Tuesday, August 19, San Cristóbal, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Today was the final qualifying event for the Junior Men Rising Series by IBC in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The last chance to grab one of the 48 spots in the big Final, which will take place in October at Gran Canaria Frontón King.
Following the previous Rising Series events for Junior Men in Agadir, Chile Iquique, Australia Gold Coast, and Mehdya (Morocco), IBC is giving Canary Islands and European athletes one more shot by hosting this event in Spain, Gran Canaria.
The wave chosen by the organizers was El Caletón, also known as El Bajo in San Cristóbal. A right and a left on volcanic reef, super fun with good tubes and ramps.
This beautiful fishing neighborhood, which has produced several bodyboard talents like Lionel Medina and Isaac Rodríguez among many others, did not disappoint and offered excellent waves for this event.
At 1:30 p.m. local time, the competition began with waves around 2 meters—great, fun conditions to see the best young bodyboard talents in action.
ROUND 1: In this opening round, the high level of the competitors was evident. Only the top 2 riders from each heat advanced to the quarterfinals.
Standouts in this round included Lanzarote rider Dia Polo, who posted a total of 14 points. Another heat winner was Jorge Silva. Antonio Rodríguez and Adrián Santana showed their best stuff and moved on to the quarterfinals.
QUARTERFINALS: The top 16 surfers were split into four heats, with only the top 2 advancing to the semifinals.
Hugo Medina and Eric Daniel Trujillo moved on in a super-tight heat, narrowly missing the objective was local Néstor Reyes from Gáldar. All showed great form riding both left and right.
Local Gáldar rider Mauro Bolaños again showed his full potential, landing a big left backflip scored 7 points to take first. Just 0.5 points behind was Adrián Santana from the East of Gran Canaria.
Jorge Silva posted an impressive total, 14.20, easily beating his rivals. Second place went to the great Canarian Alberto Pérez, who came on strong as the contest went on.
Antonio Rodríguez and Jorge Morales made it to the semifinals, both showing high levels in their surfing. Derek Quintana and Erik Vega were knocked out in a very tight heat.
SEMIFINALS: Thrilling semifinals with the top 8 in the standings, all putting on a show as they battle for a spot in the big final.
The first semifinal kicked off with great waves in San Cristóbal. Once again the standout was Canary Islander Hugo Medina, who showed constant mastery and earned himself a place in the Grom King final. Adrián Santana is also moving steadily toward the title, coming up with great waves. Eric Daniel Trujillo and Mauro Bolaños bowed out to applause.
Alberto Pérez showed his best form, ripping solid waves on the Caletón reef and posting the top semifinal score of 13.60, making it clear he’s here for the title. Jorge Silva was close behind, both securing finals berths. Antonio Hernández and Jorge Berzal unfortunately didn’t make it.
FINAL: After a short break, the competition resumed with a tight final, full of quality and radical stuff from the four competitors, all athletes from the Canary Islands, once again proving to the world the high level of the archipelago’s youth talent.
Finishing in fourth place was young Jorge Silva, who couldn’t connect good waves in the final. In third was Adrián Santana, showing the same high level seen throughout the event. Hugo Medina was very solid, pulling off nice backflips and airs, but he couldn’t clinch the title in Gran Canaria. And undoubtedly the day’s hero was Alberto Pérez, who isn’t just the event champion but also posted the best score of the entire championship, a remarkable 15.85. The championship concluded with the champion carried on his friends’ shoulders, amid the cheers of the crowd.
Congrats to the Grom King Junior Men Rising Series Champion!
ALBERTO PÉREZ.
Official results:
1st Alberto Pérez (Spain) 2nd Hugo Medina (Spain) 3rd Adrián Santana (Spain) 4th Jorge Silva (Spain)
The event promoter Epic Events, in partnership with IBC World Tour, the Canary Islands Surf Federation, and the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council, emphasize the importance of this event for young athletes in the Canary Islands, Spain, and the rest of Europe.
Huge thanks to all sponsors, collaborators, organizers, and everyone who, through great effort, made all these Rising Series events possible during the IBC World Tour.
Remember that throughout the season, new Rising Series events were added to the IBC calendar to give juniors more opportunities in their home countries, aiming with this new structure to reduce costs, travel, and thus allow more focus on academics.
Next stop for the Junior Men is in Gáldar, at the Gran Canaria Frontón King on October 11 and 25, where we’ll find out who the new world champions are in Junior and Men divisions.
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