WSL champ anoints local rising stars

REIGNING World Surf League (WSL) champion John John Florence helped honour local rising stars in the sport at the formal launch of the 2018 Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.

Florence stood in for Aireys Inlet champion Wayne Lynch and presented the Surf Coast Shire Rising Star Awards alongside Lorne champ Gail Couper.

The event was run in partnership with the WSL.

The three female and male under-18 Surf Coast Rising Stars were named, based on WSL tour rankings as:

• Gail Couper Rising Star Awards: India Robinson, Bella Wilson and Angela Ball, and
• Wayne Lynch Rising Star Awards: Kenta Fergusson, Jayden Schram and Jack Kay.

Mr Fergusson was unable to attend the launch, but other recipients said they were thrilled by the honour.

“I just think it is such a privilege we get to call this our job, travel the world surfing, experiencing new cultures and meeting new people,” Ms Robinson said after the ceremony.

For Ms Ball, achieving new heights back on the waves is particularly special. She spent long periods in hospital between grade 4 and year 8 as she fought a golden staph infection.

“It’s a real privilege to be able to go surfing again,” she said. “We’re really privileged to be able to do stuff like this.”

Jayden Schram rated his award win as “spectacular” and said having grown up in Torquay, Australia’s home of surfing, had been inspiring.

“Having watched all the pros coming down and seeing the world’s best on our home breaks here is pretty cool.”

Speaking at the launch, Surf Coast Shire mayor David Bell hailed the Rip Curl Pro as an event not to be missed on the municipality’s calendar, and as an event that elite world surfers held close to their hearts.

The 57th Rip Curl Pro, the second leg of the WSL Tour, is likely to finish Thursday (today), and fans unable to make it to Bells Beach will be able to watch the action by visiting one of more than 50 live sites across Surf Coast Shire – head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au.