole goal for 2019 is to make the World Juniors again and also surf in as many higher ranked QS events as I possibly can.
"Hopefully, I can achieve that here."
Micah Margieson (Cabarita) showed why he was reigning Australian Junior Champion, decimating the playful lefthanders on offer in his opening exchange.
Margieson found two notable waves in his heat that allowed him to notch up a decent 14.05 two-wave heat total and get the heat win ahead of Connor Lee (Redhead, NSW) and Mikey McDonagh (Lennox Head) who finished in second and third respectively.
"I actually spent a fair bit of time down here for the Australian Junior Titles in 2017 and I know how fun the waves can get," Margieson said.
"With any luck, we'll see a bit of a jump in the swell and we'll all get some decent opportunities as the event kicks back off on Saturday."
The only Shoalhaven product left in the event is Culburra Beach's Keira Buckpitt, who moved into round three on Saturday - after finishing second in her heat.
Culburra Beach's Navryn Watson and Ulladulla's Harry Phillips finihed third and fourth in their respective heats and were eliminated.
The elite three-day World Surf League (WSL) Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event will take place from May, 24-26 and will feature more than 120 competitors as they attempt to gain ranking points and potentially seal themselves a spot in the World Junior Championship.
The Hydralyte Sports Shoalhaven Pro Junior will commence each day at 7:30am with the call for the day's schedule and location confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45 am.
